Holy cow! Six AM comes early! All packed and ready to go and the hotel called an accessible taxi for us (they would not book one in advance) and it is an hour wait! So I had to get onto the Hotel Shuttle to the airport instead – not happy! Now I see why a taxi did not want to come to the hotel – we could have walked the 1-2 km to the airport so why would a taxi want that kind of fare? Not really however the hotel did not provide accessible transportation so that is an issue.
Moving on, we got to Dulles Airport and got checked in quite fast. The gate was actually quite close (for those who know Dulles – it was a Z gate so next to the terminal) however we were there in really good time so they suggested we visit the lounge which is in Terminal B. Now, Dulles, since I last flew into it, now has a train system instead of those airline like busses that shuttle you from terminal to terminal. It looks like the busses are still in effect for some gates however the trains are used to get between the 3 terminals. So they called a wheelchair for me and off we went to the lounge – Turkish Airlines! It was the Star Alliance Lounge that was open at this time in the morning – it was also VERY busy! We lucked out and quickly found a seat on the 1st floor (there were only stairs to 2nd floor) and then checked out the buffet – which was a middle eastern type offering of food – very cool! They had cheesy grits and I was happy! Also some fruit and yogurt and I was set! The coffee machine poured a combo of thick chocolate and milk when a hot chocolate was ordered and that was a devine drink!
We boarded the CRJ with no issues – they took my walker from me, I velcro’d it closed as I normally do so it will not open in flight and get damaged and off we got into the plane! Off we taxi’s to YUL!
Got off the plane onto the tarmac and what do I see at the end of the ramp? One sad looking walker that is damaged AGAIN! This is the fourth time that on a CRJ flight without much turbulence my walker has sustained damage – twice the frame has been bent, once the seat damaged and now the back strap severed! I guess I get to talk to ScootAround, Air Canada’s mobility aid fix it company again and guess what! I am right! They are currently looking to see if they can get my walker repaired overnight (and a loaner to me). After spending an hour at the baggage department, with a very nice Air Canada attendant assisting us with our luggage and me in a wheelchair, we were done and we were off to the Marriott hotel, which was in the airport, conveniently! Only issue getting to the hotel? The Air Canada attendant did not like glass elevators!
Now in our hotel room, here is our view for the afternoon/evening! After chatting with Air Canada several times in the afternoon, they finally realized they cannot fix my walker so I then went downstairs at the Marriott hotel and asked them if they can bolt my walker back together. So while I sat for an hour in the business centre, a very french canadian man from the engineering department who only spoke Quebecois, the front desk clerk and I communicated on how best to fix it and he had it done fairly fast! When I get back to Vancouver Air Canada is providing a new walker.
Tomorrow we are going into Montreal on a gluten free mission! Got to get some sleep! Good night!