Well, we made it back to Nunam Iqua last night. We left Tulsa on Wed and spent two nights in Anchorage. That was our last time to get Starbucks, beer, and most foods available to people living near a store. Anchorage was also a time to do a grocery order from Fred Meyers and a meat order from the butcher. Both will take at least a week to get here, so we also packed a suitcase with meat and cheeses and checked it with our other luggage.
This posting will be longer than usual and in two parts, but I didn’t want to leave anything out. Plus, you’ll have to read all of this to get the story of the Defiant Turd. True story.
The trip started out just fine. We left Oklahoma, where it was finally raining and under 100 degrees for the first time in three weeks. We checked our bags and headed straight to Starbucks. (Monica’s idea) It was only 8:20 so I passed on by the lounge. Sure I thought about it but I kept going, showing surprising restraint, considering it would be 9 months until I get to display my lack of self-control.
We switched planes at DFW and SeaTac before heading to Anchorage. These flights were all uneventful except for the usual crying kids and cramped spaces for sitting. I’ve also noticed that since airlines started charging for checked luggage, the carry-on luggage is huge, which takes longer boarding and deboarding the plane. Some people (those in front of me) forget that there is 100 other people waiting to get to their seats and spend an unwarranted amount of time stuffing their kitchen sink in the space above my seat. I wanted that space for the kid.
We spent two good days in Anchorage, finishing up with shopping and last minute gorging. We also enjoyed trading the hot Oklahoma temps for the much cooler Alaskan climate. We left for Bethel, where we would change planes yet again. It was raining but Grant Airlines boarded us for Emmonak, which would take us to our last leg of the trip. This was where things went off track.
The weather was somewhat worse for flying once we landed in Emmonak. We were grounded there and had to wait for our 20-mile flight to Nunam Iqua. At about 1pm, the pilot came to us and suggested we start making alternative plans. If I was on the moon and NASA suggested I start making alternative plans, I would have the same look of fear on my face as I did when the pilot spoke with us. The pilot had the same demeanor as a Dr. explaining some horrible disease they’ve found in your brain. Our problem was that our alternative plan was the same as our original plan: getting on the plane and flying to Nunam.
I remembered I did kind of know one of the teachers in Emmonak. Emmonak is in our school district so I used my one chance of an alternative plan by calling the school. They sent the teacher out to get us. She invited us to her house but we decided to stay at the school since she was in the middle of moving from one house to another. Three hours later, we decided to call the airlines to check in with them, hoping the weather had lifted enough to allow us to fly. Nope. But, a teacher from my school had just landed and was in the same predicament. Grover was about to save the day.
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