When I was leaving Moncton, yesterday I knew that Southern Ontario was experiencing very dense fog. As I boarded the plane I wondered if the pilots had more up to date information on the state of the weather over the island airport that we had to land on.
When I left Moncton, it was sunny and very mild. Once in the air we were above the few clouds that hovered over the east coast but one had a nice view of the land, rivers and lakes below. As we neared Toronto we were all of a sudden above a completely white blanket of clouds. Fifteen minutes before we were to land the pilot came over the speaker and informed us that the airport in Toronto was too fogged in to safely land so they were going to circle above the lake for 40 minutes to see if the fog would lift.
After about 30 minutes the decision was made to fly into Hamilton instead because it looked like the fog would not lift until well into the next day. As we approached Hamilton I was relieved to see land below again. We landed safely but now we needed to get back to Toronto. Some people were suppose to get connecting flights to elsewhere and others had conferences they were scheduled to attend.
Normally our luggage is on the tarmac when you fly with Porter and you grab it as you leave the plane. In Hamilton, however, they had a different system and because so many flights had been rerouted there over the course of the day and because they were understaffed we had to wait about 30 minutes to get our bags. Then about 70 of us headed outside to catch a shuttle bus.
The bus didn’t arrive for at least 30 minutes and then it was only a small bus. The next bus was on its way so I allowed others who had connections to make to board in front of me. The unfortunate part was that the bus was nowhere near us and we ended up waiting another hour. When it did finally arrive there were only four of us left waiting. Twenty or more people had ordered taxis and Ubers to get them to where they needed to go. The funny part was that the second bus was a full size coach. By this time the fog had rolled into Hamilton.
The trip to Toronto was very comfortable and the driver, although a tad heavy on the accelerator, got us safely and very quickly back to Billy Bishop Airport. Of course the place was deserted because the fog was so heavy and no flights were coming or going. I ordered an Uber and luckily I was picked up two minutes later.
This morning when I woke up the fog was still over the lake and the city. The photos that I took from the park at the bottom of my street normally show a clear view of the city and the lake. As you can see there is not much to see beyond the trees.
Mama Cormier 
What a harrowing experience! Lots of waiting. I hope you had some good books to read, Carol!
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I did but once the drama started I couldn’t concentrate on the book.
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I get that! So many hours to wait. Bet you can’t wait until your next trip. 🙂
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I’m actually thinking about it.
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Of course you were. I thought about you last night when our neighbors got together last night and ended up telling horror stories of flight. One of our neighbors just got back from Turkey, the other is booking a trip to see her son in Michigan, and paid a third party over $2400 for a ticket. It was the trip that just kept adding to her credit card. Luckily, she reported it and did not have to pay.
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Oh my, I’m glad she got her money back. My husband is coming home today. I thought it was tomorrow but our son got the itinerary wrong when he printed it up for me. Hopefully his flight will be uneventful.
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I’m going to hope with you that it is! 🙂
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The flight was uneventful but he was terribly sick and uncomfortable as a result. Today he tested positive for COVID. Yuck!
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Oh no! That’s awful. I hope he gets better soon.
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Thanks Marsha. Unfortunately he got worse and on Sunday he was admitted to the hospital with COVID pneumonia. He’s still there but starting to show signs of improvement. It’s been a scary few days.
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That is so scary. Vince had Omicron last January, and I felt panicked, so I know exactly how you feel, only your husband has been so much worse. It’s a relief when you can get your loved one into the hospital because you feel that they have the best care possible – or at least that’s how I’ve always felt. It’s not perfect, but they have medicine that can help and can keep them hydrated and out of pain so much better than we can at home.
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I’m so glad that Kevin had three vaccine shots. Without them I know he would have been much worse and probably on a ventilator. After they gave him the antiviral medicine I could see a huge improvement.
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I’m so glad, Carol. Being on a ventilator is not a good thing. My mom was on one years ago, and it was the scariest thing ever. I wouldn’t ever wish that on anyone! I’m so glad the antiviral medicine worked. Moji, my cat is on antiviral medicine for cat herpes that makes her sneeze. Nothing is working too well for my other cat’s coronavirus. I should probably give her medicine to him.
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I’m sorry about your cat. Kevin is better but still quite ill and mostly with long haul effects from the COVID. It’s making him a bit grumpy.
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I can imagine. Vince would be super grumpy not being able to get up and go like normal. We’ve done our parts at being grumpy even without COVID. LOL! Hope you stay healthy! Be careful. COVID is so friendly. It like everyone!
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So many people I know are coming down with it. Time to wear those masks again.
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Ahchoo! 🙂
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I am glad you weren’t missing a connection or a meeting, but the experience must have still been stressful. I am glad you got home safe.
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Thank you Dan. It was and I have since read about other people’s experience and I’m glad I was on the flight I was. Things were much worse for others but eventually everyone landed safely.
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