Homeward Bound – 8/07

I was up, got ready and was down in the lobby at 5:30 for our trip to the airport. There were five of us that Jason shuttled to the airport: the “original four” of Jeff, Sam, me and Aprile were all on the same flight to San Francisco; and Robert whose final destination was Montana.

We said goodbye to Robert at the departure curb and got our boarding passes without any problems. Since we had some time, we decided to get a bite to eat before going to our gate; that was mistake number one. After eating and a bit of souvenir shopping, we headed to the gate. The passport validation and going through security took a little longer then we expected but we still had plenty of time. To get to our gate, we had to take one of those automated shuttles that took three minutes to switch buildings. There was a little bit of confusion at the end of the ride and instead of getting out with thought it would take us closer to our gate. Wrong… we went back to the main terminal and the security guard made us get out so we couldn’t go back. So ran to get the shuttle again only to find out we had to go through security again. Now we were really in trouble. We politely forced our way to the front of the line, got through then ran back a long way through the main terminal to the shuttle. We got on and went to the separate terminal. And, wouldn’t you know it - our gate was at the very end of that terminal! So, we ran some more. Fortunately for us, they were boarding the flight but there was still time to spare.

After we got to the gate, I noticed my boarding pass was different from the others. I initially thought I was on a separate flight, but when I found that was incorrect, I asked the desk attendant what was up. Come to find out, that was my London to SF pass. After I found my Rome to London pass, I couldn’t find my London to SF pass. We tore my carryon bags apart, it was no where to be found. After all the running to get the flight, I couldn’t get home. Right when I was about to despair, I heard a voice calling my name. It was the airline attendant asking if this was my boarding pass. I had left it at the desk. What a drama to go through to get on the plane in Rome!

When we arrived in London, we went right to the gate for our plane to SF and found it was already boarding. When I got to the ticket agent, the computer beeped at my boarding pass; they had reassigned my seat to someone else. I was upset because my new seat was not on the isle until the attendant told me it was an upgrade. I had been upgraded to business class! I had a wonderful bulk head seat with plenty of foot room and easy access past my neighbor on the isle. Now that was a blessing from God after all the trials I went through in Rome.

Our flight to SF was uneventful arriving on time. After getting through customs, we met each others families and took photos. We were back on American soil; back to our normal lives and loved ones once again.