Monday, September 06, 2010
Ominous Clouds (Surf Trip part 2)
About 10 days before Nick, Bob, and I were scheduled to fly down to Mexico, Mexicana Airlines announced that they were entering chapter 14 bankruptcy and cutting back on some flights. We worriedly checked the website and the news sites to see if our relatively inexpensive SFO to Huatulco flights had been canceled. We knew there was a big swell coming and if the flights were canceled, we wanted as much time as possible to use our travel insurance to purchase new flights. Luckily, we found out that the SFO to Mexico City flights survived unscathed, as did the Mexicana Click flights from MEX to HUX.
Reassured that we would probably have flights waiting for us at the airport, I thought that my only concern was whether or not I would be able to buy tropical temperature wax for Bob and I. Nick sent us an email on Thursday night, the day before our departure, to say that he had purchased the wax, but that his minivan, our chosen mode of transportation to the airport, had ceased to function. We debated various strategies for carrying three surfboard coffin bags, our backpacks, and our luggage, and eventually determined that Nick's son needed his (Nick's) other minivan more than my wife needed her minivan. Jane graciously assented to drive the kids around in my WRX for a week while I left the minivan in SFO long-term parking.
Having made it through two potential setbacks, we were still excited to be leaving for the trip, as we packed Nick and Bob's gear into my van and departed for SFO. Little did we know that ominous clouds were on the horizon...
Reassured that we would probably have flights waiting for us at the airport, I thought that my only concern was whether or not I would be able to buy tropical temperature wax for Bob and I. Nick sent us an email on Thursday night, the day before our departure, to say that he had purchased the wax, but that his minivan, our chosen mode of transportation to the airport, had ceased to function. We debated various strategies for carrying three surfboard coffin bags, our backpacks, and our luggage, and eventually determined that Nick's son needed his (Nick's) other minivan more than my wife needed her minivan. Jane graciously assented to drive the kids around in my WRX for a week while I left the minivan in SFO long-term parking.
Having made it through two potential setbacks, we were still excited to be leaving for the trip, as we packed Nick and Bob's gear into my van and departed for SFO. Little did we know that ominous clouds were on the horizon...
Labels: ominous clouds
