Arriving at the boat…

With travel being what it is we decided to visit the airport the day before departure. We had not flown out of Orange County in a long time so we wanted to confirm that they had Sky Priority check in and a TSA Pre security line. Ironically the airport seemed empty. Talking to the gentleman at the ticket counter he said “arrive 2 hours ahead and you will have plenty of time to check luggage and get to the plane.”

Day of departure we arrive at the airport at 0800 for our 1045 courtesy of our good friend Inez. Upon checking in we discover that our flight to SLC is delayed by 2 hours and we will not make our Paris connection. The ticket agent dutifully rerouted us through Seattle and checked in our 4 bags and a box. We lost our Business Class seats, but at least we would get to France. By the time we made it through security the Seattle flight was delayed. We found a Ticket Agent and, after passing on the offer to take an Uber to LAX, we were rebooked on a flight to Atlanta in first class! Things are looking up. We listened in as the agent had the bag handler identify our bags and have them rerouted to the Atlanta flight.

Arriving in Atlanta the Captain was happy a storm had passed and we were clear for a smooth landing. However, that meant that the terminal was backed up and we spent 45 minutes waiting on the taxi way. Delta was kind enough to put 7500 points in our Sky Miles account for our trouble. We had plenty of time to make our connection to Paris so whether we waited on the plane or in the airport no matter. The flight to Paris was on time and not to uncomfortable as we flew in Economy section. Arriving in Paris on time we made our connection to Nantes with ease.

On the ground in Nantes waiting for our bags I noticed a message from Delta that our bags are at baggage claim IN ORANGE COUNTY!! Checking my Delta app for more info it appeared that the bags had been booked on a flight the mirrored our original itinerary, but a day later. We attempted to 1. Get confirmation and 2. figure out how we would get the bags that would arrive the next day. Consulting the Air France people (our final leg was Air France) they said we would have to file a claim and we would be notified. However, neither they nor ourselves were able to get their automated system to work. The people manning the baggage claim area had now gone home for the night so there was no help there and the AF people we did talk to basically said your luggage would probably not show up. In my head I am thinking “there goes 6 months of planning and organizing equipment for the boat that I can not get in France.” Suzette is thinking “what am I going to wear tomorrow?”

Unable to get any assistance we picked up our rental car and headed south to Les Sables d’Olone and our tiny AirBnB. Bags be damned, we walked over to the quay and we were rewarded with our first glimpse of the boat. The access gate was locked so we could only look from a distance, but she was beautiful. She was surrounded by a pontoon full of 40’ to 50’ Lagoon cats. In spite of her dock mates, she was not dwarfed. Satisfied with our sneak peek we headed back to the apartment for some much-needed rest. On the way along the quay there were street venders and musicians, music is great in any language.

Once settled into our little home for the next week we set about trying to contact Delta about our luggage with no success, they were too busy to respond. The time of the baggage arrival in Nantes on Monday came and went, but no update from Delta. We agonized Monday as we ran around shopping for tools and housewares, oh and some fresh underwear and some clothes! Brico is the Home Depot of France and they had a good selection of tools. How fun is that to buy all brand-new tools to stock my new tool box! Next it was Suzette’s turn to revel in housewares and some grocery shopping. By the end of the day we were exhausted. With know word on Luggage we decided to go to the Airport early Tuesday morning and hopefully find our luggage. We would also get on the boat for the first time on Tuesday.

The big day…