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Musical Airports

Never trust an airline to get you to your destination on time.

The boys and I spent the week in Montreal with my parents, and Pierre’s dad or as they are better known: Grandpa, Grandma and Grand-Papa. Pierre was working, so he arranged to fly to Montreal on Thursday morning, to spend the weekend before we drove home with the boys on Sunday (I’m actually writing this as we cruise down the I-81).

Or that was the plan, at least.

Pierre booked his flight with an airline, which will remain nameless, using frequent-flyer points. He had to take a small layover, since there were no direct flights. He booked an early flight, 6:15 a.m. to make the most of his time in Montreal. This meant an extremely early wake-up (3:15 a.m. OUCH!), but we’ve all been there. No problem right? His first leg of the trip went pretty well. No delays, and he arrived in LaGuardia with enough time to grab some breakfast. He knew that his flight from LaGuardia to Montreal was delayed by an hour: Nameless Airline had given him a courtesy call the night before, at midnight no less. How kind.

Guess what? His flight was cancelled. Completely. Gone. Thank you so much for flying the friendly skies. He was rebooked on a flight into Montreal leaving at 6:30 p.m. that evening, with no guarantees, since he was flying on points. Awesome (read that word in your most sarcastic voice!).

Now, being a resourceful guy, Pierre looked into other options. Turns out, there was a flight to Ottawa leaving at 9:40 a.m. Would the boys and I come and pick-him up? You bet!

Benjamin, Nicholas and I loaded into the car, picked up Grand-Papa, and (after making sure Pierre got on the flight after even more delays), made our way two hours down the 417 to our nation’s (Canada, that is) capital. The boys were very excited. We were going to pick-up Papa! Awesome (read that one in your most excited voice!)!!

Turns out, we beat Pierre’s flight to the airport. He was delayed, arriving just before two o’clock. All because of a broken toilet on the plane (it’s a 55 minutes flight. HOLD IT, for goodness sake!!). Eventually, Nameless Airline brought in a replacement plane. The passengers boarded, taxied down to the runway, and…had to turn-back because the crew had forgotten the luggage and bags on the broken-toilet plane. Hmmm….c’est pas fort. Somebody forgot to eat his Wheaties that morning. After all the delays, driving to Montreal from Pennsylvania would have been quicker.

In the end, Pierre arrived in Ottawa, safe and sound (and isn’t that the important part anyway?). We went for a nice lunch in the Byward Market, pointing out Parliament Hill to the boys on our way, before driving back to la belle province (which, for all my American friends, is Québec’s nickname).

An unplanned field trip to Ottawa (one of my favorite cities, by-the-by). Well worth it.

xo Naomi

P.S. More to come about our Montreal visit.

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