My husband and I drove to B.C. in July to greet our newest granddaughter, due on July 27. We drove because what we saw on the news about air travel after the pandemic was pretty scary: lost luggage, cancelled flights, long line-ups, etc.
We waited for the entire week we were there. Then, finally, when the baby hadn’t arrived, we decided to head home without greeting her upon arrival. We were delighted to have spent quality time with our other two grandchildren and excited to celebrate our first granddaughter’s second birthday with the family. Rayne was born during the pandemic, and this was the first time we met her.
Wee Bella (Rosabella) was born on Aug. 4, two days after we departed B.C. We received the news as we crossed the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border and just about turned around.
If we had known then what we know now, we would have turned around. But instead, we began to plan a return trip immediately. This time we would fly out and meet wee Bella, with the bonus of celebrating our grandson Rowen’s fourth birthday with the family in October.
As a surprise for our daughter, we brought her sister with us; the girls hadn’t seen each other for many years, partially due to the pandemic. So the arrangements were made in August: we would all fly out together, and we would leave on Nov. 2, while Carleigh wanted to stay some extra time, so she was to fly by herself on Nov. 5.
After an incredible four days, including the birthday party and accompanying the kids on their Halloween adventures, we packed up our bags and repeated our tearful goodbyes.
They live in Creston, B.C., an hour and a half drive from Cranbrook, where the tiny airport is located. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:55 a.m., so we rented a hotel room in town for the night so we wouldn’t have to drive through the mountain passes in the dark.
The snow had started to come down as we drove, but we weren’t too worried at the time. Then we saw the news that Calgary (where we were changing planes) was about to be hit by a massive snowstorm, and we began to worry a little bit.
Morning came with an email informing us that our flight to Calgary had been cancelled due to the weather.
Panic began to set in as we were scheduled to be back at work the following morning. Our dog/house sitter was only supposed to be there until Wednesday morning (she has a life, too).
WestJet informed us that we were scheduled on a flight out the next night at 9:45 p.m. Therefore, we should arrive back in Kitchener/Waterloo by Thursday night.
OK, that’s fine. We informed our respective employers of the delay and extended our stay at the hotel. Luckily the car rental place hadn’t rented out the vehicle we were driving, so we could keep the car for another day (for additional fees, of course).
Oh, and our dog/house sitter (my co-worker Melissa Dunphy, reporter extraordinaire for the Listowel Banner) agreed to stay an extra night as she had fallen in love with our little spoiled Japanese Chin. She didn’t want him to be alone, even for one night.
At most hotels, checkout time is 11 a.m., and where we were staying was no different. For $50, we could purchase an extended stay until noon. We checked out at 11. That seemed a bit much for an extra hour.
We drove to the airport, about a 15-minute drive from downtown Cranbrook and ran into a gentleman in the parking lot who worked for the car rental place. We told him our story, and he talked to his boss, who permitted us to take the car for the rest of the day for no charge.
The Cranbrook Airport has no facilities for eating; the tiny restaurant didn’t survive the pandemic. There were vending machines where you could get a $3.75 pop, but no food.
The lovely gentleman suggested we head down to the local library to wait where it was warm and near amenities, and bring the car back closer to departure time.
Around this time, we began to get notifications that our scheduled flight was delayed due to a ground crew shortage. Then we got another, pushing the departure time to almost midnight. However, we would still be able to get our connecting flight in Calgary on time, so we didn’t worry too much.
By this time, we were pretty tired of sitting in the library. This experience left me feeling a little lost and somewhat homeless, a situation neither of us ever wanted to be in again. I spent many years homeless, and it is not something I ever want to repeat.
So, back to the airport we went. We figured we may be able to get on an earlier flight if there are empty seats. So, we went and got some puzzle books, and I picked out a novel, grabbed some cookies and chips to munch on while we waited, and settled in at the tiny airport for the long wait.
A plane leaving for Calgary landed while we were there. The lady at the check-in desk indicated that if there were any empty seats, she would get us on that plane, so our hopes were raised slightly. At one point, she waved us over and said there were five no-shows and that we might be able to have two of those seats.
I bolted past her to security and began loading my stuff into the bins when I realized I didn’t have a boarding pass; I had gotten so excited I forgot that part.
Then the disappointing news was that we couldn’t have any of the empty seats because the folks who purchased the tickets had checked in online, and they had no idea how to remove them. The poor lady was almost in tears (as was I), apologizing profusely.
So, we returned to our airport seats to wait for our delayed flight. Finally, at 7:30 p.m., they came out and told us that our flight had been cancelled.
I began to cry. The emotional roller coaster was just too much for me.
Our new rescheduled flight was for 6:55 a.m. the following day, they told us, so that made me feel better; there was still a chance to make our connecting flight and get home.
I opened the email with our new tickets and noticed something they hadn’t; it wasn’t for the next day; it was for Nov. 6, three days from then. So, back on the emotional roller coaster, I pointed this out to the attendants. Already stranded for two days, and now a third, I told them this was utterly unacceptable, and we needed to get home. Is there anything to be done?
It turns out there was, but it involved being flown to Toronto instead of Kitchener, where our car was parked.
WestJet paid for a night at the Prestige Rocky Mountain Resort in Cranbrook, including meals and the cab fare to and from the resort (about $50 each way), and authorized a cab voucher to be picked up in Toronto, which would take us to our car in Kitchener (about $250).
We agreed and were placed on a flight for the following evening (Friday) to connect with the “red-eye” to Toronto, landing early Saturday morning.
After a five-hour layover, we were finally on our way home.
As we waited for our one checked bag, the carousel went around and around, people got their bags and left, but we sat there, watching for ours, realizing that it wasn’t coming. Yes, on top of all of that, they had misplaced our bag.
The silver lining in all of this is that we got to meet wee Bella, spend quality time with our family and make beautiful memories.
The rest of it, well as uncomfortable as it was, as annoyed as we got, now that we are safe and sound at home and our lost luggage is found, and on its way to us, we realized that it was really just a short amount of time, all things considered, and we were not going to dwell on the bad, only the good. The sweet smell of a new baby, the joys of spending time with family, and the wonderful feeling of having your heart burst right out of your chest with love are enough to combat the delays and disappointments that follow.
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Cory Bilyea is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with the Wingham Advance Times. She can be reached at cbilyea@midwesternnewspapers.com.
