I started my inner island travels on a very frustrating note. In fact, I was almost convinced that maybe God was trying to keep me off the flight. After a week of "the flight is full...no I think they're seats...I'm number 3 on the stand by list...no, I'm number 15....," I head to the airport determined that I will get on the flight because, well, I have to or it will throw my entire schedule off.
When I arrived at the airport, the ticket counter agent said it looked good and I should get on. However, when she went to print out my boarding passes, it refused to issue me my "ticket". ("Ticket" meaning a piece a paper that gets me through security but does not assign me a seat.) This resulted in trying to find one working pay phone while carrying around 4 pieces of luggage, two are large and weighs over 50lbs each. Eventually, I make it down the stairs and contact my brother who is clueless on the matter. So, I have to trek me and my goods back up to the 2nd floor to find a phone number for him to call and then back down the stairs. Okay, okay, I'm technically on an elevator, but that doesn't really make it much easier. (I was getting very frustrated, and Perry didn't help matters saying he just wanted to stay on the beach in Guam all week.) I gave my brother the instructions on who to call and what to do to clear my ticket, and since there was no way for him to contact me, I called him from the pay phone every 5 minutes until he answered again--thus, locking up one of my credit cards. To shorten this part of my saga, apparently in my booking process on the employee pass riders site, my credit card didn't fully go through. (It does show up in my bill as "pending", but I guess there was a glitch on their internet site--which just happens to be every other time I log on.)
Fast forward to the gate. They board the plane. They clear the first 9 non-revs. And then there is me...waiting...waiting...waiting...The captain comes off (bathroom run, perhaps?) and says don't worry, I'll get you on. But then he disappears. The others won't clear me because of weight. (If you are a band student, you are probably laughing by now.) Island flights are different than those in the US. There can be plenty of empty seats, but to get on a flight without a ticket depends on the weight of the cargo---groceries, mail, fish, more fish, rice, even more fish, etc that they have to carry to the islands. Eventually, Captain Sutherland comes back and says, "Just let her on and let's leave." And I'm on the plane! Then the aircon breaks on the plane. For those who have flown non-rev before know you are not on the flight until it is IN the air. Thankfully, they quickly fixed the problem, we pulled away from the gate, and I began to breath.
Fast forward to the end of the flight...I arrive in Chuuk. I am patiently awaiting my luggage. (Here there is no baggage belt rolling suitcases around. They simply hand carry them, set them down, and you pick it up.) And guess who has no luggage!? Not Perry; me silly people. Thankfully, I grew up flying standby knowing that if you don't make the flight, your luggage goes and you are stuck, so pack extra things in your carry on. However, I rationally thought this through and remembered that I still had an entire dresser full of clothes in Guam. So, if my luggage goes without me, no big deal. I still have clothes. I did not account for the opposite problem. Thankfully, again, that I'm no dummy. I arrived with the most important things in life...my toothbrush and my swimming suit! :) (I actually do have one change of clothes.) The next flight that can bring my luggage won't arrive for 3 days, so I washed what I wore yesterday in the sink last night. Sadly, this afternoon is filled with children's ministry. I have no craft supplies, no pictures, no...anything. (I did find 2 sets of post-it notes, 5 balloons, some index cards, some thank you cards I can cut up in my carry on.)
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