Tuesday, March 31, 2009

As the fates would have it we are stuck in Seattle

Because of Mt Redoubt we are stuck in cold rainy Seattle at the Red Lion Inn.
Yesterday at 5:00 a.m. we left our fancy 5 star hotel in San Jose. Costa Rica (a major splurge) and flew to Houston. We’ve been out of touch, so Peter asks the Continental Airline agent in Houston if there were any problems with flights to Anchorage because of the volcano. He punches some keys on his machine and says; no sir, there are no problems.

In reality, the flights to Anchorage are cancelled there are people who have been stranded in Seattle for more than a week, no money, no medicine, no clothes etc.

Now over 10 years ago I had a run in with Continental, because I had a comp ticket they were ignorant from the start, the ticket agent was so nasty she even sent my weak mother down the wrong concourse. I swore to never fly Continental again.
I decided to forgive and forget until again last night. The ticket agents were once again rude,
I have every right to be disgruntled, they seemed to enjoy our distress. They choose not to fly even though Alaska Airlines is going to Anchorage. Why? They had no sufficient answer for that except "because we're not". There is no compensation what-so-ever for the hardships this has created for people. Do not fly Continental!

Today its better we have more perspective on the matter. This is an act of God, something which we have no control over. Things could be worse, we can catch a bus to the Jimmy Hendrix Museum, the Space Needle , the wharf, or just watch Clint Eastwood movies in the room. Here is an interesting coincidence (there are no coincidences) Peter was stranded in the Anchorage Airport for a week 20 years ago when Mt Redoubt erupted. Is there a volcano metaphor in there somewhere?

The internet is costing me $5.00 for every half hour unlike Costa Rica which was approximately $3.00 for two hours, so gotta go we are short on cash. Say a prayer for us or send some good vibes that we can get out tomorrow night.
I am finally missing my life in Alaska.

2 comments:

akfnp said...

Keep breathing grasshopper.
Remember, youve had a wonderful adventure! I've enjoyed reading all about it.
Dont let it end feeling frustrated- I had a coworker stranded among lots of others trying to get back and forth to work on the slope over the past week. It really is just chaos as Redoubt keeps spewing unpredictably every 12 or so hours. No defense to the airlines, but they have probably been dealing with hundreds of unhappy people for nearly 2 weeks. Hang in there!!!! Thanks for sharing your stories of Costa Rica. I love that place!

Judy Vars said...

Really is was husband that got frustrated, I take things in my stride and look for opportunities in the troubles. Everything turned out great in the end.