Thread: Travel Misadventures

As non-revs we know to prepare for possibilities - a 757 replaces a 767, weather shuts down a hub, or that wide open flight is suddenly oversold - expecting the unexpected is part of non-rev DNA. But sometimes something happens that's so completely out of the norm, that it throws the trip into another realm -
the realm of “ill-fated journey”.
I like to hear your tales of ill-fated journeys here’s mine.

We carved out a few days and let the ‘non-rev gods' determine our destination - London, and talk about luck we scored a hotel at a great rate AND F was wide open - talk abut a lucky streak - it was champagne and caviar all the way.
As we descended into LHR I saw dark clouds on the horizon, but this was London, one had to expect a little rain, besides we weren’t going to get too wet, the hotel gave us comp car service ( like I said we were on a lucky steak).
Well we sloshed our way to Buckingham Palace and through a Oscar Wilde walking tour (the walking tour was not my idea), spent a rainy afternoon in Harrods ’Food Hall and tramped though Hyde Park.
It was in Hyde Park that we ran into the protesters and saw banners about ‘mad cow disease’. Now to be honest I had heard about ‘mad cow’ before the trip, but exposure seemed slim as we had no intentions of visiting farms or coming in contact with cows, pigs, chickens or goats. In fact we wouldn’t even be eating any beef, as a lot of the London restaurants had “in an abundance of caution”, taken beef off the menu.
Besides Tony Blair(PM) was all over the news telling the world that everything was fine, Britain was open for business and “It’s Really Quite Alright."

It was on the flight home (F again) that our lucky streak came to an abrupt halt, an announcement asking us to “do our part……. “
It seems while we were splashing through London “mad cow disease” had risen to crisis level, “…those who had been in countries where mad cow posed a risk for introducing the disease into the States were asked to follow disinfectant procedures”.
You can just imagine how that went over - rumors were flying fast and furious.
By the time we landed some pax were actually expecting plastic decontamination tents and a boarding party wearing full protective gear, oh yeah imaginations were running wild.

CUSTOMS
We had to answer a few extra questions but those of us that hadn’t visited a farm, the zoo, or come in contact with any animals where waved right through.
Then the announcement that all carry-ons and shoes had to be hand inspected… and shoes would have to go into a disinfectant foot bath…………..what was that ???????
I looked down (remember that rainy afternoon in Harrods‘) at my new boots --
boots that had only trod the dry halls of the British Museum, the wet streets of London and the wet slippery floors of LHR because of a leaky roof.
Boots that I only wore because I couldn’t cram them into my carry-on.
These were the boots deemed a hazard to the entire US cattle industry not to mention, US goats, sheep, camels, elephants, giraffes and hedgehogs.
And the irony of it - shoes in luggage were deemed “clean” and not subject to the foot bath rule…. AHHH!
Then there was RJ’s ivory tooth necklace - Alaskan walrus not African elephant - but Customs couldn’t tell the difference and they weren’t taking any chances.
Talk about a trip ending on a low note, this trip had bottomed out figuratively and literally.
At least the French wine made it through.


BTW, it was later determined that full sole immersion wasn’t necessary, that wiping shoes on a disinfectant floor mat did the job just as well.
So much for being first up.


Let’s hear your travel misadventures