Megan and I are visiting my mom and her husband in Durham for the next couple days, and being in Durham is a relaxing reprieve from the travel nightmare's of late last week. I'll start at the begining . . .
On Thursday evening (8-22) Megan's parents took us to Portland to catch our 8pm flight on Horizon to Sacramento. When we got to the airport we checked one of our bags and then relaxed with Megan's parents for an hour or so before being security screened. When we got to our gate we noticed that one of the two flights leaving from our gate was cancelled. We weren't sure which one, but after checking the arrival/departure screen we saw our flight was on time. About 20 minutes later the line at the gate was getting longer and I was getting nervous about our flight. So I called Horizon and spoke with an agent who confirmed our flight had been cancelled. I hurried up and got in line, but I was now one of the last 4 people in line. (The arrival/departure screen never was updated to show that our flight had been canceled)
For the next hour I waited in line and for most the time we had one gate agent helping the 25 people waiting in line. It took forever and it was really frustrating. By the time I was helped our best option for getting to Sacramento was taking the 5 a.m. Horizon shuttle to Seattle and catching a flight from Seattle to Sacramento. Horizon put us up in a hotel for the night and after a bit of cajoling they gave us some food vouchers for dinner.
The next morning (8-23) we woke up at 3:15 am and made it to the airport to catch the 5 am flight. We got selected for the intense security screening (always a joy) and made it to our gate. The flight to Seattle was uneventful so we figured we were close to home free. Boy where we wrong. We got on the flight from Seattle to Sacramento only to find that my carry-on bag wouldn't fit under the seat or in the over head bin. So the flight attendent offered to "gate check" my bag. She said that my bag would be available at baggage claim in Sacramento. Let me just pause here to say, never ever gate check your bag. It is the single worst idea. My reason for saying this will become clear soon.
When we got to Sacramento we went down to the baggage claim and picked up our checked bag, but my "gate checked" bag never showed up. I went to the customer service desk and explained my problem. The agent said that I should have picked up my bag at the gate, and called up to the gate to find out if was there. It was not. The agent said that it probably got left in Seattle. She called Seattle and talked to a baggage supervisor who swore that my bag had headed towards the airplane and should have made it to Sacramento.
So now my bag is completely lost, nobody knows where it is. It contains every stitch of clothing that I'm taking to South America and my passport. The agent gives me claim form and says that they should be able to deliver the bag to me later that day. Megan and I were planning on going up to my dad's cabin (near Chester, CA) later that day so it was pretty important that I get my bag.
I waited a couple hours at my dad's house in Yuba City and I hadn't heard anything from Alaska Air about my bag. I called a "special" phone number for Sacramento baggage claim that I had been given. It went straigt to a non-descript voice-mail and I left a message. I did this a couple more times that day and still didn't get any response. Finally, fed up with trying to contact Sacramento baggage claim I called Alaska's customer relations. After insisting that the customer service agent talk to someone in Sacramento I was finally put in contact with a real live person in Sacramento. After some long negotiations with this person I was able to get them to promise to deliver my bag to my mother's wine shop in Chico so I could get a few days later.
Once again, I thought my worst travel day ever was over. Unfortunately I was wrong. My dad had very kindly made sure both of his vehicles were in good working condition so we could borrow one why we were in California. Unfortunately, on Friday aftenoon one of the vehicles developed a pretty severe clutch problem. Yesterday the other vehicle developed a fuel problem and wouldn't run either. We made it back down to Durham last night, but unfortunately we don't have a car right now, looks like we might be renting!
Well, aside from the travel problems and pretty awful Horizon/Alaska customer service we really enjoyed visiting my Dad and my little sister and brother. My dad's cabin is really rustic, but nice. The location is really beautiful with nice views of Mt. Lassen and plenty of place for the kids to play. Many of you probably don't know this, but my little sister Aarin is just about to turn 10 and my little brother Alex is about to turn 3. It was nice to be able see them before we leave for a couple of years. A couple of my aunts, uncles and cousin's (on my dad's side) came to the cabin for a BBQ and mini-family reunion.
So, now we are visiting with my mom in Durham and going to see her wine shop over the next couple days. I'm going to show her how to update her website so she make sure it stays current while I'm abroad.
(Pictures from this part of the West Coast Tour will be online sometime in November, once we get settled in Mexico)
Posted by Noah Brimhall at September 26, 2005 11:00 AM