The Ride Home

Our plane managed to leave Bethel today. But what a series of events
that led to takeoff.

I actually didn't wake up until almost 8 am. I got a good night's
sleep. I made a quick phone call to Bering Air to check on the status
of the flight. We were waiting on the Bethel wrestlers to return so we
could take the same charter back. Everything was good to go for the
wrestlers to leave about 10 am.

I managed to get all the girls ready and in the lobby by 10:30 so we
could start loading up and leave for the airport. Let me tell you,
getting 17 high school girls to get ready all together is more of a
feat than it sounds as written here.

When we got to the airport, it started to crumble. Let me explain that
this is Bethel, Alaska. There is no information desk. Nobody was even
behind the counter at Alaska Airlines because they're only there when
flights leave, usually once or twice a day. There was no desk for
Bering Air to check in at. The only "workers" that seemed to be there
were from Era Aviation, another charter. We didn't know who to talk to,
line up with, check in with, or ask questions of. Talking to them was
like talking to the wall. At first, they had no knowledge of a flight
from Bering Air coming in today. This started to concern me so I called
Bering Air at the pay phone (which eats up an additional 30 minutes of
my calling card minutes because for some god-knows-why reason they tack
on a 30 unit surcharge for using a pay phone. I mean, wouldn't most
calling cards be used from a pay phone? But I digress...)

Bering Air said they took off at 10:30. It is about an hour and fifteen
minute flight. They would be arriving in 10 minutes. The people behind
the desk still had no knowledge of a flight.

"Nobody contacted us."

"Well, can't you contact them?"

"You could call them," they said.

"We just did and they said they are on the way."

"Well, nobody contacted us."

"Well, how do we find out anything concerning this?" we asked.

"We wait for them to contact us."

And of course, I then ask again, "Can't we call them?"

And of course, they answered, "You could call them."

I turned and walked away, mimicking talking to the wall in a fit of
anger like Basil Fawlty.

I then walked out to the edge of the runway and waited in the rain for
the plane to land. I saw them come in and land and was able to talk
straight to them. We loaded up the girls and away we went, without ever
actually checking in anywhere.

We are home now. Another week. We get to fly to Barrow this Friday, one
of two trips to Barrow this year. It's the northernmost point in the
United States of America. I once thought it was just an interesting
fact on a map, and now I will actually get to go there. I must dip my
hands in the Arctic Ocean. That would make it three oceans for me,
Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic. Three out of four. My adventure is
coming along nicely.