TOD:
which of my "favorite" travel experiences would you like to hear?
On my first flight overseas we had stopped in Montreal (from LA) to refuel. One of the engines caught fire just as we were about to take off. I found that rather unsettling, especially because I'd only flown once or twice before--and never over water.
Then there was the business trip to Hawaii to teach a class. I was returning the rental car and about to head home when the rental agency refused to accept the voucher for payment supplied by my company's accounting department. I called the mainland; said accounting department kept insisting that the voucher was good, said rental agency kept insisting it was not. I was caught in the middle and afraid I wouldn't be able to get home. I now have very strong feelings that any organization sending people out on travel should see to that individual's welfare FIRST and deal with the details second. They should also provide a company credit card for emergencies, which they did not. (This was a well-known company that both Der B and I used to work for.)
Then there was the business trip to Europe, which my boss's boss was also on. We arrived at Heathrow. His luggage came right away; mine did not. We waited and waited. He was getting impatient. I finally spotted it, grabbed it and we were off--only to find, once at my hotel, that, although the bag was identical to mine, even down to the scratches, it was not mine. It was also not locked and a piece of paper inside held the name of the owner. Not only did I feel awful about grabbing someone else's luggage, I had no clean clothes and had dinner plans with said mucky-muck. I phoned the airline--TWA, I think--and they reunited both bags with their respective owners the next morning. I went to dinner with only a shower and no clean clothes. But with patience it was resolved.
