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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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My
bad US trip Before reading you should be aware that my wife is an American Citizen and that we lived in Hawaii for a year, over 2000- 2001. This was a 3-week trip for my wife and a 2-week trip for me. The first week(s) in California and the last week in South Dakota, but flying into Minneapolis. Flights were from London Gatwick to Detroit, Detroit to Los Angeles; Los Angeles to Minneapolis; finally Minneapolis to London Gatwick. On the Saturday that my wife left we decided to go to the airport in our new (but second-hand) car - we only got about 30 miles when the engine management light came on. We took the decision to drop her at the next train station and I would take the car back. It was a bit of a rush but she made it to the airport in time, only just as the airline had already reassigned her seat, but she made it. I made it back and the car, which took all week to be put right. All this work was paid for by the people we purchased the car from and they agreed to pay for the extra travel costs! Things couldn’t get worse… On the following Friday I arrived at the airport in plenty of time, and was therefore used as a test subject by the security staff at the airport. My passport was checked when I joined the queuing (line) system. My passport was checked again at the end of the system (i.e. 15 feet in full sight of all personnel and only me walking through), then I was asked to take my luggage over for a finger tip search, while they asked me the same questions again and checked my passport. Then I was led back to the check-in desk and my passport was checked (again). I then went into the departure area, where my passport was checked again, then my carry-on was X-rayed and then a fingertip search was conducted on it. Finally I was allowed in! Then, when starting to board the plane, my passport was checked again… Well, thoroughly checked in the UK, I thought getting into the US would be easier. Oh, dear. On the descent into Detroit I discovered - very painfully - that I had a sinus infection. This pain was caused by the pressure change and is a very painful condition across the face. Detroit was our arrival point and my wife had said that things were taking a long time for US citizens when she went through. Well, I was off the aircraft quickly and in line for the border guard. I could see my luggage on the luggage belt, and thankfully, we were moving reasonably quickly toward the border guards. I was called forward, my passport checked, I was asked some questions, fingerprinted and photographed. I was then asked some questions about the time in Hawaii. I mentioned that I had written to the immigration service when I left but got no reply, and should I try again? He stood and said “No. We’ll do that now - follow me.” So I was
led away from the desk, by the large border guard in view of all the other
passengers. I almost shouted that my human rights were being abused and
that I was being taken to be fitted for an orange jumpsuit and shipped
to Guantanamo Bay, but decided not to. I was led into a large room with
a number of smaller (interview?) rooms around the edge. I was sure that
as I walked in I heard the snap of a rubber glove being pulled on and
the whispered ‘new fish’! I asked if their system showed whether a Green Card was issued since if not why give residency. A short pause later, a subdued reply was that no Green Card was issued. So what they needed to do was to get me to waive my right to my current residency. This took about 30 minutes while I raised my right hand and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but. I was then given a copy of the paperwork to keep as there was a (good) chance that their ‘system’ would not be updated! Finally I
was able to sort myself out and the pain from the infection was retreating
too! So I got on the flight to LA, and all was OK. The guy next to me
was very quiet, and was happily reading his copy of the Koran. On Saturday we got the mother-in-law moving and went out for breakfast. She had been a little house-bound. We had hired a car and got a Ford Taunus (think Ford Tank) that was bigger than expected. We had breakfast, shopped and gambled, before I was too tired to continue. On Sunday we met friends for champagne brunch at the Riverside, Mission Inn. Very nice, but for some reason my champagne glass kept getting refilled. We all spent a great day together. Monday we
spent with our friend and her kids. We did some more shopping. On Thursday afternoon we left to go to a hotel close to LA airport for the early Friday flight for Minneapolis (for South Dakota). At the hotel we met our friend. She is a rocket scientist. Well, she is an interface engineer dealing with the satellite do-whatists and the rocket widget; I think - she could have said, but would then have had to kill us. We met a
second friend as well and had a very convivial evening, with a meal and
some drinks. Our rocket scientist friend needed to write a status report
that night and we got her 2 pages down to 2 words - they were “OK
(mostly)” or “Real smooooooth”. Minneapolis was a very welcome sight, as when, we descended the pain reduced. From here we were going to hire a car and drive as far as we could towards South Dakota (my father-in-law and cousins) before finding a hotel. We got to the car hire company where we got the Pimpmobile. Think of a white , low slung, dark windows, estate car, with a 3.5 litre engine. It was a Dodge Magnum. We got as far as Sioux Falls. Here we called my travel insurance to confirm I could reclaim the cost of medical insurance and then called my wife’s cousin. She is an ER (A&E) nurse and was working the following morning. She said it would be OK to visit for treatment, which we did. I was seen and given a prescription for antibiotics. The final bill from the hospital was $270 (£160); the bill for the drugs (10 days antibiotics) was a whopping $10.92 (£6.50). Finally we got to see my father-in-law. That night we got to use a B&B cottage that had been booked for us in Tabor South Dakota. Think Little House on the Prairie, then remove the sunshine. This was very nice, and we enjoyed the house while we were there. Sunday we spent time with my father-in-law, but were concerned since it was starting to snow, and was cold. On Monday we cleared the 6 inches of snow of the car while it was -8C (20F). We went into Yankton (about 25 miles). There was still snow and ice on the roads but not too bad. Wednesday saw empty roads and I got a speeding ticket (more of a welcome to South Dakota ticket and tax). It was 79 mph in a 65 mph zone; however, the ticket was reduced to a minimum fine of $59 (£35) after I talked with the officer (the standard fine is more than double this!) Given the
reaction of the locals, I have to assume he was gay since many of the
young females have tried sweet-talking the local police officers to no
effect. I am annoyed more that I was unlucky enough to be caught - not
that I was speeding. Still it could have been worse; the officer’s
dispatcher was unable to confirm my Hawaiian driver’s licence was
valid. He decided that it was and just accepted that the information was
wrong. I wasn’t going to argue! Finally when we arrived at the airport, I had a confirmed seat while my wife didn’t. This caused a little consternation, but was resolved (finally) at the gate, where we were seated together close to the exit door, so we were first off the aircraft. Most of the problem is that the airlines are cutting costs by using electronic check-in, which is OK if they don’t oversell the seats. Then to cut costs further, don’t empower employees until you get to the gate. First published in VISA issue 68 (Aug 2006) |