Evermore Enroute

April 26

The first flight ended in Chicago with no unplanned consequences. The international terminal required us to leave the secured area and travel to another terminal on a train. We got there and through security rather quickly, well, except Rob and Jason, for each had a setback of sorts. Rob accidentally left something in one of his pockets which set off the alarm and he had to be body searched. The officer found a couple airpods he had forgotten about but still promptly let him go on.

 

Before the trip, all four of us made sure to sign up (and pay) in advance for TSA Pre-check in order to make the security process easier. For some reason Jason’s boarding pass did not show his TSA pre-check status so he had to go through the regular security line. Having the pre-check service can save quite a bit of time. It allows us to go through security without having to remove any clothing or remove any contents of our bags. The rest of us were through the line in 10 minutes. Jason took closer to 30 minutes and required the usual process including the removal of his shoes and belt and electronics in his bags. Jason was questioning why his pre-check status didn’t print on his boarding pass. I was questioning how it happened to Jason instead of Rob. But there was time, the trip was only beginning.

 

After security we went to the only lounge available to Priority Pass members, but the lounge was full so they were unable to admit us. We found a nearby restaurant and had a quick bite before going to the gate.

 

Our next flight was to be about 8 hours and would bring us to Heathrow in London. During the boarding process we were called to the desk via the loudspeaker. We almost didn’t go because they mispronounced our names. Come to find out they didn’t allow electronic boarding passes so they printed physical cards for us.

 

This was the first time any of us had been on a double decker plane so we enthusiastically booked seats on the top floor. Turns out that although Rob is not fond of flying, he is fond of the planes themselves and had always wanted to ride one of these, so this was another dream come true moment for him.

 

After being airborne, it was apparent that a second floor doesn’t make much difference at 39,000 feet.

We entered and exited the plane from a boarding ramp directly on the second floor so we never even saw if there was a stairwell between the floors and the whole experience seemed no different than any old one level jet. But it was smooth, very smooth. We could barely tell when the plane was moving and couldn’t tell when the plane took off. I thought we were still on the runway when someone opened a window to discover we weren’t. 

 

The seats were the usual size for economy, about what you would expect to see in a grade school classroom; cramped, tight, restrictive, compact and small, all of which translates to no room to stretch out; we had to stand up to even breath deeply. The meals were very good but trying to eat in such a confined space is always a challenge. After a nice meal of “chicken and mash” (chicken in mashed potatoes, basically like a shepherd’s pie) the lights were lowered and we spent the next 6 1/2 hours wishing we could actually get some sleep. The experience was miserable at best. I sat there imagining myself being tortured so I would feel better.

 

Before landing we had a very good breakfast of “turkey ham egg cheese sandwich” which was a bit confusing as we thought they were offering choices. It was interesting to note the portion sizes on British Airways compared to American. They had tiny little drink cans and cups, again, the size we would expect in grade school, no big gulp cups on this flight.

 

We disembarked and began what literally seemed like miles of walking. Signage was not very clear and we wandered so long we were all doubting our location and not even sure we were still in the airport. We wandered up and down several levels and through many corridors until we finally asked for help and was directed toward the correct gate. We were told that all bags must be checked and an agent printed luggage tags and placed them on our carry-on bags. We left them with the agent and proceeded through customs and on to the next gate. 

 

Customs here in the UK was rough and they didn’t follow the rules of the U.S. nor did they care about TSA pre-check. They required all passenger to remove any kind of liquid or not so liquid and place it in a see-though baggie, including toothpaste and chapstick. I thought I was being proactive and put every electronic device, cable or related items in one bag ahead of time and they even had me empty that. Practically every part of our luggage was out of order. So much for the meticulous packing to get everything we needed into one carry on.

 

We arrived at the gate just as the boarding process started. As they called our group to board we were directed to pass through an entryway much like the turnstiles you would find when boarding a subway. We had to step into the little stall, place our boarding card on the scanner while our face was also scanned and if all was accepted a light would show green and then the gates in front would open to let us pass. Well that is how it was supposed to happen. 

 

Rob was not granted access like the rest of us, his light instead turned red. He repeated the process again, red! He flipped around the boarding pass, moved it around awhile until he set off an alarm. He backed up and waited until the machine reset and he tried again. This time he removed his hat for the facial scan and placed his boarding pass back on the scanner. Again his efforts were met with red lights and alarms. He attempted it a third time and a fourth, all met with red lights and more alarms. The rest of us were trying to decide if we should help or run. I stayed, we reviewed the procedure together, there was a diagram where to stand and where to look and what to scan so he made another, yet successful attempt this time, and we were finally allowed to board the flight to Inverness, Scotland. 

 

As we pulled away from the gate his Apple watch alerted him that his luggage was left behind. We started thinking. When the agent stopped us and put luggage tags on our bags, there was no place to put our bags and none of us saw a conveyer belt or any other luggage. We all assumed the agent was taking them but none of us actually saw him take our bags anywhere and we just left. As of this writing we are still on this flight and still wondering if and when we will see our luggage. 

 

The flight was short and uneventful and our luggage arrived with us so that was a relief. In front of the small airport were taxis, one of which we hired and the driver took us right to our apartment in the downtown area. This was our first of three nights in Inverness. The town looked fun and exciting, made up of some very old and ornate buildings. Our apartment was an Air BnB on the second floor of a really beautiful old building and situated right on the river front. Directly across from us on the other side of the river sat Inverness Castle, which unfortunately was under renovation. We wouldn’t be able to visit it but we did enjoy the superb view.

 

Although we were checked into our apartment relatively early, by 4 PM, we were exhausted. We had missed an entire night's sleep and so there would be little exploring for the day. It was a challenge enough just figuring out the accessories at the apartment. It was 47 degrees when we landed and there was a cold breeze blowing along the river, and being just the start of their Spring things were still quite cold. The apartment had some kind of heating units which we had trouble figuring out but aside from that the place was very nice and comfortable.

 

We left the apartment only once to find a bite to eat. We located a small shop run by Indians that had a nice selection of Middle Eastern foods and local cuisine and we all decided on the typical fish & chips, what else for our first meal in the UK.  The fish was huge compared to our standards back home. It was a whole fish, so large it was hanging off the plate.

 

After dinner we found a grocery store for tea and coffee and went right back to the apartment. The wind had picked up and it seemed the temperature had started to drop and we were really starting to feel the cold. We were second guessing if we brought enough clothing for the weather. The room was also still quite chilly and there was no heater in the bathroom. 

We unpacked a few things and located all our electronics and left them to charge, spent a little time trying to connect with friends and family back home and soon it was 10:00 and we were all headed to bed.