Alaska Airlines: Don't Put the Can in the Can Ever Again

How do I start? First of all, I have to say that I had an absolutely fabulous time touring Boise, Idaho for upcoming articles in Wander With Wonder and Real Food Traveler. Boise is fun, funky, clean, welcoming and absolutely beautiful in fall.

I had a great visit to Boise, Idaho

I spent my last day in Boise racking up quite a few steps on my FitBit. I walked from the luxurious Grove Hotel to the Capitol, and then all the way back down Capitol Boulevard to the historic Union Pacific Train Depot. I then Ubered to the beautiful Telaya Winery (great Mourvedre by the way) and Ubered to a late lunch at Juniper in downtown Boise. After a hearty burger lunch, I made my last visit to the alleyway, dubbed Freak Alley Gallery and walked back to the hotel.

I was photographing details of the Freak Alley murals.
What I didn't realize was that before the day ended, my eyes would
be feeling just like this!

I started packing.

Alaska Doesn't Always Fly Idaho Wine For Free

While visiting Boise I was gifted with two lovely bottles of Idaho wine. I looked forward to enjoying them with friends. As I put them in the cute green Boise gift bag, I started thinking.... wine is liquid. TSA doesn't like liquids. So I went on the Alaska Airlines website to learn a bit more. I read between the lines. They kept mentioning. "Up to a case of wine can be shipped free as baggage." Somewhere else I read that the wine needed to be packed well. They'd mark it "fragile," but it needed to be packed.

I looked at the two bottles of wine in the cute green gift bag and bade them goodbye. Knowing that they would not be allowed to "fly free," or at any cost, I left them as gifts for my host. Sigh... it was good wine!

Ping!

Just about then my phone went "ping" and I had a message from Alaska Airlines. My 6:31 flight was delayed until 7:10 p.m. - not the end of the world. Since I had reserved a shuttle to the airport, I went early. And that's when everything went to heck in a hand basket, as they say.

Delay #2

After finding a quiet corner on the main floor of the airport with a plug for my phone, and almost falling asleep, I decided it was time to make my way downstairs to the gate. I looked at the reader board at the gate. My flight showed a further delay... this time it read that they would be boarding at 7:55 p.m. The light and bright gate agent announced that there had been a mechanical issue with the plane and it had not left Portland yet.

I schlepped my carry on bag (which by now felt like it weighed 50 pounds) over to the "Business Center" where I sat down at a cubicle reminiscent of my college days at the library studying for exams.

I was really getting sleepy.

Delay #3

The light and bright gate agent announced that there would be a further delay and didn't give a reason. He did, however, hand out $12 food vouchers, good for any restaurant in the airport. At that point I was hoping for a hotel voucher as I was really sleepy. My eyeballs were getting scratchy. But I recalled a pleasant looking restaurant upstairs and schlepped my now 60 pound carry-on up there.

I decided a healthy dinner would give me strength for whatever adventures the night would bring. So I ordered a salmon filet with salad. The cheerful waitress apologized... they had run out of salad. I could have another side. So I had salmon filet with french fries, not so healthy after all.

Good News, I Guess

The light and bright gate agent announced that our flight had finally left Portland and when it arrived, they would let the passengers deplane and we'd be off as soon as possible. Time passed and the the light and bright gate agent keep looking nervously out the window watching for our plane. Finally, he announced, with a smile, that the plane had landed. Eventually a throng of weary passengers came into the terminal and we got in line for boarding.

The light and bright gate agent then announced that the toilet on our flight was not working so, he said, "I suggest you use the restroom before boarding."

But Wait... This Isn't Horizon Air!

I lugged my now 75 pound carry-on all the way to the far gate. I was expecting to see a shiny Horizon Air Turbo Prop awaiting me. That's what Alaska flies on this route. Instead I saw something unrecognizable... SkyWest Airlines. And the plane wasn't all that shiny and new looking. We climbed up the ramp to be greeted by a weary but very pleasant flight attendant.

Oh oh, what's this?
Aircraft bait and switch?

Once  I found my seat, I looked around. The plane reminded me of those I experienced in Central America... recycled U.S. planes. When a plane got too old to fly in the U.S., name brand airlines sold them to little regional airlines in Central America. My reminiscing was interrupted as the Captain came to the cabin.

The Truth is Out!

Captain Tim explained why Flight Attendant Debbie was looking a bit harried. The flight was delayed a little bit coming into Portland. But that's when the real problems were discovered. The restroom toilet mechanism was ruined and had to be taken apart. This was no easy task. The problem, he said smiling, was "Someone had flushed a soda can down the toilet... the mechanism was then jammed." And, he added, "we have locked the restroom. It is not operable. If we let you use it, it will back up and flood the passenger compartment of the plane." The picture painted by the Captain was enough to hope no one needed to use the bathroom!

After the safety briefing, Flight Attendant Debbie told us that if anyone really needed to go, she would unlock the bathroom, and you could flush manually with a bottle of water. "But don't throw the bottle into the toilet, now," she added with a smirk.

The Flight

Captain Tim also explained why we didn't recognize the plane. He said that there had been such an increased demand for flights that they had run out of planes. While new ones were being built, a lengthy process, Alaska needed to use planes from SkyWest airlines, kind of like hiring from a temp agency (my words.) He added, "The planes are old but fly faster than the turbo-props you are used to."

I settled back hoping they flew really, really fast!

Indeed, the flight was 55 minutes and the plane stayed in the air just fine. Flight Attendant Debbie, the sole flight attendant, offered refreshments... water, ice (alcohol if there is any left, she quipped), red wine and beer. She added, they had no sodas. I wondered if that was because they came in cans? :)

The Aftermath

After we landed, I got home with my 100 lb carry-on in record time. Uber works great, I have found. And this morning I received an apologetic email from Alaska Airlines with a $75 discount coupon for a future flight.

Moral of the Story

DON'T THROW A CAN IN THE CAN!

Read more of my flying stories.
Read More Than You Want to Know About Airport Bathrooms.

Travel Trauma: Sometimes you just gotta laugh!

Several times last week I remarked that I was looking forward to a relaxing getaway. Traveling by train, taking bus tours and walking to restaurants from a nice hotel was expected to be a welcome respite from the driving I had been doing. I had been dodging rush hour traffic and squinting into the setting sun… all in pursuit of fascinating reading for my travel article followers.

The weather looked fantastic and I had a long-time friend to accompany me on a travel writing adventure. We weren’t, however, expecting it to be this much of an adventure!

Traveling via Snail Train

It was our first time on this railroad. We weren’t traveling all that far… just a two-hour trip. Dinner was planned at our destination and then a relaxing sleep in a vintage B&B.  Our train was 20 minutes late, but that wasn’t unusual. I spent the time looking at the historical photos in the station and reminisced about my childhood travels from Oakland, California to Spokane, Washington.

We boarded the train, directed by two gruff conductors. We climbed the narrow staircase to our upper level seats and settled in. They were comfy. This would be a good little trip, we thought.

We weren’t too far along in the journey when it was announced that there was a one-car trail derailment ahead that might slow us down. The dispatcher would be letting our train know when we could progress. We sat at the station down the line waiting. Eventually we were on our way. That wasn’t too bad! We stopped several more times due to the derailment and then came to a sudden halt not all that far from our destination. The track had been cleared but there was “residual traffic” that needed to use the tracks first. Another 20-minute delay we were told. It turned out to be more like 45 minutes.

At that point we knew we’d miss our dinner at our destination so headed for the dining car. We were both pretty hungry and were looking forward to the warm dinner that we heard announced.

On the railroad, passengers are assigned dinner companions. All tables seat four people. We sat down as directed. A rather huge, World Wrestling Federation type man was assigned to be seated across from us. He pushed the table as he struggled to sit down and fill the two seats. He was unpleasant (I won’t go into details) and we were re-seated across from a nice mother-son couple visiting from Chicago. As we practiced our Italian (Mom didn’t speak English and was deaf), we dined on Swanson TV dinner-type fare on plastic plates. Our Chicago friends said the meals were the same all along the route, even the Salisbury Steak “specials.”

Ok, I made it look pretty good.
But it was very basic!

Our pocketbooks a bit lighter, we made it back to our seats and gazed out the window as the train started once again. We saw familiar buildings and realized we were pulling into our destination… three plus hours late.

We took the first taxi we saw. Enduring open windows and a cab wreaking of cigarette smoke, we made the short trip to our B&B. The innkeeper was very understanding of our need to head to our rooms and recover from our eventful day on the tracks. We enjoyed a good sleep, a nice breakfast and chat. Our cab to the next accommodation arrived ten minutes early so we grabbed our gear and bade our innkeeper adieu.

Cab Patience
Our driver, we soon learned, was deaf and could not speak. But that wasn’t an issue, he had directions and we could correspond via a tablet he kept on hand for that purpose. He was a bit tentative, so I thought he might be new on the job.

We reached the hotel and, since the cab ride had been pre-paid by our hosts (including the tip) we expected to make a quick exit. But, our driver was confused. Through hand signals we found out that he didn’t really understand his taxi company process. He was worried about how he would get paid. Ultimately he made a visible sigh of relief when I wrote on the pad that the taxi company would give him a ticket (that’s the way he would be paid) at the end of the day (I read this on his trip notes from the company).  We parted smiling. There are little things that happen and, alone, not worthy of writing about but wait… there’s more!

Wine Tasting Troubles

We entered the luxurious hotel lobby and stored our luggage. We’d be checking in to our rooms later that day after our wine tasting experience by motor coach. At the appointed meeting time a bus driver/guide didn’t appear in the lobby so we looked outside. The bus was there, waiting, and we climbed aboard.

We were off through the beautiful agricultural lands headed for tasting at three wineries and lunch at one of the most beautiful vineyards in the valley. The lunch was hosted and I had a certificate for two in my hot little hands.

The bus was fun and the driver/guide was amused by her own jokes, down-home stories and rambling, disjointed trivia. There were nine of us (the ninth being another driver who was riding along and helped by giving her directions.)

First Winery Waiting Game

The valley fog was lifting as we were directed to the tasting room. We heard there would be a tour and tasting. A classic car club filled the tasting room so we assumed the tour would be first. But as we strolled around looking at the displays, nothing happened… nada. I think I read every clipping and poster on the wall!

Our winery visit allowed for plenty of time to explore and take pictures.

A half-hour later… nada. Finally the car club finished up and left.  We were invited to taste wine and were given a brief history of the winery owners. The hostess asked how many would be tasting… nine. But wait! One of our participants lacked grey hair! She was asked for her ID. The 22 year old, traveling with her father, was from Russia. They didn’t realize she should have her passport with her so she was denied tastings. Kinda tough when that was what was scheduled for the whole day!

We had our tastings and returned to the bus. The sun was out, and the valley below was now visible… great photo ops. But wait a minute! There was an issue with closing the bus door. It would close and then immediately open (remember this, now). After several tries it closed OK and we were off. Our driver/guide exclaimed… "isn’t this relaxing?" Several of us rolled our eyes.

Second Winery Waiting Game
It was a cute place with great views, bee hives and resident chickens. We were welcomed to a tasting and then went outside to sit under shade umbrellas. Several people ordered pizzas (the driver/guide had said the pizzas were wonderful). Since we had a certificate for lunch at the last winery, we passed on the pizza. Again, we sat. We waited… nada. A half hour later the pizzas were ready and our hungry tour companions were told they could eat them on the bus as we were running late. The pizzas were wolfed down in record time.

The pizza was highly recommended.
We should have partaken.... had we known what was to come.

We were headed to our last stop when the driver took a brief detour so that our young Russian friend could get her passport. We all applauded that decision.

Third Winery – Our Lunch?
Our bus climbed the hill toward the winery. What views! But it looked rather crowded… it was a huge event. We arrived and milled about for a few minutes. Soon a bubbly young woman came running toward us saying she’d been asked to leave the tasting room to take care of our group. I mentioned our lunch certificate and she told us, reluctantly, that our short time there and the crowded conditions wouldn’t permit us time for lunch.

She gave us a marvelous tour and tasting. We were hungry but the wine soothed our nerves and our time there made us want to return. She took a tough situation and made it work. We were impressed.

The wine and tour helped us forget that we were missing lunch.

We boarded the bus and headed back to be dropped off at our hotel, an hour and a half late. We were very hungry (remember, no lunch?) and were looking forward to dinner just down the street.

Give Us Your Credit Card
We stepped up to the registration desk at the hotel. The very professional staff checked us in. There was no mention of my room being covered by our host (as promised). I inquired and the desk staff couldn’t find any notation of that agreement. At that point, our trip had consisted of one problem after another. We started to laugh. What can you do?

I gave them our host’s phone number and they were certain things would be worked out. And after some re-doing of paperwork, it was.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner, nice accommodations and breakfast the next morning. We were relaxed and ready for a second bus tour… this one would take in the natural beauty of the area. We were certain nothing else could possibly go wrong.

Door Dilemmas

Our tour bus driver/guide met us on time at the hotel and we noticed our Russian friends would be joining us too. The driver was actually the company manager and had heard about our mishap the previous day. It was another glorious sunny day as we headed out into the countryside. We felt much better.

His educational narrative was excellent and his demeanor, professional. He knew where he was going and let us know what was coming up. Our first stop included a brief hike, a stunning waterfall and a stop at the snack bar to pick up a sandwich.

Next, he said, we’d pull into a vista point to see another waterfall. We snapped a few photos and climbed back onto the bus. And then this glorious day fell apart.

The bus door wouldn’t close after many, many tries. We couldn’t leave! Our driver/guide quickly problem-solved the issue. But no one had cell phone signals so the poor guy hitch-hiked back to the waterfall park to make his calls… a mechanic for the bus and a taxi to the hotel for us.

Quite awhile later a ranger showed up with our driver/guide and he updated us on everything. He gave the door one last try and found that he could close it but that he wouldn’t be able to open it again without the same problem happening. He offered to get us back to the hotel if we could climb in and out via the front cab door. And we did.

A passenger throws up her hands in disbelief as the bus develops mechanical problems.
What's next?

We made it back. He cancelled the taxi and we were in time for our train trip home. We missed seeing two of the scheduled sights from the bus tour but were happy when we got to the train station and found our train would be on time.

Happy Return
Our train trip home went by quickly (as scheduled) and we toasted the adventure with some wine from the pizza debacle winery we visited on the first day. And, once we relaxed, we thought we’d like to return and see some of the sights we missed… and experience that winery lunch too!

Note: The names of the destination and those involved in the mishaps have been omitted to avoid embarrassing the innocent!

Vacation Rental Horror Story - Renter Beware!

Front Porch with Old Couches

You can get complacent. I've rented with some of the most well-respected vacation rental companies on the web and always had a great rental and a very professional experience.

Renting Late in the Game
But I got myself into a bind one year. I always love going to the Tucson Gem and Mineral shows which run late January through February. I wanted to go with friends and it took us awhile to decide on dates. So when we logged on to our favorite vacation rental site, there wasn't much to be had, especially places with four bedrooms. We had rented a two bedroom condo in the past. The third person ended up on the front room hide-a-bed couch. It wasn't comfortable and we promised that we'd find a place with four bedrooms next time and invite another friend.

We didn't need a pool - Especially this one!

Bingo! We found a Rental!
So we searched and searched and finally found a rental in downtown Tucson that was close to some good restaurants and not far from the gem shows. We were thrilled. The vintage home was described as something like... "A Desi and Lucy Charmer." So the furniture was dated... it looked clean and neat from the photos.

The description of the large home with four bedrooms sounded lovely. So we sent in our deposit and signed the contract.

Bait and Switch?
Oh, oh! One of our eagle-eyed travelers noticed that there was something not right in home rental land.  The rental we had signed a contract for showed up on the rental website calendar as available part of the week that we expected to be there. We had rented the house for a full 7 days.  Alarmed, she called the owner who  hemmed and hawed and said she'd made a mistake. She rented part of our week to someone else.

But, not to worry. She had another house in the same neighborhood - a three-bedroom with a swimming pool. Although we were not entirely interested in a pool in February, we thought we could make the 3 bedroom do. We noticed she had listed that same house on Craig's List at a lower rate than we had paid for the 4 bedroom and the rate she had quoted us for the smaller home, and, through some painful negotiations, got a more reasonable rate for the three of us.

We were surprised this outdoor water heater worked at all!

Shock and Awe
One of our party arrived early and settled into the house full of rickety furniture and questionable cleanliness. We, arriving later, drove up and found her sitting on one of many old couches on the porch having a glass of wine. We then found out why she had popped the cork before we arrived!

What follows is our list of horrors sent to the owner of the rental after spending as much time dealing with our accommodations as we did enjoying the gem shows.

The List of Horrors
Our note to the landlord:

Since your note on the refrigerator suggests we notify you of things to be fixed, we are making this list:

1. Your description says “recently remodeled with brand-new polished concrete floors and countertops. The appearance of the floors and scars and stains on the countertops do not reflect a recent remodel.
   
2. Your description says there would be a television available to us. No instructions were provided on how to work the TV. We could not use it for several days. When we did receive instruction, we found the picture to be of poor quality. Color was mainly pinks and blues.
3. Your description says there are plenty of dishes. There were not. For example, there are only three spotted wine glasses.
4. Your description says there is a private pool. On the one hot day when we would have loved to use it, it was covered with plastic circles that appeared to have scum on them, had debris in the bottom and equipment in the pool and on the slide ladder. There was also debris on the surface. You suggested that we would be happy with this. home as there was a pool available, suggesting that it would be useable. Your photo shows a clear, usable pool. You also indicated on your note posted on the refrigerator that a pool cleaning service was to come once a week. One never came during the week we were there and it looked as though it had not been cleaned for quite some time.
5. One plastic lounge chair is broken and the edges are sharp.
6. We were unable to use the coffee pot as it was soiled and stained beyond use.
7. Dishes and glasses were spotted and we were not sure they were clean. We could not locate dishwasher soap in the cabinets.
8. We were unable to use the bathtub for two days as there was no hot water. When we did run the water, black metallic residue would appear in the tub. This caused us to be concerned about water quality.
9. There was no hot water in the sink in the hall bathroom throughout our stay.
10. The master shower needs to be cleaned of the mildew. This is a safety issue for those allergic or sensitive to mold. In addition, we found that it leaked through the tile to the bathroom floor.
11. The faucet in the master bedroom continuously drips and the stain in the sink indicated this is not a new occurrence.
12. Your photo shows a neat front yard and clear porch. When we arrived we noticed that there were old soiled couches on the front porch and landscaping was full of dead leaves and branches.
13. Your description states that there are plenty of blankets. There were not many, and we had to bring our own to use. The ones left in the closet were very worn and did not appear to have been washed recently.
14. Pillows and sheets look heavily used and perhaps stained. You state that there are “quality linens” in the house.
15. Your description suggests there are “fluffy towels.” We found many stained and ripped towels.  Linen seemed to be thrown into the linen closet.
16. In the master bedroom there was a large exercise machine in the middle of the room, a tripping hazard at night.
17. In the next bedroom, the closet door was broken.
18.  We were concerned that there were no smoke detectors and the wiring, as viewed on the outside of your house, looked a bit concerning.
19. We were kept awake at night with the loud gurgling noise the pool cleaning machine made. It needs to be checked.
20. We found the trash can to be completely full and could not fit more trash in it. One of our senior women lugged it to the road for trash pickup so that we would have a place to put our trash. This should be emptied prior to guests arriving. The recycling was full as well.
21. We found some of the blinds to be very old and frail so that we didn’t think we should try to use them. The blinds in the master bedroom are detached from the frame and only partially functioning.
22. The dining room table is unstable and tilts from side to side with the least pressure.
23. The toilets ran incessantly (causing us to waste water). The mechanisms appear to be at the end of their useful life. This was happening when we arrived. Perhaps your cleaning service should let you know about problems like this.
24. It looks like the water heater outside is quite old and is rusted and probably lacks the capacity needed for a large home with multiple guests.
25. There are no GFCI outlets in the kitchen or bathrooms, where you normally see them. This is a code infraction.
26. Due to the age of the house and the condition of the wiring and appliances we suggest a carbon monoxide detector. It would be a wise investment.

Do you see a code violation anywhere here? Scary!

The Outcome
We stayed in the home for the week because we had plans each day for attending the gem shows, the Tubac Art show and for hiking. Although we complained constantly, we felt we had no alternative.

When we returned home we summarized the concerns about the home (per above) and asked for a partial refund. We, of course, did not receive a refund. I think writing up the list was therapeutic but it certainly did not help us financially.

So now with Tucson Gem Show time upon us, I am busy writing an article about ways vacation renters can avoid the issues we dealt with. Please read the article.