The Journey
I have a long-standing goal to have a departure day go smoothly. Despite my best effort to fulfill that goal this time, it was not to be. We were running about right up until the last second buying forgotten items, dropping things off, and having a final breakfast at a favored local eatery. We arrived at the airport about ninety minutes before our flight. Jacksonville's airport isn't all that big, so that's plenty of time. Especially since the cats flew out the night before, so we weren't trying to get them and us checked in at the same time. Once we checked our bags (three cases and a box), we cleared security fairly quickly and settled into the local SkyClub.
It wasn't long before Delta announced a flight delay. Bad weather across the U.S. was wreaking havoc on air travel. We didn't mind. The lounge was comfortable and we had a long layover in New York. Our flight ended up leaving more than an hour late, but a brisk tail wind put us in JFK airport only about twenty minutes past our original posted arrival.
The SkyClub in terminal 4 is very upscale and spacious. Free food including a small buffet, salad bar, and desserts is on constant offer. There's also a full bar with free beer and basic spirits. It boasts a rooftop deck, as well, but the weather was lousy so we never even tried to find it.
The lounge was very crowded when we arrived, but we managed to find an area to call our own. The crowd ebbed and flowed during our stay. The earlier hours boasted more children (including a toddler indulging in an extremely loud and prolonged temper tantrum). The densest crowd hit around 4 p.m. Let me tell you, trying to get near the buffet when the after-work travel crowd gets there is quite a task. There's a lot of bobbing and weaving involved around the buffet as you try and get through the swarm of bodies.
The bad weather that held up our Jax flight only got worse as the day progressed. The cats' flight on United out of Newark was scheduled for 9:45 pm. Our flight was at 10:50. It wasn't long before our flight got pushed back for the first time. Later in the day, it was delayed further. At first, the cats' United flight wasn't delayed and I hoped they'd get off the ground far enough ahead of us that we wouldn't have to wait too long for them to be processed in Edinburgh. Alas, at 9:30, United posted the first delay. The cats finally took off around 12:30 a.m. We didn't take off until after 1 a.m.
I considered it too late to eat, so as soon as I was able, I converted my seat into a bed and went to sleep. A flat bed was one of the business-class perks I most looked forward to. I hoped I would at long last actually sleep en route to the U.K. I did sleep, but not as comfortably or as soundly as I imagined. I fell asleep fairly quickly and was unaware of dinner service. But I awoke after about 90 minutes. Then sleep came in short, fitful bursts. In all, I reckon I managed about three hours of slumber over a seven-hour flight.
We arrived in Edinburgh to an overcast morning. We deplaned and were herded onto a bus that eventually took us to immigration. We were divided into three groups: UK and EU citizens who had biometric passports who could use the automated entry system; UK and EU citizens who opted for one reason or another not to use the automated line; and non-EU nationals. We asked the border agent which line we should use. She pondered a bit and then seemed to arbitrarily select the middle line. We soon discovered why she didn't seem too concerned. Aside from the automated entry line, the others all went to the same bank of agents. Had we known that, we would have gone with the shorter non-EU nationals line. But by the time we realized the truth, another flight had arrived and that line was just as long as ours. Luckily, the queue moved quickly. We had a very nice and funny border agent, so my Scottish beginning was a good one.
After we cleared immigration, we collected our bags (and box) and went through customs. As if often the case, the "Nothing to Declare" side wasn't even manned. So we walked straight through and began the very long trek to the car rental center. The rain was kind enough to wait until we were under cover to begin, but it was still raining lightly when we collected our Ford Galazy people mover. We rented a large vehicle to accommodate our array of luggage and the cats' large flight kennels.
It wasn't long before Delta announced a flight delay. Bad weather across the U.S. was wreaking havoc on air travel. We didn't mind. The lounge was comfortable and we had a long layover in New York. Our flight ended up leaving more than an hour late, but a brisk tail wind put us in JFK airport only about twenty minutes past our original posted arrival.
The SkyClub in terminal 4 is very upscale and spacious. Free food including a small buffet, salad bar, and desserts is on constant offer. There's also a full bar with free beer and basic spirits. It boasts a rooftop deck, as well, but the weather was lousy so we never even tried to find it.
The lounge was very crowded when we arrived, but we managed to find an area to call our own. The crowd ebbed and flowed during our stay. The earlier hours boasted more children (including a toddler indulging in an extremely loud and prolonged temper tantrum). The densest crowd hit around 4 p.m. Let me tell you, trying to get near the buffet when the after-work travel crowd gets there is quite a task. There's a lot of bobbing and weaving involved around the buffet as you try and get through the swarm of bodies.
The bad weather that held up our Jax flight only got worse as the day progressed. The cats' flight on United out of Newark was scheduled for 9:45 pm. Our flight was at 10:50. It wasn't long before our flight got pushed back for the first time. Later in the day, it was delayed further. At first, the cats' United flight wasn't delayed and I hoped they'd get off the ground far enough ahead of us that we wouldn't have to wait too long for them to be processed in Edinburgh. Alas, at 9:30, United posted the first delay. The cats finally took off around 12:30 a.m. We didn't take off until after 1 a.m.
I considered it too late to eat, so as soon as I was able, I converted my seat into a bed and went to sleep. A flat bed was one of the business-class perks I most looked forward to. I hoped I would at long last actually sleep en route to the U.K. I did sleep, but not as comfortably or as soundly as I imagined. I fell asleep fairly quickly and was unaware of dinner service. But I awoke after about 90 minutes. Then sleep came in short, fitful bursts. In all, I reckon I managed about three hours of slumber over a seven-hour flight.
We arrived in Edinburgh to an overcast morning. We deplaned and were herded onto a bus that eventually took us to immigration. We were divided into three groups: UK and EU citizens who had biometric passports who could use the automated entry system; UK and EU citizens who opted for one reason or another not to use the automated line; and non-EU nationals. We asked the border agent which line we should use. She pondered a bit and then seemed to arbitrarily select the middle line. We soon discovered why she didn't seem too concerned. Aside from the automated entry line, the others all went to the same bank of agents. Had we known that, we would have gone with the shorter non-EU nationals line. But by the time we realized the truth, another flight had arrived and that line was just as long as ours. Luckily, the queue moved quickly. We had a very nice and funny border agent, so my Scottish beginning was a good one.
After we cleared immigration, we collected our bags (and box) and went through customs. As if often the case, the "Nothing to Declare" side wasn't even manned. So we walked straight through and began the very long trek to the car rental center. The rain was kind enough to wait until we were under cover to begin, but it was still raining lightly when we collected our Ford Galazy people mover. We rented a large vehicle to accommodate our array of luggage and the cats' large flight kennels.
By this point, we had been in Scotland about two hours. The Edinburgh pet center Facebook page says it aims to have all pets processed within three hours, so I was hoping the cats would be ready when we got there since they had arrived ahead of us. Alas, that was not the case. The facility had been hit with a large number of incoming pets that morning. The agent was just starting on Myrddin and Nimue's processing, so it would be another two hours.
Just what we didn't want: More waiting. Luckily, we stumbled upon a small retail area where we were able to get a bite to eat. We browsed around, bought a couple of items for the cats at a pet store we found, and some how managed to kill more than two hours. We decided to head back to the pet processing center even though we hadn't received the notification call yet. We figured we'd just wait in the parking lot. Luckily, we received the call that Nimue and Myrddin were ready when we were less than a mile away.
We were very happy to see the cats, but they weren't all that thrilled about being in a car for over three hours.
We finally arrived at our apartment around 6:30 p.m. The first thing I did was get the litter box set up so I could release the cats from their travel kennel. Thanks to the use of both Feliway Spray and Jackson Galazy's Spirit Essences, the cats adapted to their new home quickly. They spent some time exploring, then just settled down for the evening.
At long last, our Scottish adventure is ready to begin.
Comments
Post a Comment