Flight delay

You know it's amazing the way things are sometimes meant to work out. For instance, I was set to depart on a red-eye flight from San Francisco to Miami as I made my way to Barbados for my vacation. On the plane. Whoops, mechanical problems. All fixed. Set to go. Haha kidding. Still mechanical problems. So at 1:15am we are told to deboard the plane in hopes of hopping on a new one. Oh how they tease. Cancelled. So now I am stuck on a standby ticket on a 6am flight. The only flight that can get me to Barbados that same day. Lovely.

Frustrated I decide to step outside to get some fresh air. After sitting there a number of moments I am informed by a nice lady that I can't get back through security now until 4am. It is only 1:30am. So I settle in for a nice chilly night outside with the smokers, because after all those are basically the only other idiots who chose to exit the secured area. Addicts. Turns out one of them ends up being a pretty cool chica named Kristen. Kristen is a coast guard electrician who basically spends her life travelling about and fixing, well, electrical problems on ships. Makes sense. She is also more than likely into women. Just saying. Anyways, her and I ended up spending the nexgt number of hours shootin the shit and learning all about each other's travels, jobs and all that good stuff that complete strangers feel the need to exchange when they find themselves in the fun situation of being stuck outside the San Francisco airport at 1:30am in the morning.

Time flies, chat, chat, chat and then we finally saunter inside to get in line for security that opens at 4am. Oh ha, now that would be just too easy if that worked out accordingly right? Of course right. Security will now now open until 4:30am. Second in line we begin to do what we do best, which is apparantly talk to more strangers. Enter Heather and Steve.

We start going through all the same ol' intros. Where we are from, where we are going, were you on the cancelled flight too and so on. We get to the part about what we do for a living and whoa is me, these people are in the cheese and seed business here in California. No way. Did they know about Tillamook Cheese? Of course, they eat it. Did they know it was farmer-owned? Um no, bout now they do. Also come to find out they are going to be at the same event as my co-workers this weekend. Oh what a small little world. Just so happy to have found some kindred spirits we all go and grab some early morning grub. That is after we made it through security and everyone had fun pointing and laughing at my as I went through the additional pat down by the TSA. I now know that long skirts/dresses will guarantee you additional screening. Apparantly you can too easily shove some additional whatevas up there.

Heather and Steve are off to catch their flights after card exchanges, handshakes and an open invitation to come and tour their farm when I get back into the area. Oh wait, something possibly even cooler happened before the flight cancellation that I failed to have mentioned. Excited to be heading to Barbados, and honestly wanting to keep my goodbye buzz going, I decided to grab a quick drink at the bar. Little did I know I would be having breakfast at this same place just hours from now. This is where I met my first new friend of the day, Bob, or Robert if you please. After a good 30 minutes of good conversation about our lives, he was on his way to a funeral in Illinois, I spoke about my grandmother just passing and work stuff of course (and yes he likes our cheese). After learing more about my new friend - he's divorced but has a good relationship fir the most part with his ex, his cell broke today but got a new one just in time to head to the airport and stuff like that, he excuses himself to go and catch his flight. Before he departs he gives me his information with a personal invite for me and a friend to come up to Paso Robles where he lives and take an aerial tour of the vinyards. Back up, private plane ride? I ever so casually ask him as I am shaking his hand, "Oh, you have a plane? You fly?" Oh yes, yes, for years now and apparantly I really must come up and check it out.

Needless to say after what nearly caused me an anxiety attack, I am the last person to be allowed on the plane, I am finally off to Miami in hopes to get on my flight to Barbados! Just think, if it weren't for those lame mechanical issues I would have never met these great people. That is what I keep telling myself after loosing an entire day in the Barbadan sun.