Getting There Is Half The Fun?

Having decided to cruise the islands of Polynesia on the Paul Gauguin, Pat and I were faced with the daunting prospect of twenty-four hours of airline travel before we boarded our cruise to paradise. No way Jose! We decided that we needed at least a three-day layover on Tahiti, the point of embarkation, in order to realign our minds and bodies to the local time zone. Therefore our arrangements with Radisson Seven Seas included three days at the Le Meridian hotel. Ah! Sandy beaches, palm trees and blue lagoons.

Packed at last, all check lists (there have to be check lists) checked, bills paid, mail and newspapers on hold. We were off! First to Raleigh, a mere two and one half-hour drive north along scenic I 40. If you've ever driven this stretch of road from Wilmington to the I 95 corridor you know what boring really means.

Now Pat was a little worried about the connection in Dallas/Fort Worth. After all 40 minutes didn't seem like a lot of time to get from C terminal to B terminal. But I assured her that American Airlines knew what they were doing and we'd have more than enough time. RIGHT!

The plane landed on time, but as you know by the time you get to the gate and unload you've lost at least fifteen minutes. On the flight I had determined from the airline's magazine diagram of Dallas/Fort Worth that we would be best off taking the airport train all the way from terminal C to terminal A and around to terminal B. I have ridden roller coasters that ran smoother than that train and had fewer ups and downs. Finally getting to terminal B we had to go up an escalator and across to a down escalator. Fancy that! The down escalator wasn't working! Taking both carryons and giving Pat the smaller camera case I vaulted down the stairs (sort of). Just around the corner was the gate for our departure. Only fifty feet away. I turned and assured Pat (who can't vault down stairs) that we were going to be all right. We were (by less than five minutes). Thanks a lot American.

But now our troubles were over. (Bet you know what happens next). We had a two-hour layover in LA before boarding our AOM flight for Tahiti. The flight to LA was on time and everything was swell. Well, maybe not the food but it was American Airlines.

Departing the plane our only concern was how to get to the International terminal. And lo there appeared a representative of Radisson Seven Seas paging Mr. and Mrs. Richards. We thought they were going to help us on our way. But NO! Our flight to paradise had been canceled. Seems one of the pilots hadn't shown up in Paris. No flight from Paris to LA...no flight from LA to Tahiti. They were very sorry and AOM had made reservations at the Airport Sheraton for the night. Hopefully the flight would arrive from Paris the next morning and we would be on our way.

Ok we'll lose half a day on Tahiti. That was one of the reasons we wanted some time before the cruise. Besides AOM had also given us coupons for dinner at the hotel. Packing our carryons we had wisely considered the possibility of lost luggage. Therefore we were prepared for the unexpected overnighter. However by the time we got to the hotel and checked in it was 9:00 PM LA time and our bodies were running on Midnight. A quick liquid transfusion and we were ready for bed.

The next morning dawned with high hopes and expectations. After an excellent buffet breakfast, courtesy of AOM, we packed and were off to the airport where a 1:45 PM departure was expected. The AOM flight from Paris had arrived at 10:00 AM that morning. HURRAY. Getting through the ticket counter and into the waiting lounge was no tougher than normal. We waited. Finally we were boarded on buses and I swear we drove until I think we reached the outskirts of Encino. There was the plane already holding a host of Paris passengers who were probably more anxious than us to be off. We boarded and waited. And waited. And waited. It seems the automatic pilot didn't show up in LA. Without an automatic pilot the plane couldn't fly all the way to Tahiti. Please disembark while the technicians try to fix the automatic pilot.

More coupons for dinner at the airport restaurants. More waiting. We went up at five and got some dinner, and during the meal we were all paged to return to the waiting lounge for reboarding. Hurry up through security. Wait for the buses. Back to the plane and board. Will we make it? Yes, and at 6:30 PM the plane was off for the warm, sunny climes of the South Seas.

Before we get to Paradise let me say that the food on AOM was first rate. The only problem was that dinner was served 30 minutes after takeoff, just one hour after we had used the AOM coupon to eat airport restaurant food. Pat and I didn't care. We had paid for that meal and we were going to eat. The wine was French, but oddly the cheese was American. Laughing Cow. Viva the global economy.