Back to Canada..and the real world.

 It was the morning of departure, and they were not nearly ready to ‘be ready’, physically or emotionally .  Little had been accomplished when they got back to the room the previous night. 

They had to leave the hotel by 10:00 a.m. for the airport, and that meant eating downstairs was not really an option.  Last order of business before turning out the lights the night before,  had been to arrange for a room service breakfast.

   

Tom was getting a rib sticking meal to last the day and Kodi was after protein, so they ordered a half carafe of OJ, oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins, a side of toast, and ham and eggs.  Kodi of course had her room coffee.  The meal was supposed to come at 7:00 a.m.  

At 7:15 they  called down to room service, which wasn’t answering.  Stress…. At 7:20 they tried again.  Thankfully, the order WAS coming, but had been delayed because they were unexpectedly two employees short that day. 😏 

The food arrived at 7:40, and was very tasty…and Kodi needed to sit again by that time anyway .  She’d been using the cane as she tried to assemble everything into the cases, trying to balance weight and space…and herself!

She had taken two extra strength Advil that morning, and planned to take another when they were ready to leave.  Once they were ready to board, she’d have to take a 12 hour decongestant pill ( which had ibuprofen in it as well) to prevent the ear pain she had always been subject to during pressure changes when flying .🙄

They  finished getting ready and headed downstairs just before 10:00.  She was going to go to the registration desk, to see if she had accrued enough good will while there,  to get a resort fee or two removed from the bill.  They had both played on her card, once it had turned Sapphire, so hoped it was possible.

There were only two people ahead of her, so she soon faced the clerk who was as pleasant and smiling as they usually were here .  She said she was checking out of 1978 and wanted to find out if anything could be done to lessen the sting of the bill for her 5 nights there. He nodded and picked up the phone...and two minutes later had removed the cost of her most expensive night…the Saturday at $195.00!  Strangely though, the resort fee with tax for that night remained. 😂. 

It was enough to make her smile and thank him.

 “ I appreciate it. Really appreciate it.“.

 “Well we appreciate you for choosing the Orleans. We really appreciate it a lot. “   

Kodi knew that she actually appreciated it more, 🙄(#Royal Flusher) but she let it go, because she had a plane to catch. 

Tom had  finagled both of the suitcases and backpacks down to the the exit near the Bailiwick, where he’d discovered that the Uber pickup area was. 

Kodi swung the cane and her right leg in unison, trying to figure out the rhythm so she could walk, and still be able to smile. She’d get through today, because she had no other option.

Their ride came quickly, but when Kodi saw the extended cab pickup truck, she felt a moment of panic.  The suitcases would be fine but were the backpacks heavy enough to stay in that bed on the highway?  Look how high that back door was.  Tom pointed out the ‘ step up ‘ on the back door, as well as his shoulder . He asked the driver if everything would be okay in the back of the truck, and got a thumbs up.   

After Tom gave Kodi a final push when she got stuck halfway into the truck,🤭 they were on their way. 

The cost to drop them off at the WestJet departure area was $16.52, and Kodi just slid out of that tall back door like butter , and managed to stay standing.

They had checked in online the day before, after their brunch adventure, but now had to print out the boarding passes  and luggage tags at the self serve kiosks in the WestJet area.  There was an employee directing everyone who arrived to the kiosks , so they had to wait in a  short line.  They verified everything as it came up on the screen, until they got once again,  to the point that there was an attempt to charge them each for a checked bag, ( when it was supposed to be included because they had used their WestJet credit card to book. )  They asked for assistance from a wandering ‘helper’.  After the employee failed to move the system forward, he said “Follow me.”  Expecting to be moved somewhere that this one small thing could be corrected, they were dismayed when he positioned them at the end of a winding line with about 40 people ahead of them.  

They had an interesting conversation with a couple directly in front of them who had two large golden doodles.  One wore a service dog vest, and one did not. One apparently was 12 years old, and the other, just 18 months…and was now in training to replace her at some point. The ‘pup’ was curious, and interested in everything around her, but the experienced dog ( had flown over 50 times, curled up at her owner’s feet) was very calm and just focused on  her human. The young dog was going to be crated for the flight, and would ride below. They didn’t get personal and find out why the service dog was required. The couple appeared to be physically fit and confident , but they knew that there could be many reasons that weren’t apparent.  

An employee approached the couple and there was a low toned discussion, about them having lost their bulkhead seat ( so there was extra room for the dog) and lots of apologies, but Tom and Kodi did not get the gist of what had happened, because just then there was an issue in the winding line to the other side of them, as a tiny boy pulling his little wheeled case was being told over and over, “ Move forward.  Hurry up, keep walking. Keep walking” by both his family ahead of him, and a WestJet employee.  Kodi saw what the problem was right away. 

The boy hung about 8 feet back, with a look of terror on his face, as the younger of the dogs reached her head under the rope dividing the lines,  right at his eye level.  As he began to wail, the dog’s owner, no longer engaged with the WestJet person about the seating issue, reacted and corrected the pup.  Crisis over…😌

It took another 25 minutes to get to an agent.   She was lovely, full of good humour, and efficient.  She asked Kodi if she would like wheelchair transport to the gate or in Toronto. “ No, no, I think I’ll be fine. I’ll just take my time.”

So….off they went down towards security, Kodi limping and switching the ‘purse’ from shoulder to shoulder, to Tom’s shoulder, and back again.  

When they got to the security line, the lady who was directing passengers to specific agents, said to Kodi…

” Do you realize that this airport is one of the ‘longest’ in the world?  You are not even halfway to where you need to go. You still have to walk another mile. It took a long time for my parents to get past their pride and use wheelchair service when I suggested it, but they tried it once, and now don’t travel without it.” 

Kodi panted…” Thanks. I’m okay. I’ll just take it really slow.”

By the time they had reached their gate…the very last one in the terminal, Kodi was a total wreck.  They both used the washroom and she eased herself into a chair near the WestJet desk.  Once she’d caught her breath, she made her way up to talk to the rep positioned there, and explained that she had refused wheelchair assistance for Toronto when she had checked in, but wondered if he could possibly arrange it now.  He had to log into a different computer and fiddle for a bit, but then said he’d been able to do it for her. 

With rules recently changed again in Vegas, not many people in the airport besides them were wearing masks, but once they boarded the Canadian plane everyone sitting around her would have to wear one until they exited the Toronto airport. They could hear people grumbling about that.

When their seat area was called to board, each passenger was required to stand in front of an eye level camera, remove their eyeglasses and mask,  and then show their boarding pass before moving through to the jetway. Tom went first.  Kodi fumbled with the cane , smeared one of her eyeglass lenses badly with her thumb while  taking them off, and dropped her boarding pass. After she got repositioned, the gal at the gate said  “ The photo failed. Can you try again please. Try standing a little farther back. “.  Of course there WAS a marked line to stand on, and Kodi had complied, but now moved farther back. They repeated the process two more times. FAIL.  FAIL.   She was told to leave her glasses on the final time.  OMG…she’d broken the camera!  

The male employee who had helped her previously,  came around the desk and said “ We think you are too tall for the camera angle, and it can’t be adjusted. Follow me.”

He took her over to where the VIP passengers had checked in previously. Another gal was ahead of her and two more were soon behind her. All Amazons.  Not really…and heck Tom is taller than her, as were many people still moving through the original line. 

The rep took care of the lady in front of her, and then proceeded to follow her down the jetway without saying a word.   Before she left though, she switched the camera to “out of service “.

Kodi stood there for a few minutes and then saw Tom, who had been waiting, standing in the jetway entrance, turn and head down to the plane. 

A few more minutes passed and when the other line was empty, the male employee walked over to see why the ladies were still standing there. He saw the camera message, sighed, and just asked for their passports and boarding passes, checked them through and they were on their way.  Kodi was the last passenger to board, and when she got to her window seat, gratefully collapsed into it, vowing not to move until they landed. 

It turned out they were a long way from flying anywhere.  It was a windy day…and when they sat at the gate for 40 minutes, they figured that might have been why.  There was an announcement however, that the ground crew was still loading the baggage. ??

Once they backed away from the gate and headed out to a runway, they turned quite a few times, and then stopped and sat for 20 minutes more…perhaps because they had missed their takeoff window, but there was no announcement made this time, and it was still very windy.

The flight was uneventful, with the usual drink and pretzel 🥨 service.

There were three fellows directly behind the Kodis who were still partying, and the couple of times Kodi tried to doze, she was jarred wake by cheers and laughter or her seat being kicked as they played some online games with gusto.  The seat mate next to them however, had his tray down and head on his arms for most of the flight, and whether he was just tired or ill, they didn’t know.

The 👩‍✈️ pilot was unable to make up time and they landed an hour late.  As soon as they pulled up to the gate, people were dropping their masks and making phone 📱 calls.  Many of course stood up,  in spite of the attendant requesting everyone to remain seated.  

10 minutes passed, and the attendant was back on the horn, explaining that Customs was backed up badly. They were going to be able to deplane only passengers with connecting flights at that time.  Customs officials would then allow them to release 50 people at a time, every 15 minutes. There were lots of curses and groans.  

Kodi and Tom were near the back of the plane.  The restrooms had been locked for landing, but someone said they needed to use one. First the answer was no, but then a child came down the aisle as well, saying they couldn’t wait if they weren’t getting off right then.  The crew relented, and opened them up. There was soon a line in the aisle waiting for the facilities, many hanging over their seats, on cellphones, no longer wearing masks.

The total time to empty the plane was an hour, with Kodi and Tom and two other ladies getting off last.  Their son was picking them up, and it was already 2 hours later then he expected them to be.  Kodi just hoped the wheelchair thing was going to work.  Yes!  There were 2 chairs waiting…one for Kodi and one for the elderly lady who had deplaned at the same time she did.

They headed out with one airport gal pushing both chairs. Kodi was really sorry she eaten so much at the buffet the previous day.  She asked if they could possibly make a pit stop, and they then continued all the way to customs.  She didn’t need to show her Arrivcan  App information, as the Customs agent said he could see that it was attached to her passport….?? The wheelchair assistance lasted until Tom got the luggage and loaded it up, and they were ready to exit.  Although, she did feel embarrassed during her ‘ride’ ( never likes to be the centre of attention)  Kodi was SO impressed.  She doesn’t know when she might travel in the future, or if she’ll have need of assistance during her transit , but she won’t hesitate now to request help if she needs it. 

They were driven to their son’s home, where they picked up their own car…and headed home after Tom cleared the inch of snow off of it, and warmed it up.  They were both bone weary when they drove into the driveway over 3 hours after they’d expected to.  They did have to smile, when they realized the house-sitter had warmed the house up, left a pansy bowl on the counter, and had put some surprises hidden  among the leaves of  Toms  ‘baby’ a huge Coleus plant he’d kept alive over the winter. 

It was still a great trip, because…VEGAS!   With medication, heat and rest, her hip pain settled down in 4 days.  On the 5th day, in spite of all the precautions they had taken, and not going out of the house since returning, she experienced her first Covid symptoms, and soon tested positive.  Tom tested positive as well, 5 days after that.  They were both well again after 2 weeks, except for lingering fatigue, and loss of taste and smell for Kodi for another week.  (Not knowing if that was going to persist, she was very glad that she had enjoyed lots of wonderful, tasty eats and drinks in Vegas. 😋🥰)

Being a true ‘Vegas Nut’, Kodi would return today if she had the means, even though her health issues will make it all more difficult.   The trip and such lousy gambling results brutalized their savings, so she’s buying weekly Lottery tickets (like she has for 40 years) , hoping for the big win, LOL.

She figures she needs some other source of income..much like the professional gambling career, Kiddo has recently launched 🤣. 

 

….or the commercial art career that Royal Flusher has embarked upon. 😉

(Royal Flusher may have retired from Veeblefetzer, but the Company has been immortalized…)

KODIDOG  JUST WANTS TO LEAVE YOU ALL WITH THIS THOUGHT……