We spent allot of time with my grandmother and my brother (from my dad's 2
cnd marriage in the picture he is holding Ella alongside my grandma). He is a very cool little guy with a great sense of humor and wit. My grandmother Louise never ages and has a very dry sense of humor that's allot of fun! She is a fantastic host and we were never in need of anything.
We were totally ready to go home on our departure date but weren't
excited about our plane leaving Santa Barbara airport at 6 am. Because of all the security hoopla, dropping off our rental van, and the 40 minute drive to get there, we had to wake up by 3:45 to
leave by 4:15! The kids handled it
surprisingly well. We made it through security without any hassles and dropped off the van in time. Finally, we were on the plane and on our way to Phoenix... Until we hit a flock of geese! I didn't even know that CA had geese! Here is a link to a news report :
http://www.keyt.com/news/local/52602352.htmlWe circled above the coastline for 20 minutes with all of us wondering why they couldn't just go on to Phoenix for all of our connections if we could fly just fine for 20 minutes? The stewardess did a great job seeming non
chalant about the whole thing. If I had known the real reason we were circling was to reduce fuel weight in case of fire upon a landing gear malfunction, I would have been a mess! I'm humbled over God's protection for this and through the whole thing.
When we landed and as we walked out of the plane (SB airport is so tiny there are no tunnel like exits so you have to walk across the tarmac), we were able to see the big brown goose that was wrapped around the front landing gear. I could slap myself for not getting a pic of this, but we were too wrapped up in the whole fiasco to think about future reflections on the event.
We went into the airport and found a great outdoor area with a grassy lawn, and a little mechanical display with balls dropping into tunnels, etc (see pic) that the boys were mesmerized with for the longest time! Such a blessing for killing time. Yes, the boys are wearing "leashes." I too thought they were horrible until I had twins and spent time in an airport with them. They were perfect! The boys are terribly independent and often head in different directions. When your hands are busy with a million different things, they help! :)
We ate breakfast and tried to kill time till the maintenance men arrived to check over the plane. They apparently are an hour from the airport which still stumps me... Finally, after three hours of waiting around, they officially cancelled the flight.
We of course had by this point missed our connection in Phoenix. I rushed to get into the line for our airline to rebook while Matt and Robin took the kids to pick up the luggage and
car seats again. I was in line for no less than TWO hours! After moving an inch or so in line, I noticed an airport wheel chair nearby that I pulled into line and sat in. Thank goodness I had "Close to Home" to read while waiting! :) The wheelchair caused a few laughs, but others in line found odd places to get comfy too while waiting.
Matt and talked on the phone across the airport about different plans and remembered that we had bought traveler's insurance (by fluke). We bought it thinking a deadline Matt had at work might affect the vacation so we would need a way out if it did. Then we found it wouldn't; so when
Travelocity sent us an email saying our request to buy insurance didn't go through, we didn't buy it again. Well,
Travelocity sent us another email saying their previous email was incorrect, we now had Traveler's Insurance. Thank GOD! We were pleased to find out that any meals and costs incurred because of the bird hit would be reimbursed! I will always get insurance from this point on...
I finally reached the desk and the frazzled airport worker. After much work, he was able to get us onto a 7 PM flight to Phoenix that night. We would have to sleep in Phoenix compliments of US Airways, then fly home the next day. So the next step would be surviving the afternoon till then.
Because of our insurance, we came up with a plan to rent a van again until that evening so that the kids could take a nap in their car seats (they were so fried at this point) and we could have some rest as well. We got the last van in SB which happened to be a cargo van. Another blessing added to a long list... We drove up the coast while the kids and I slept and had dinner. We then headed back prepared for round two.
After checking in again and dropping off our luggage one more time, we were on our way to Phoenix.
We arrived without incident and went again to pick up the four suitcases and three car seats. US Airways customer service was not much fun after a day like this. But they did arrange for stay at the Fiesta Resort which was incredibly nice! We waited for a half hour for our shuttle in the 103 degree heat (a
surprise blessing as it made the kids quite tame while they waited) at 9:45 PM. We were picked up and
whisked off.
Again, the hotel was so nice. Pillow top mattresses and Bath and Body soap in the bathroom.
http://www.fiestainnresort.com/photo_gallery/ Unfortunately, we did not have time to enjoy it as we had to leave again the next morning by 8. So the kids fell asleep at 11 PM, and had to be up by 6. It wasn't pretty, let me tell you! Thank goodness the Phoenix airport had a little play mat area (see pic) set up for kids to enjoy while we waited. US Airways gave us $40 in meal vouchers so we took turns while the kids played finding ways to use them!
Finally, we boarded and made our way home by three. It took almost 4 days for the kids to be back to normal and feeling like themselves! We had a wonderful time but are SO GLAD to be back in our beds again and so glad to ave made it safely! Thank you Matthew, Catherine, and Eric for watching the house and bringing the van back and forth.
The picture of Matt with the boys is in front of the airport. And yes, Titus is attacking Wyatt... The movie is of the cargo van while on our drive up the coast aka nap-time!
