Best Laid Plans...Never has that been more the case than the start of this adventure.

Military time is a funny thing. After our airline (FlyGlobeSpan) changed times on us twice in the weeks before our flight, we slowly developed the idea that we were leaving at 10:50 p.m. instead of 20:50 military time (which is 8:50 p.m.). Imagine our dismay when we arrived at Calgary Airport at 8:50 p.m., only to discover that the flight was closed and there was no one from the airline to assist us. Thus, July 2nd found us stranded, overwhelmed and, by 3:30 a.m. (that's how late Barry stayed up getting us new tickets), significantly poorer than we started.

Barry's first thought was that by staying with the same airlines, we might only have to pay penalties for changes, not forfeit entire legs of the trip. His second thought was to minimize the disruption and get us back on track as soon as possible. Thus, he got on the internet and re-booked through FlyGlobeSpan. However, as they only fly once per week from Calgary to Gatwick, he booked a flight out of Hamilton instead - requiring that he also book four WestJet tickets to get us there. Lastly, he emailed FlyBE airline to advise them that we would miss our connection from Gatwick to Inverness, thinking that they would cancel our original booking and put a credit note against our file. Only after all of this did he collapse into bed (we had managed to get a room at a Super 8 motel).

At 7:00 a.m., he was up again to make a call to the Canadian office of FlyGlobeSpan in Vancouver, hoping for a partial credit for the original Calgary - Gatwick Tickets. No such luck.