I guess the beginning of my very anticipated trip to Las Vegas started on Thursday morning when I was just starting to think about what I was going to pack. I noticed that Vedder, our black lab, was not himself at all and he wasn't eating and was throwing up some gross stuff that I won't describe for all of you! I called the vet and they said that he should come in and when Chris took him in, they said he was dehydrated and they needed to put an IV in him and he should stay the night so they could keep an eye on him and try to figure out what was wrong with him. So, along with packing, I had that in the back of my mind.
Friday was Chris' 30th birthday and yes, I was flying out on this milestone birthday, but in my defense, there are only flights out of Rapid City on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays! And plus I wasn't flying out until 5pm that evening. Caiden went to the dentist that morning and Chloe and I started packing up my stuff. Both kids seemed really excited about spending the weekend with Daddy. Mean ole mom was hittin the road! Chloe told me about all of the fun stuff they were going to do while I was on the airplane. We went to Pizza Hut lunch buffet for Chris' birthday lunch and while we are there, we get a call from the vet. They did an X-ray of Vedder's throat and he has a needle and thread stuck in there! WHAT?? How in the world did that happen?? We have no idea. So, they tell us that they are going to put him under and then get the needle out and he should be able to come home at 5pm if he isn't too sleepy. So, we then head over to Dairy Queen to pick up Chris' blizzard cake. After getting home and eating some cake, I finished packing and we were on our way to the Rapid City Airport. Chris and the kids only had time to say good-bye quickly and drop me off at the curb before they had to turn around and get back to Belle to pick up Vedder from the vet so he didn't have to stay the night there again.
This is where the trip gets interesting. After checking in and going through security, I have about an hour until the plane is supposed to get to Rapid from Vegas and then we can get on and get to Vegas - ON TIME - this is what the computer reads....how wrong it was. It said on time for the next hour and then changed to "see airline" Well, in small airports like ours, the ticket agents are also the people who put you on the airplane and the ones who put the luggage on the plane and probably have to fly the plane at some point too! Needless to say, we would have had to go down out of security to talk to the people so we all just sat and waited. They FINALLY get on the speaker and say that they plane has been delayed (duh!) and that it should be getting to Rapid at 730pm. So, we would be flying out 2 and half hours later, but that was better than nothing. The plane came in around 750pm, and the computer even changed to "Arrived" so everyone started cheering. But that cheering started way too early - now the plane couldn't land because the fog was too thick. So, they circled around the airport for a while and then had to head to Bismarck to refuel and then see if the weather would clear up so they could come back to Rapid. And this is when everyone in the airport started drinking...and drinking A LOT. They waited until 10pm to tell us that the plane was not coming back to Rapid because the fog had not lifted and they would have to stay the night in Bismarck and we would try again at 1130am Saturday morning. This is the part that upset me and most everyone else in that airport - the airline would not get us a hotel room, because "it was weather related and out of their control" and not only that, but they wouldn't even help us FIND a room! A lot of people fly out of Rapid from different places because it's the closest airport so a lot of us did not live in Rapid, but they didn't care. So, there were some very angry people around! I met 6 very nice people from Gillette, WY and one of them had a cousin who worked at the Econo Lodge who would get us a good rate for a room for the night if we wanted to stay there. So, they invited me along with them, and we headed out to the airport shuttle to take us to the motel. We were under the impression that the shuttle would be free because we were going to one of the local motels, but when we got out, the driver asked for $11 each! That's $77 he just made on that one trip! Wow! But it was late and we just wanted to get to bed so we could get up in the morning and get back to the airport so we just paid it. The room ended up being only $45 and I shared it with another couple so we just had to pay $15 a piece so that wasn't bad at all - probably the only one high point of the night!
Saturday morning comes and we have to be back out to the shuttle at 830am so we can get back to the airport. The Rapid City Airport is 8 miles out of town and not near ANYTHING so it takes a while to get there. On the way there, we ask this driver why we had to pay the night before for the shuttle since we were going to the Econo Lodge. So, he calls his boss and asks why and his boss tells him it's because the Econo Lodge hasn't paid their bill to the shuttle so their account is past due!!! Of course this is the motel that we pick! Probably the only one who had an overdue bill! But it's in the past and we are looking towards the future of sunny Las Vegas! After checking in (again!) and going through security (again!) we have an hour (again!) until the plane is supposed to be getting back from Bismarck to take us to Vegas. 11am comes and goes and there is still no plane, but really, we aren't surprised about that now....it's just par for the course at this point. They get on the speaker and tell us that they had to do a routine maintenance check on the plane this morning so they are running "a bit behind schedule." Right, a bit....We didn't end up leaving Rapid City until 2pm - a full 2 and a half hours after we were supposed to. Of course the pilot and fight attendants tell us how sorry they are and to make it up to us, they are going to give us a glass of free soda!! Wow! How nice of them! Can you sense the sarcasm here??
We FINALLY get to Las Vegas and it's 4pm before I see my family and get my bag - yes, that would be 21 HOURS LATE. Now 21 hours might not seem like that much if I would have been going for a week, but when you are going going to be in Vegas for less than 72 hours, 21 hours is a lot!
And that ends the story of my VERY long flight to Vegas....more to come soon about the actual trip - which was really fun once I got there!
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