MyFace, Q and I arrived at Denver International Airport (DIA) an hour or so before our flight. Q, once again, got upgraded and was allowed to board early. While she sat on the plane, MyFace and I assessed the chaos at the gate. For some reason, there was only one gate agent and, at some point, a very retired Delta employee who was flying standby offered to assist with check-ins. After letting several through without questioning non-working barcodes and the like, she scanned our boarding passes, asked MyFace if she had a ticket for the little girl who went in ahead of us, then let us board.
As we passed Q in First, we both informed her the flight was going to be problematic. We found our seats and, a few minutes later, the woman who had just ‘checked us in’ boarded the plane, sat behind us and fell asleep. “I’m telling you, this flight is jacked,” I told MyFace. About twenty minutes later, the flight attendant announced there was a mechanical problem and everyone needed to deplane. “We called it,” MyFace proudly stated.
We called it alright. Four hours later we were still sitting at the gate waiting on a part for the plane. Around this time, the red jacket had advised people to consider rebooking. As Q and I were standing in line to do so, MyFace was tending to our carry-ons. Another passenger bypassed everyone in line and advised the red jacket that he needed his medications out of his suitcase due to a medical condition he “can’t remember exactly.” He was a little too young to have a memory disorder, so we figured it might be some sort of head injury or mood imbalance. After our assessment, Q looked over to MyFace and asked, “Did you take your meds?” I didn’t see that one coming and wasn’t sure Q was going to be ready for MyFace’s response. “Yes I took my meds. Are you afraid I was going to go nuts on people?” MyFace responded. There really wasn’t anyway Q was going to get out of that one.
Instead of just scheduling a later flight, we decided to extend our stay – courtesy of Delta, and fly out the next morning. So, after checking into our hotel, we hopped in a cab and headed downtown. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, eight hours after we attempted to leave Denver, we were ready for a glass of wine, or nine. They had an option for three flights of wine, a tasting if you will. So, we each opted for the tasting and quickly went from missing one flight to gaining at least nine. Although others may have seen this as an inconvenient flight delay, we saw it as a much needed extended stay.