A Harrowing Beginning
Posted By auntie on September 9, 2015
i know i promised a real hiking post sometime today, but that was before u.s. airways stranded me in philadelphia for 24 hours. yup. because the first plane had “mechanical problems,” and the second plane first didn’t have a flight crew for an hour, and then no working lavatories, requiring, yes, more mechanics, my flight from boston to philly was 3 hours late. and i had a 2-1/2 hour layover in philly to catch the plane to shannon. do the maths. the airline also would not release my luggage, which was also stranded in philly, so i spent the night, paid for by the airline, at the airport sheraton without a change of clothes. and to add insult to injury, there is, apparently, only 1 daily flight to shannon, so i would wind up losing an entire day of my trip.
the next day, after checking out of my luxurious accommodations, i still had 7 hours to kill at the airport. and yes, before you ask, i could have made the trip into the city to see the sights, but a) been there and done that already, and b) even if “a” wasn’t true, it was 80’s plus in philly, so no. at least i had a philly cheese steak (with provolone) and a local beer, so i did do at least one philly thing.
it’s hard to see here, but that does say “on time.”
i managed to kill the rest of my day by walking through all the terminals at the airport. all of them. philadelphia airport has what they call their “heART” healthy walk, with original art displays all throughout. it was, well, a good way to get a little exercise, i guess.
finally got on the flight to ireland, and it was blessedly uneventful. wish i could say the same for the rest of the trip. there was my seeming ineptitude concerning catching buses. i missed 2 at the airport—the second one just drove off as i ran up to it while gesturing frantically. but compared to losing an entire day of my trip, this was a minor bump.
i did finally figure out the bus thing, and was able to change uneventfully in limerick and killarney to finally arrive at my destination in cahirverseen. to be rewarded with this amazing view right across the road from my b&b. i can’t wait to get out on the trail!
It’s all behind you now. Just have fun!