July 24

Well, the flights getting to Taiwan were an adventure and the flights getting home turned out to be just as wild and crazy. Cathay Pacific kept on postponing our flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco, until about a week before we were only going to have 50 minutes in San Francisco to go through customs, then check a bag, and go through security again, and then make it to our flight. We were worried, so we called Cathay Pacific and they said they couldn’t get us on any earlier flight because they didn’t have room to move all of us. They suggested that we just try it and see what happens and they would help accommodate us if we didn’t make our flight to Salt Lake. That morning we just packed up and ate breakfast at one of our favorite places in Taipei. I told the people there that it was our last day and they took lots of pictures with us and it seemed like the main boss lady was going to cry. She just kept saying that the kids were so cute and she was going to miss them over and over again. We used up all of our Taiwan money so we had to walk 2 miles to the main station with our luggage, but once we were there we were able to catch the commuter train straight to the airport. The flight from Taiwan to Hong Kong went smoothly and the food they served on the flight was actually pretty good. But, when we arrived in Hong Kong they said the flight had been delayed another hour. I quickly got in touch with the Alaska Airlines people and they were able to reschedule us for the next flight to Salt Lake. Unfortunately, the next flight wasn’t until 6am the next morning. When we got to San Francisco I tried to talk to the Cathay people to see if they could help us with a hotel or food vouchers or anything like that, but they said that since the flight that we missed was an Alaska Airlines flight, they were not responsible. I just don’t understand that at all. They were the ones who caused us to miss the flight and they told me over the phone a week before that they would help accommodate, but all they could give us was an apology. I think it is standard for airlines, but it just doesn’t make since to me. If I purchase a flight that is supposed to arrive at a certain time, I don’t understand why the airline isn’t responsible to accommodate me in some way if they can’t deliver what they sold to me. Well, anyway, we all tried to get as much sleep as possible in the airport. The good thing that I guess will come out of it is we will all be extra grateful for our nice soft beds at home that we have been going without for the past two months. Although the flights didn’t go as planned, it really has been a dream trip. As a family we got to see a new country, experience a completely different lifestyle, and grow closer through this trip. I can’t wait for our next adventure.

This is how we slept (or at least tried to) in the airport.