I maintained a pretty good attitude until we got to the airport and it really went downhill from there. Hopefully I didn't annoy the rest of the group too much. Sorry, y'all.
We finally got on the plane and I watched 3 movies on the flight home. Skyfall, Oz the Great and Powerful, and .....I don't remember the other one. I know I watched something else though.
The food was once again excellent. Well done, British Airways. We were not sitting in business class this time though, so eating it was a heck of a lot harder. Elbow wars with the people around you and whatnot. They served lunch, which was beef filet, potatoes, vegetables, and a delicious chocolate mousse. I was so enamoured by the chocolate mousse, I took a pic of the lid. I've got to find some of this stuff.
Later in the flight they served an adorable tea time snack box that I didn't take a picture of. But it looked like a picnic basket and it had a scone, clotted cream, jam, and a little sandwich. I am really into this whole afternoon tea thing. Loving it.
We fiiiiiiiinally landed and got off the plane. And got into the longest customs line ever.
Oy. I had to put my earbuds in and just tune out for a while so I didn't go left on anyone in line. We got to see the adorable contraband sniffing beagle, though. He was so cute.
That line took about an hour, then we got to claim our bags and made it outside. To the airport shuttle van. Of death. You'll see why I say that shortly.
Let's go back to the first day of this adventure. The first van we were in on the way to the airport was a total disaster. It popped into reverse without the driver in the seat while we were loading it up, the guy couldn't maintain a lane to save his life, and it was overall a not good, nerve-wracking experience. Pat called the company and complained and we thought that was that. What are the odds we will have problems again?
Turns out, the odds were pretty high. At least this guy was ok at staying between the lines, but the van still felt pretty...questionable. The check engine light was on and it was vibrating like crazy. We got onto 121, got into the Plano/Frisco area and there was a LOUD noise that sounded like the undercarriage was coming apart. We looked out the back window and saw the entire rubber tread of the rear passenger tire FLYING out from behind us on the road.
The idiot driver then proceeded to try to pull over on the left shoulder of the highway. We all said a collective "hell no" and got him to pull off to the service road. He pulled to a stop in the right lane of the service road, turns around and looks at Brian and asks him to jump out and look at the tire. And that is when I lost it.
I made it pretty clear that no one was getting out of the car on the side of the road unless we had no other choice and since it seemed like the tire wasn't completely blown, we needed to get to a parking lot where we could safely assess the situation.
But the driver was an idiot, so he decided he would start to try to get BACK ONTO THE HIGHWAY because he somehow got it in his brain that he wanted to get us to Allen where his spare tire was. Uh. No. We all yelled at him to get his dumb ass away from the highway and just stay on the access road until we got to a parking lot.
The first one we came to was near Blue Mesa at 121 and DNT.
He pulled to a stop in front of Tiff's Treats and we all immediately BAILED OUT with our hand luggage. This is what the tire looked like.
I had already made up my mind at that point that none of us were getting back into any of their crappy vans. So I made a phone call to our wonderful neighbors, Erica and Josh, who have an Acadia that would hold all 5 of us and our luggage. Josh agreed to come get us, thank God. He was just getting home from work and pulled their car seat out and everything. And that is why, henceforth, he shall be called "St. Joshua, Patron Saint of Stranded Travelers."
As I walked back up to the group, the driver started trying to convince us that another van was coming and we should wait for it. We all told him there was no way we were doing that and that we wanted to get our luggage out. He started trying to stall, so I flat out asked him if the van was unlocked and when he said yes, I hauled the doors right open and me and Jeff got all our stuff out.
When he tried to say the situation wasn't his fault, Jeff and I proceeded to educate him on his deficiencies in basic safety and vehicle maintenance. Of course, he was too stupid to absorb anything and just tried to deny any kind of responsibility. I cut him off, and said we were DONE discussing it with him. Before he left, however, he made Jeff talk to his dispatcher to verify that we were declining to be transported the rest of the way home.
So there we were, sitting outside of Tiff's Treats at 6:30pm, barely undercover from the rain with all our luggage. Might as well have some cookies while we're waiting, right? So I bought a dozen cookies and a water for everyone.
St. Joshua Patron Saint of Stranded Travelers got there as fast as he could and got us back to Pat and Jeff's safe and sound.
And so ended our great adventure. We are happy to see the dogs and sleep in our own bed. It was a wonderful trip, we saw a ton of stuff, met some lovely people, and made lots of great memories. Hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure.
Nec Sorte, Nec Fato.
Neither by chance, nor fate.
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