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We knew that we was going to have a very busy time, what with sorting out invitations for the wedding, meeting freinds and family, getting the engagement pictures done and getting our outfits for the various receptions...we just didnt think how the trip would start.
The way it is, is that everytime I have visited Ivy, the trips have been eventful to say the least.
What can I say...On the Friday morning, I left Sunny Old England to start my journey to visit Ivy...with me wondering that the only trouble I may have, could have involved me being turned away by Immigration at New York and having to return home.
Well, I got that slightly wrong, as it turned out that immigration was the least of my worries, and you know that I was able to meet up with Ivy, from the details in the previous post.
The travelling was'nt so much a journey, a trek or a marathon, it was more of an endurance event that tested my mind and body to the limit...and even then, that may be a bit of an understatement.
The timings of the flights were that I would arrive in New York at JFK Airport at 2:30pm, New York time and get my connecting flight at 4pm, which would give me plenty of time to get through immigration, collect my bags, clear customs, re-check my bags onto the connecting flight, and check in for the flight, and the stopover time I had would be plenty of time to get all that done.
And who would have thought that 15 minutes could have had such an effect.
After an uneventful flight from London, it was touching down in a rainy New York that events decided to change slightly.
We touched down about 15 minutes late, which initself would not have been a problem, but sitting on the runway for 20 minutes was the begining of events that would dramatically alter the whole day.
The plane eventually makes it to the gate and we all manage to leave the plane for the long walk up through to Immigration and Customs. Surprisingly enough, I was through Immigration and Customs in no time...after all, we wondered if I may have been turned away at Immigration as they may have mentioned about the visa...but after just a couple of questions, I was through and on my way....or so I thought.
Baggage Reclaim.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, my bags appeared, just in time for me to notice that I was going to miss my connecting flight...which was confirmed when I went to recheck my bags in for my connecting flight. I was disappointed that I had missed my flight, but I was booked on a flight that left me with a 4 hour wait. The thing is, the airline was based in another terminal, so after being given the wrong info and wandering round and dragging my suitcase with me around the same terminal for a bit, I managed to get the correct info that I needed and caught the SkyTrain to the right terminal.
Unfortunately, you didnt step off the SkyTrain and into the terminal, you had to get across the road...and as it was New York, it was raining hard...so I ended up stepping off the kerb, straight into a puddle. I find which I think is the right terminal, only to find out as I squelched through the terminal, that it only dealt with arrivals and First Class and Business Class Passengers...so after changing my socks and trainers, I wander off to the right terminal, which was across the other side of the road, I go through the doors to find what seemed to be disorganised chaos.
There was people queing, left, right and centre...and no-one could tell which queue was for the security or for checking in.
After eventually checking in and getting through security, I managed to get in touch with Ivy, to explain whats happened and what time I should be leaving and the time I should be ariving and the fun that I've had so far in New York and make my way to the gate my flight is due to leave.
It turns out that a 4 hour wait, turned into a 7 hour wait, as every flight was delayed due to the weather, so we eventually board the plane at about 11pm, and as it was a small plane, it couldnt use the normal airport gates, the only way to board it was by walking across the runway and up the gangway. We slowly taxied off only to find that we was about the 50th plane in the queue to take off so we were stuck on the runway for an hour till we got airborne.
Luckily, the flight was uneventful and I finally managed to touch down in St. Louis, some 30 hours after I left the UK, and we still had a2 hour journey back to Ivy's.
