Sometimes we let life guide us, and other times we take life by the horns. No matter what we try to achieve, sometimes it does not work out the way we want it to go! Because one thing is for sure: no matter how organized we are, or how well we plan, we can or we should, always expect the unexpected.

It is Time!

Work has finished. The last of the hospital patients seen. The last of administration and management organised and in order. The house cleaned, notes ready for the house/dog sitter, everything is in place. We sip that glass of red wine and ‘salute’ to our time away. One week. One special week of leave! An early morning starts. Into the car and we are off!

So, what is special about this week?

My 60^th birthday, a milestone birthday, was in 2020, the first year of Covid-19. All I wanted to do to celebrate this occasion, was to go to the snow, to feel the cold, to rug up in warm clothes. Absolutely scrumptious! I really love the whiteness of the feathery snow quilt on the ground as it drapes its white gloved hands on everything it touches. I was looking forward to one week of frollicking in this snow in an Australian Alpine, of sliding down hills on a toboggan, of morning walks in the small village, of wearing three or more layers of clothing to keep the freezing temperatures away from my skin. Of reading and sitting enveloped in a nice cosy chair followed by nights of warm fireplaces and drinking hot chocolate as I lay snuggled up in my husband’s arms. Ah Bliss. But like many others, Covid-19 changed the plans made in 2020. In that next year of 2021, Covid plans were dared to be made but sadly, to ‘re-celebrate” my birthday, again, it rolled around once more under a Covid restrictions heavy blanket. Yet again, although 12 months had passed, it was canned, as the same travel limitations were re-applied only ten days before we were due to leave. Heading for that departure gate for us was not going to be a choice for some time to come!

But this is 2022…a new year…restrictions eased somewhat and with it came the ability to travel, to celebrate my 60^th birthday and this time with family in tow. As the saying goes, better late than never- this was delayed, but it was happening…just a few years later! Counting of heads…children, grandchildren…. luggage sorted, planes boarded…and into the sky we soar.

And then it all began!

Two planes to catch to our destination, plenty of time between them…. but unfortunately, the first plane decided it was going to be late leaving and then placed into a holding pattern in the sky while waiting for a slot to be able to land at Sydney airport. Around and around and around we go, hovering in the sky, flying over the same terrain…. time ticking away…time between connecting planes…becoming less and less. Eventually we are granted a landing zone and doors open with all the family tumbling out to race towards the next boarding gate for the second smaller plane to fly us to our final destination. Second plane late leaving. But that is ok. Time for toilet stops a sigh of relief, chance of a short reprieve for snacks, and more waiting time. But All Good. We know where we are going. We know what we must do, everything is organised and waiting for us at the other end.

Oh, how little did we know!

Arrival at Albury Airport. Family together, husband Marc and son Adam head off to secure the prebooked confirmed and paid hire car from Avis’s car rental close to this airport. We were on time. The plane had landed at 12:30. The hire was for 1pm. The rest of the family wait in the small airport and watch the lounge empty, and passengers vacate the terminal. And waited. And waited.

I watched my husband from the distance of the airport, obviously on the phone, pacing…pacing …pacing around and around. Something is wrong. This is an action I know that is demonstrated when he is annoyed or angry and indeed, I could see he was definitely both!  Even though our confirmation for 1pm for the car was written in our hands and all paid for, Avis Rental at Albury Airport, decided in their innate or stupid wisdom to lock their gates at 12:30. Countless phone calls later but no amount of persuasion could convince Avis’s end to come and open the gates to allow us to secure the car already paid for. The irony was the car was there. Sitting in their yard.  But we could not access it. They  would re-open Monday.

Sydney numbers rung; Melbourne numbers rung. An offshore foreign Avis agent advised us to pay for another car and they would organise one to happen….as if that was going to work- we could not even get the one we had paid for! Who was she kidding? Stupidity plus! Reservations and confirmations checked and rechecked…yes it was all correct. We rang the snow bus, which had already left. We rang Ubers- no one answered. We rang accommodation in Bright – none available. Stress mounting even higher. Husband pacing even faster… More calls to Booking.com and Avis on the way from my husband as I listened to his calm stern and at times angry voice, informing these companies, that we were making an official complaint and requested the refund for the money already spent on a hire car we could not access or used. Phone calls continuous trying to find a solution.

Stress building even further. This was not the way it was supposed to happen. We had already had delays with Covid….we had accepted that. But today, this was our time. This was our family time. This was much anticipated, no hassles, no drama, simply good old family time together! This was supposed to be our family holiday- our happy time…our celebration of being together. But nothing had gone to plan as it was supposed to. It was not going to plan as I had anticipated.  Two- and three-quarter hours later, from our arrival at this airport and it looked like the five of us, were going to spend the night in the Albury terminal- alone. We were well and truly stuck.

We are stranded at Albury Airport. Our destination is three and half hours away, 171 km, over the mountain. My emotion was spent, and most unusual for me, I burst into tears in my daughter-in-law arms.

My son Adam had his car and we advised him to take his family onto Bright, collect the groceries ordered from click and collect and continue onto Dinner Plain…advising him that if we could get a taxi to Bright , then it might mean a number of trips backwards over the mountain to collect the rest of us…a long and arduous and perhaps unsafe task for him going over the mountain at night as the daylight hours were now numbered. But he agreed.

A taxi finally rung.

A Maxi Taxi arrived.

A smiling young man greets us.

I explained our predicament about how Avis had left us stranded and asked that as he was taking us to Bright, could he take us a little further. In his beautiful accent, he informed me…” I will take you anywhere you wish to go”. Tremulously, tentatively, an inquiry…would he take us all the way to Dinner plain?

Phone calls made…Snow chains secured…. Tears from me in thanks as my family is now strapped into his vehicle and two- and three-quarter hours later, from our arrival at this airport we are on our way. Not how it was planned, but we were on our way and many hours later. Dinner Plain we are here!

I sound calm writing this. But it was an awful experience and one I would not wish to do again. So much stress and angst. Expensive trip to use the taxi- oh yes. But do you know – with the return trip already booked by our wonderful Maxi driver for a flat rate, the whole travel expense for the round trip there and back to t the airport in 6 day’s time, was actually $300.00 less than what we had paid the hire car! Go figure! Maybe next time we will simply book ‘Tas’, our new driver to take us instead! Who knows?

What outcome will we have re Avis.. watch this space!

What will tomorrow bring…? Oh we had a wonderful day!

That is the expected I expected!