Travelogue Toronto – Day 3.5: Getting Home

What a mess!

It is amazing what a little snow can do! If we were in someplace like Washington D.C. or Atlanta, I could understand the city being thrown into such chaos by a mere 8 cm (3.15") of snow. But c'mon! Toronto? Excuse me, but being in Canada, are you sure that you couldn’t have dealt with a bit of snow? I mean you have seen it before, right?

The snowstorm, wreaking its havoc since early this morning, is still going strong. There is not really all that much snow, but it is falling pretty constantly; there was rain last night so the roads are slicker than the relatively small snow accumulation should account for; and all-in-all, it is just a bad day to be on the road.

So it is a bit of a shame that that is exactly where I am! Well, technically, I am in the departures lounge at Pierson International Airport in Toronto waiting for the 17:20 flight to Denver. I understand that it is warm and sunny there!

I left the client at about two this afternoon. It took just over two hour to get to the airport (a trip that should take less than an hour). Checking in, the flight was still showing on the board as being on-time. Clearing customs and passport control (you do that in Toronto instead of waiting to arrive in the states) the flight was still showing on-time. Checking in my baggage, it was still showing on the boards as being on-time. So when the guy who scanned my ticket at the entrance to the security screening area said "uh-oh" I had no idea what the problem may be.

He explained to me that the problem was that my flight was now showing a scheduled departure time of 18:40. No prob. I cleared the screening, grabbed a sandwich and a diet coke and headed to the gate. By the time I arrived, the flight was now scheduled for 19:10. It's now nearly that time and there is no plane at the gate.

When I had arrived, I had assumed that the plane sitting on the tarmac was my plane… until I looked at the board and realized that the plane there was headed for Washington D.C. Oh Well.

An hour and a half ago they announced a flight that was flying down to Houston. I knew that I could connect through Houston back to Denver, but I figured that the thirty minutes remaining before my flight left would be less than the flying and transfer time of going out of my way to Texas. I am beginning to wonder if I should have switched planes.

The gate agent has just announced that our plane is circling the airport. I suppose I should pack-up my PC and get ready for the flight.

Wherever you are going today, I wish you safe travels.

Don Bergquist – 23 March 2011 – Gate 146, Pierson International Airport, Toronto, Ontario, Canada