I confess that, during a recent visit to Sedona, Ariz., I scoffed at its reputation as a spiritual “vortex.”
That was before we got trapped in a different kind of vortex — this one involving canceled flights that left us trapped in Phoenix for two days.
And from what I understand, that was no isolated case.
Angelyn and I had traveled to Flagstaff, Ariz., for a family reunion with my siblings and their spouses. Flagstaff is over 7,000 feet high and very dry, so while it felt pleasant, the altitude made me dizzy and played havoc with my sinuses, even causing a nosebleed.
This was no rugged outdoor trip (I got that last year in southeastern Arizona), but we did do some easy hiking as well as shopping, eating out and just sitting around visiting.
We also made a trip to Sedona. The scenic drive through the Coconino National Forest was breathtaking as we progressed from piney slopes to red-rock cliffs and buttes.
Vortex Tours and gift shops
It was among these buttes that somebody sometime decided they detected a spiritual vortex of peace.
I can understand feeling at peace in such beautiful natural surroundings, but scientific tests have found nothing measurable — and that’s according to a Sedona tourist newspaper.
Nevertheless, in the town you can book vortex tours to get your spirit aligned.
Instead, Angelyn got her shopping spirit in line by buying the beautiful local jewelry.
Leaving on a jet plane — not
Anyway, the next day we said goodbye to my sisters Sandra and Shirley and Shirley’s husband Terry. Then my brother Robert, his wife Julia, Angelyn and I headed south to Phoenix in our shared rental car.
They were returning to Austin, Texas, on Southwest Airlines while we were to depart for Baton Rouge via Dallas-Fort Worth on American Airlines. Our flights were scheduled to leave around the same time.
I hate big airports. Sky Harbor in Phoenix is so huge that you have to catch a shuttle to and from the rental car center, adding half an hour to your travel time.
At the airport we said our goodbyes before setting off to our gates.
By and by Angelyn and I boarded our plane, which sat, then taxied, then sat, then taxied. The captain blamed a thunderstorm on the delay and apologized for having to conserve fuel, thus cutting back on the air-conditioning and making us all swelter.
Three hours after boarding, we returned to the gate and had to deplane.
An unplanned stay
For quite a while we got conflicting information from the gate agent before learning there would be no flight because the crew had used up their time and there was no one to replace them.
That meant standing in line for hours, along with hundreds of other people from various canceled flights, to see a customer service rep. She told us there were no flights to Baton Rouge the next day and we would have to wait until Saturday.
She gave us new tickets along with vouchers for two nights at a hotel, taxi rides to and from, and four meals.
We stood in line again for our luggage and then for a taxi. The driver kept saying, “Hurry, hurry, hurry,” so that in the dim light I wound up giving him the wrong voucher, which I discovered after we arrived at the hotel check-in and I no longer had our hotel voucher.
Fortunately the clerk found it online somehow, and we settled in for a two-night stay at the Moxy Hotel, which turned out to be excellent, with a swimming pool, towering palm trees and delicious food.
Being Phoenix, the temps reached 110 and plunged to 106 by 8:30 p.m.
Calling Baton Rouge
Two days later we returned to the airport and this time managed to fly home without another overnight delay, though we did wind up walking about a mile in the Dallas airport between flights. Also, one of our flights failed to get its supply of complimentary drinks and pretzels.
From talking to people along the way and reading up on the subject, I learned these canceled flights are a daily occurrence, especially if you leave in the afternoon, in large part due to staff shortages. Over the Memorial Day weekend alone, some 2,800 flights were canceled nationwide.
I used to experience this kind of chaos when traveling to Third World countries. Now it appears to be the norm in the U.S.
We arrived in Baton Rouge at dusk and stepped out into lush warm air smelling of rain-soaked asphalt. As we drove away, we saw a full-fledged rainbow reaching from one end to the other.
Now that’s the kind of vortex I like.
