5/12 Sunday
Got
up early, ready to go. Last thing was to turn off the water, where Bob found a
leaky valve. Great. Got it fixed enough & left for the airport. Leisurely
pace.
I had my knee brace on as I went through security,
& of course it set off the alarm. I couldn’t pull the pants leg up over it,
so I volunteered to go through a patdown. This, with the attending
consultations between the agent & her supervisor only took a half hour or
so. Deemed no threat, finally, we boarded our plane. The views over the
countryside were delightful, following the highway, over the Lehigh Tunnel,
into Philly. Close to the NY border, gas drill pad sites filled the farmlands. A short time later
we could see an expanse of windmills. Approaching the airport, Three Mile Island’s nuclear towers spewed steam along the
Susquehanna.
The flight to Europe was overbooked so we stepped up to be bumped &
got a voucher for $1500. Unfortunately, Bob got the agent at the desk who was
the least competent of them all. First she mishandled the processing, then she
dialed the wrong number for the help desk & spent a half hour waiting to
get through before another agent noticed & corrected the call.
Our plane taxied out, then turned
around due to a “mechanical anomaly” words you just don’t want to hear on an
airplane. The potential for a 10 hours on the tarmac nightmare wafted through
the air. But we were only delayed for a hour or so, then on our way with no
further problems. We had very comfortable seats for our flight, just two
together away from the numerous babies & toddlers in the plane. Usual overnight flight ensues.
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