OK, well getting out of the airport took a bit longer than I thought. I don’t think we left until about 3am and I did not get to my frozen car until after 6am. When I finally got it going, paid up and left the car park I was just in time to hit the morning rush hour. Joy.
I had Internet issues at the airport after the last posting and my battery died shortly after so the Internet entertainment did not last long. I had plenty of time to get some healthy Burger King meat related products and have a wander through the Vegas airport departure area. That took all of 10 minutes. Vegas airport did, however, have one feature I’ve never seen before. They had an iPod vending machine. See picture below:
Kind of a neat idea to sell iPods and related products at the airport. I can imagine the disappointment, however, when some poor sod buys one to pass away the time at the airport and forgets that it won’t be charged. I tried to find a live plug to connect my laptop to but the only ones to be found were in a crowded area of the airport that was on the opposite end from our gate. All the other ones we could find were DEAD. That’s useful.
There was one additional element of excitement. After we had first got the airport and got through the security check (bags XRayed, etc) a blue light and alert went off. A bunch of us had just got through and us (amongst others) were kept from going anywhere else in the airport whilst they sorted out this security issue. It only took about 20 minutes. A sniffer dog came and went and various important and serious looking people in rent-a-cop outfits came and went. From what I could gather it looked like that an older couple had made their way through the security check and forgot one of their bags. I guess the security guys realised they had an extra bag that nobody seemed to want and wanted to get it cleared (hence the dog). I saw a sheepish looking older guy and his wife brought back and he collected his bag.
When we did finally get on the plane the flight was further delayed as the front landing gear needed some immediate maintenance so we had to wait 40 minutes on the plane before it even took off. When we got to Edmonton and it’s -35 wind chilled temperature we had a further delay as the ramp that connects up with the plane wasn’t working in the extreme cold. Cue another 10 minute wait before we could get off. Then there was the huge queue in customs but, to be fair, that went as quick as they could make it. Bags were there and straight outside into the cold to wait for the Park & Fly shuttle to take me to my car.
My car, reluctantly, started on the 1st try. There was this 5 seconds of a burning smell then it seemed to be ok (probably a belt of some sort not being able to turn something in the engine for a short bit due to the cold). Lots of snow drifts in the car park but fortunately luck was on my side and my car needed minimal snow clearing and I had a clear path to the booth to pay.
Got into the Park & Fly booth to pay my fees. Lots of people there. Waited my turn and played the people watching game. This poor woman came in looking for a boost as her car would not start. Amazingly the car park folks were not able to help her. First it was a case of having to wait for the shuttle bus to be free to help then she was told that they did not have any functioning vehicle at all with jumper cables (or, more likely, no jumper cables). I really felt for that poor woman and I have to admit I was a bit annoyed at the Park & Ride. They are managing a car park service near the airport. Think about it:
-
People will be leaving their cars for days at a time.
-
We live in CANADA.
-
CANADA can get COLD from time to time.
-
Peoples cars probably won’t start from time to time.
-
Having to give an occasional boost is part of the job.
Looks like another clue for sale is needed. I did not have any jumper cables in my car or I would have helped her.
I should probably look into getting some.
On that note… it’s supposed to be -38 tomorrow (no wind chill included). Food for thought.