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Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Always Be Prepared For Anything

I suppose there could be worse places for me to be typing this latest post.

You might be wondering... "wait a minute, you haven't landed in Sydney yet, have you?'

The answer is no. No, I have not. Unfortunately, after my three hour layover in San Francisco turned into five and a half hours, our plane was delayed for an additional 24 hours. Leaving me stranded on the opposite coast with no accommodation.

Not only did it take two additional hours to get our luggage and for the team to find hotels for us to stay in, the Uber was about $120 total. In this very expensive Uber, halfway to our destination, we learned that a major highway in the area had been blocked off due to a falling tree. This required us to turn ALL THE WAY AROUND and drive back to the airport in order to find an alternative route. Just wait, it doesn't stop there. My Uber driver needed to stop and get gas. After getting back in the car, he asked if I had some hex put on me or something for my bad luck. He then told me that the pumps at the gas station weren't working.

Brilliant... this night is going swimmingly.

It was certainly a long night. To be honest, I was expecting these types of things to happen but I had no idea it would happen on my very first night before I even made it to Australia.

So I am posting this from my jacuzzi bathtub in a super cute hotel about 20 miles south of downtown San Francisco on the coast which was paid for by the airline. Back to what I was originally saying... I know it could be worse.

Hearing that your aircraft is being serviced further is always a deep breath of cold, black smoke. As we sat there and waited for an update, I became a little paranoid. Exactly what kind of issues was the aircraft experiencing? I promised about 30 people that I would return home safely. Was something going to happen on my second flight of the trip?

One of my good friend's boyfriend works for an airline. They know firsthand how angry passengers can become when a delay or a cancellation occurs. While we were discussing this, she had the most brilliant thing to say...

Why are people so mad that the airline is putting their safety above all else? I would rather be delayed or miss my flight than to have something much worse happen. 

As frustrated as I was feeling last night, given that I didn't leave the airport and make it to my hotel until 4:00am--aka 7:00am on the east coast--it made sense. I had to honor the crew's decision as they were thinking of our safety first and foremost.

We were lucky enough that they simply recheduled our flight. I cannot imagine if we were all fighting for what few flights leave from SFO and head to Sydney.

All in all, my bubble bath is doing the trick. I'm in a cute little city--bummed I won't be able to venture into downtown San Francisco--but apparently, they have killer seafood and a brewery nearby. If there are two things that make me a happy girl, these are certainly them.


I'll just add this to my itinerary and make the best of it. After all, this is probably a part of the city I will not get the chance to explore in the future.

When people suggest "going with the flow" when traveling, I suggest listening to them. These things happen and I guarantee I'll be in a similar situation sometime during my travels. Getting upset and frustrated only complicates things for yourself. Take a deep breath and know that things will get resolved.

Here's to safely arriving in San Francisco and to a safe flight this evening to Australia. My adventure continues to unravel and so far, it's pretty entertaining.

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  1. DANG! Quite the series of events there. Glad your finally back on track!

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