Day 22: The Long Journey Home (that could have been longer!!)

I didn’t plan on blogging about our day travelling home. After all, how interesting can a journey be? A straightforward trip to the airport, check in, security and then off you go right? Well, we managed everything up until the ‘off you go’ bit. We woke up, finished packing, grabbed breakfast in the Club Level lounge and then manoeuvred the cases over to the main building (we let the girls be in charge of one and spent the whole walk making sure they didn’t take some rich old dear out!) to wait for the Magical Express. The bus arrived slightly early and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time. Check in was a breeze (upper class has many perks!) and getting through security was only a short 10 minutes. Clearly it was our lucky day. 

We headed over to the departure terminal on the monorail and then went to get something to eat.

We chose Bahama Breeze, which was nice enough, then as we left to head for the gate realised that we actually had access to the Delta Sky Lounge (which has complimentary food/ drinks) so needn’t have spent money on food! We aren’t good at this first-class lark! Anyway, we headed up there as it was nice having a bit of comfort before the flight.

The flight was on time and we were on the plane and ready to take off ahead of schedule, which was great as we had a connecting flight in Atlanta (we could have flown direct but the price for Economy direct was the same as the price we paid for an upper class connecting flight for the return leg so we opted for the connection and a bit of luxury!) And then things started to go a bit pear shaped. A storm had blown in faster than expected so an announcement was made that we were going to sit it out on the runway. 30 minutes later we were told we needed to go back to the gate to refuel. Then we were told the gate was closed due to lightning, so we had to stay put until it reopened. It took over an hour and a half before we could get back to the gate. We were then told we had to get off and wait for further instructions. It was now 4.30pm and our connection was due to take off from Atlanta at 6pm, so things weren’t looking ideal! After about 20 minutes they told us to re-board the plane, and I have to say the crew were fabulous and got everyone on in super-fast time.

We were now pretty much resigned to missing our connection but were determined not to get stressed so just chilled out and waited for take-off. The cabin crew were fabulous and kept checking for updates and I’d paid for inflight WIFI to keep tabs. Around 30 minutes into the flight I saw the Atlanta flight was delayed, but only by 30 minutes which meant we’d land as it was taking off. However, just as we came in to land it changed to a 7pm take off!! Cue lots of scrambling to get our bags ready and get off the plane ASAP. The flight attendant whispered that they would hold the flight for us, but we needed to get there fast. Now, Atlanta airport is bigger than a small city (well, it feels like it!) so I was prepared for a race of endurance across the airport. I needn’t have worried as when we got off the plane a man was asking for Manchester passengers and promptly ushered us onto one of the internal buggies that drove us to the airport train. The girls thought it was brilliant and Winnie said it was like being a Grand Marshall in the Festival of Fantasy parade!! 

We got to the train that takes you to the international terminal and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Turns out it was a bit premature as the train doors kept opening and shutting and then they announced there was a delay with it!!! Luckily it wasn’t a long delay, and before we knew it we were sprinting up two flights of stairs and along the whole length of the terminal (because we obviously had to be at the very last gate didn’t we?!) but we made it. Maybe it was down to Polly and her positive thinking (or more likely it was due to the issue they had closing the cargo doors!) The girls were so excited that we were in upper class (we’d kept it a secret until they got to their seat) and kept on thanking us. They really are so lovely. We are honestly so blessed. 

A more energetic end to the holiday that we anticipated, but all adds to the excitement and makes another memory for us to talk about in years to come.

And now I’m sat in my little pod watching the sunset with my table set beautifully, waiting for my scallops and steak whilst the girls are laid out fast asleep. Hopefully I won’t be far behind them. ❤️