Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Back in Seattle...

Well we are home, got in last night about 9:30pm.  Had a lovely time at Houston's customs and also at security.  In Cancun we got picked at security for all our bags, they went thru everything!  Then we get to the gate and Graham is pulled aside with computer bag and searched at the gate. Whew ok on the plane, its only 2 hours to Houston and we had a hour and 15 minute layover before our connecting flight to Seattle.

We get to Houston on time and proceed to go thru immigration.  The lines are HUGE! So we get in one line, which of course has the immigration officer from hell questioning everybody, taking forever, so what do we do? Sneak over to the next line thinking aha, this will be quicker. Unfortunately someone else snuck in right in front of us at the same time, a mexican couple, women in a wheelchair and her son I think.  Can't exactly push them out of the way so we wait and we wait as they are fingerprinted and questioned and god knows what else.  FINALLY we get up to the officer and he is such an ASS!

So he starts with "why were you in Mexico"? Us, "travelling and buying property sir". "Why were you gone so long he says".  You know you want to say "what the F(#*)(''s it to you? So we say, "needed a long vacation".  He says "hmmmm, do you have more than $2000 dollars on you"? I say, "no". By the way whats with the $2000 dollar question? Isn't it ok to bring up to $10,000 into the US?

Arrrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh...then he says "do you have any duty free"? I say, "yes we have three bottles of tequila and four hundred cigarettes. So then Graham does all the fingerprinting thing and then he writes a big C on the form and says ok go.

So then we come to Customs, he see's the C on the form and says ok go over there...we walk into this big room with three people ahead of us in the queue and three people already having their bags searched.  By this time its about 40 minutes until boarding time.  We figured there is no way we are going to make our connection.  The people in line are grumbling about a police state and how this country isn't free anymore...blah blah blah....finally a guy gestures to us and says let me see your form.  Then he says "oh for gods sake", its because you have 600 ciggies not 400...unbelievable...he tells us forget and go.

Then we have to go thru security AGAIN! It is utter chaos! Huge queue, people beeping with metal objects and everybody being scanned and patted down.  We finally got thru.

We ran ran ran for the flight and JUST got on...it doesn't end there. As we board the plane I have the tickets and I ask Graham to look at them to see what numbers are seats are...seeing as I am BLIND without my glasses on...he says 30 C & D.  We proceed to our seat, we tell a women she is in our seat and she says "no I am not" we are like, yes you are look.  So she says her confirmation has the same number!  We get the flight attendant and he says "this is weird hold on a minute".  In the mean time I have started to get in my seat and one guy has moved over as he doesn't want the window...I felt like we were in a Benny Hill sketch.  Nowhere to move, people putting up their luggage in the bins and we are at the back of the plane.

The steward comes up and looks at the ticket as says "your seats are not 30 C & D, they are 10  C & D.  Hahahahahahaha....omg ridiculous! So Graham is as blind as I, but get this...he guides us to our seats and they are in Economy Plus Seats!  BONUS!


The End!

1 comment:

  1. What a bunch of hassles! Air travel is so stressful. Thank you for taking us along on your trip to Isla & Merida, and congratulations on your house purchase!

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