UPDATED - Summertime Flying Blues - Deplane Boss-Deplane!!!! & More Adventures!!!!

Well...made a little progress...we got on the plane, all settled in...and then told we had to deplane as Philly asked the pilot to wait another hour...ho hum...

So from what I understand, this flight goes back and forth between Philly and Richmond all day long.  So now that we have waited so long, the people are now here for the later version of this flight...so things are starting to spiral a little out of control at this point...rumors are that might cancel one of the two Philly flights...

Ain't modern air travel fun???

UPDATE

Waiting in the ticket line at about 7:45 pm waiting to speak with a US Air rep, they finally announced that our flight had been cancelled!!!  Not much of a surprise given that other flights in and out of Philly had already been cancelled.

I had been talking with a guy I had met from Tolland Connecticut (Ray, who also happened to be on the same flights as me on Thursday) and we had made tentative plans to rent a car and head up to DC where I have family (and he a brother) and then make our ways home in the morning.  Also in line behind me was a guy from Manchester NH and one from southern Maine where were all also trying to get home.  We had actually joked about the four of us renting a card an as drop people off as we worked our way through New England...

He got to the front of the line explained the circumstances...the girl working the desk (who I did not find to be all that with it earlier in the day) had been dealing with lines of annoyed people for hours, but seemed to be holding up pretty well.  Her partner at the other computer at the desk had a separate phone in each ear and was talking to a person trying to get them home as well.  I have to give them a lot of credit...they were troopers who most certainly went above and beyond the call of duty for sure.

I mentioned to the girl that if she found something for him, she could kill two birds with one stone, since I was headed to the same place.  At the last minute, she found a flight from Charlotte NC to Hartford that was leaving a little after 10:00...but the last shuttle to Charlotte has just finished boarding just across the terminal...she frantically printed the ticket and we bolted to the gate...

Just before the discovery of the new flights, I had asked about retrieving my bag that I had "gate" checked (as opposed to checking it at ticketing) my bag as I was boarding the plane the first time (BTW - this is a very sneaky way to avoid those annoying ASS fees that the airlines have started charging...as they don't charge you to check at the gate...the old "Oh...I did not realize it would not fit in the overhead" trick works every time!!!).  As I started to run away, the girls asked about my bag...to which I replied loudly and with much excitement..."Keep the damn thing, the suit smells [it could use a dry cleaning], my underwear is old [and yes, the used pair may has smelled as well]...and I don't give a shit!!!!!!!" Which garnering a chuckle from the crowd in line...always looking for a laugh I am...besides, the tag had my name on it and it will makes its way here eventually.

We arrived at the gate and the attendant was frantically trying to open the door (she fumbled the code input twice)...she opened it and we bolted down the Jetway just as the flight attendant was starting to close the door!  WHEW!!!  I was perfectly fine with having to fly several hundred miles south in order to cover the same distance to get home.

Walking down the isles to find a seat, I saw many familiar faces who had all be stranded in Richmond that I talked with through-out the course of our time in limbo...all going to different places like Syracuse, Buffalo, Binghamptom...since their connections in Philly were cancelled and they had found ways home from Charlotte.   I settled into a seat in an exit row and started talking with a few ladies...one of whom turned out to be headed to Hartford as well.  It seems that she had started her day much earlier in Greensboro NC (which is about halfway between Richmond and Charlotte - Geography Lesson HERE FOLKS!!!!), flown to Richmond and was supposed to be on the same flights as me to Hartford.  Very nice lady named Eve.

Since we were destined for the same place, Ray, Eve and I walked [what seemed miles] to the terminal in which our next flight was departing.  Thankfully, the flight was running only a few minutes late which gave us about an hour to kill...I noted that our terminal had a Phillips Crab House and suggested that take a reprise there while waiting for our flight, as I was famished.

Anyone who is from Maryland (which I am) will tell you that we are famous for a number of things including, but not limited too, crabs!!  For all of you sickos reading this getting a chuckle over the word, since I know that I most certainly would, crabs are a serious business in Maryland, especially along the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland's Eastern Shore (which, while it is in fact the eastern shore of Maryland, last time I checked, it does not have a western shore).  Phillips Crab House is one of the most popular places to eat in Ocean City Maryland, with people traveling hundreds and thousands of miles just to eat there (okhttp://www.phillipsseafood.com/index.cfm?page=menus&id=24 & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Foods,_Inc._and_Seafood_Restaurants) due to its outstanding all you can eat seafood buffet that includes, yup you guessed it, crabs!!!  Since we did not have time to enjoy the finest that Phillips had to offer, I went for a basic grilled chicken to which I added plenty of Old Bay seasoning...the Old Bay was just enough to take me back to the shores of OC and Bethany Beach DE from my youth...

Sorry...back to the present...we ate, boarded our final flight of the evening, went up, went down, deplaned, bid each other a final handshake goodbye...and went our separate directions.  An anti-climatic ending to a rather whirlwind two day trip to Richmond...all I can say is that after all of this...I so better get this job!!!