Will I EVER make it to Canada? Skeptical Captain is skeptical...

OK...so I went to the Jacksonville airport AGAIN, and what happened? Lightning strikes. Simple lightning strikes. So, they shut down the entire airport. "Nobody ain't going nowhere!" is what they announced over the P.A. in that familiar southern vernacular.

So, I'm beginning to think that I will NEVER get out of Jacksonville and head to Canada. Hmmm...we'll see...

In the mean time, enjoy the video clip that I made from the Jacksonville "International" Airport....

The Kanuks Pull a Fast One on Me...

I'm a bit upset right now. I was supposed to be arriving in Calgary, Alberta right about this very moment. Instead, I'm sitting in Candide's main saloon. So, what happened?

This morning, I woke up early (well, early by my standards...9:00 a.m.) took a shower, finished packing, and drove to the Jacksonville International Airport...about 40 minutes away.

I was supposed to fly out on an Air Canada flight, but this airline doesn't actually send their own planes to Jacksonville. Instead, they partner with United Airlines to provide services to cities deemed unworthy to host actual Air Canada planes. I knew this before I arrived, and headed straight to the United ticket counter.

As I was standing there looking at the United arrivals / departure sign, I didn't see my flight listed. In fact, I didn't see any planes at all leaving at 12:15 p.m., which is when my flight was supposed to take off.

When I got to the counter and told them who I was, they recognized my name. "Oh, Mr. Doty! Your flight left about 10 minutes ago! We were expecting you earlier!"

Well, isn't that grand. It only took a few minutes for the ticket agent to figure out what happened. I ordered my tickets in July. Sometime in September, my flight was canceled and I was booked on a different flight. One that left Jacksonville two hours earlier.

United said that Air Canada should have notified me of the change (they didn't). When I talked to Air Canada, they said that my corporate travel agent should have notified me of the change (they didn't). Nope. Two airlines got together and decided to change my flight plans without telling me. A conspiracy!

Air Canada was nice enough to change my booking for a 6:00 a.m. departure from Jacksonville with a 6 1/2 hour layover in Chicago on Monday. This would put me in Calgary around 5:00 on Monday afternoon.

When I told my Canadian business partner of this change, he informed me that our Calgary business would be complete by the end of the day Monday...and that most of Tuesday was going to be used to get from Calgary to Toronto. He suggested that I skip Calgary all together and just meet him in Toronto on Wednesday morning.

So, I called Air Canada back and had them re-rebook my flight. As it stands now, I'll be in Toronto around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Ain't travel fun, eh?

"I've Been Everywhere, Man!" is a song by the late Johnny Cash in which he quickly sings the names of dozens and dozens of places he's visited.  It's a catchy tune...and good traveling music!

"I've Been Everywhere, Man!" is something that I'd like to be able to say when I'm bragging to the other Generation Xer's in my old folks' home many years from now.  I've got a pretty good start on this goal.  Through business and pleasure travel, I've been to every state in the U.S. except Alaska and North Dakota (and who in their right mind wants to go there, anyway?). 

More interesting, though, are the countries I've visited.  So far, I've been to Canada, Mexico, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, the U.K., Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bah Rain, the Bahamas, Cuba, Korea, China, Japan, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Serbia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Guatemala, New Zealand, and the Dominican Republic.  And before 2009 has ended, I'll be visiting at least four new countries: South Africa, Namibia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Jamaica. 

My friends and family are always asking about my travels...so I thought that starting this blog would be a good way to keep everybody informed of where I am and where I'm heading. 

I always enjoy hearing from people I don't know.  If you're new to travel and and have questions, send me an e-mail!  I can tell you pretty much anything you'd want to know about hotels, car rentals, airlines, airports, trains, etc.  Being the opinionated person that I am, I'd be happy to tell you my thoughts about a particular region, culture, or cuisine that I've experienced.  So, ask away!

In closing, this is my very first post to this blog, and I'm learning how to use the Blogger interface.  I'm going to be experimenting over the next few days by posting videos / pictures from some of my past  trips.  Cut me some slack if I screw it up...remember, I'm new to this!