We Are Home
After some rather interesting aviation fun we have made it home. Besides the great security rant (see previous article) there were some other strange events that made the trip memorable. First and foremost was the infamous "sunbather incident." Seems a boat pulled up to the end of the active runway, and let people off to sunbathe in the jet blast. Silly airport decided that the safety of the nincompoops was in jeopardy, and shut down aircraft operations. Our Captain announced that we were number two for departure, after the fire truck went to the end of the runway and hosed off the sunbathers. Approximately 20 minutes later, we were allowed to depart, sunbathers having been vanquished.
On our way from Charlotte to IAD, we were flying an Airbus 319. if you're used to Boeing aircraft, you might become a bit concerned at the strange noises you hear on a 319. Lots of very strange noises coming from the cargo hold, lots of creaking, and on pulling up to the gate, it sounded for all the world like someone with a saw was trying to cut off the landing gear. After successfully navigating the vast sea of people who decide to cut in front of you then just stand in the middle of aisles, hallways, and other passageways, it was off to get the luggage. This took an eternity, during which we had plenty of time to try to scare up luggage carts. We soon found that there WERE none, even if you were willing to pay $3.00 in coins to rent one at the silly little stands. Luckily, a wonderful baggage handler came by and helped us load things, and pushed the cart ALL THE WAY to the new daily parking garage. What a wonderful person! Someone working hard for his money and being very pleasant about it. Of course he got a great tip.