So after 5 days of waiting for our luggage, we were told by AA to call British Airlines, who in turn told us to go to Left Luggage in person at Manchester airport.
After arriving at the information desk, my husband and son-in-law were told to wait in line to contact Global Baggage Solutions on an internal number, the person on the other end of the line told them to call Rapid Air, who had a voicemail message informing them to visit whereismybag.co.uk, which is a website that is currently for sale. FRUSTRATION!
Finally, 6 days after leaving St Louis we received our bags and were able to wear something different.
What a roller coaster of a journey to our daughter’s in Manchester UK.
Late leaving St Louis due to a maintenance issue. We only had a 40 minute layover in Charlotte NC so now we were anxious that we wouldn’t get there in time for our flight to London.
Relief before landing when we find out that the London flight is delayed.
We get to gate in time only to find out the flight had been cancelled due to maintenance issues.
Waited 2 hours in line to rebook flights.
Overnight stay in hotel we arrive at midnight with no luggage as it has been checked to London.
Wake at 5am to book a cab to the airport as they wouldn’t let us book the night before then we were told the cab would be arriving in 5 minutes. Frantic rush to get downstairs in time.
Back at the airport and through TSA for 2nd time.
Catch flight to Boston 7:30am wait in Boston airport for 9 hours.
Taking a nap.
Stroll to the gate ready to board American Airlines flight to London then we realize we have been booked on to the British Airways flight which is leaving at the same time but BA is in a different Terminal. Up to this point I had been quite calm but now I went into panic mode.
Leave Terminal C look for shuttle bus stop, no shuttles so run to taxi rank. First cab driver refuses to take us because it’s not lucrative enough for him. Another taxi driver takes pity on us and takes the fare.
He hurtles around the airport outer road like a race car driver, we tip him well jump out of vehicle, run into the terminal then it dawns on us we have to go through security for the 3rd time.
We ask people to kindly let us through because our flight to London leaves in 10 minutes and they let us through. Why is it that whenever you are in a hurry your flight is leaving from the last gate in the Terminal. Gate 12 of 12.
We run as fast as we can after 9 hours of leisurely hanging around in terminal C. Relief as we see a few people still going through the gate to board. There was one final hiccup before we got on the plane, the scanner will not accept our tickets because we were originally flying with AA so they had to re-enter our info.
We boarded the plane collapsed into our seats and tried to catch our breath and stop our hearts from pounding. It turned out that we had a row of 4 seats to ourselves so we were able to stretch out a little.
It was a great flight, 6 hours passed quickly, watched 2 movies and arrived in London at 7am.
It was a breeze through immigration we arrived in the baggage claim area and then the repercussions of the previous day came down upon us. We waited and watched every piece of luggage from our flight pass by and get claimed until there were no cases left. Empty handed we walked to the service counter and were told that our cases were still in Boston. As we had experienced going through security the day before so had our luggage due to us changing airline, which meant it missed our flight out of the States.
We are assured by the service representative that when our bags arrive in London they will be sent to our destination in Manchester. To be continued …..,,,
Spring has come to St Louis. Last weekend it was in the low 20’s Fahrenheit and today it was in the high 70’s. So I decided to buy an annual membership to the St Louis Botanical Garden. It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time.
Now I can visit whenever I have some spare time, even if I only have a couple of hours, because the admission fee won’t be an issue. I am excited about seeing the spring flowers blooming and relaxing by the lake.
It does attract a lot of visitors and some may think that it is not that peaceful but if I am going on my own, I feel more safe knowing that there are other people around. I have always lived in cities so walking in the woods alone would not be relaxing for me. I know I would be looking over my shoulder at every little noise I heard.
Strolling in the gardens is also a great opportunity to take some photos to use for inspiration in my paintings at a later date. I love the architectural details as well as the trees and plants and the emotions I feel being so close to nature can be revived again as I scroll through the images.
I hope to capture some peace and tranquility in my art. Like the painting below called “The Enchanted Forest” which also has a sense of mystery around the shapes of the undergrowth found on the forest floor.
If you are interested in buying a print, tote bag or other decor items please click on the link below the picture which will take you to my website where you will find other paintings and photographs.
Blue mountain is a mixed media piece inspired by a 1930’s travel poster.
About 5 years ago I purchased a file of about 40 travel posters from the 1920’s and 1930’s. I love the bold colors and often geometric shapes that they contain. So far I have only painted two of them but I hope to use some of them in future paintings.
Assisi
This is the second painting of one of the posters. It is of the town of Assisi in central Italy, the birthplace of St Francis. This is a smaller watercolor & acrylic painting on watercolor paper.
In these paintings I have been able to combine my love of travel, nature and art.
It was great to have the opportunity again to visit St Maarten for a vacation this summer. Wonderful scenery, beautiful beaches and perfect temperature helped us to wind down and take a well earned rest from the business of church planting.
I decided to overcome one of my fears by taking a 2 hour boat trip with Kev. I have always stayed on dry ground while Kev and the kids have taken boat trips, but on this vacation I decided to go for it. The day trip was to a deserted island where he and many of the other passengers snorkeled while myself and a few of the not so adventurous were ferried ashore by motorized dingy.
After the snorkeling we had lunch prepared for us at an open air restaurant and then we sunbathed and swam until it was time to head back. I was so glad I didn’t give in to fear again and stay back at the resort, as this was the highlight of the trip for me.
The next day Kev drove me around the island so that I could take some “arty” photo’s as he calls them. So here are a few of them –
