Wild Goose Chase

Yesterday was something special.

Of course I have to start at the beginning... hopefully you've come to expect no less.

First, Russell and I have been working hard to prepare a welcoming nest for our first guests. Two friends from the States are visiting us for two weeks and we wanted to make sure we had comfy beds for them, a clean place to stay, etc. It took some work (especially the bed part) but we had it all done the weekend before they were to arrive.

We waited anxiously for Wednesday to pick them up from the airport. We had our route all planned out. We had discovered (rather by accident) that there was a ferry that went across the bay from the Kobe Airport to the Kansai International Airport in Osaka. It would only take 30 minutes as opposed to an hour on the bus - and it was the same price! (And, in case it slipped past the first time - A BOAT). I just had to wait until 5:30 when I could safely dash away from work.

The problem was that at 4:30, I found out I had to proctor a placement test for some study abroad students. I wouldn't finish until 6;00 and I didn't know if that would give me enough time to get to the airport on time. Russell agreed to go ahead and message back to me with the schedule and procedure if it seemed feasible for me to follow behind. As it turned out, I got out just in time to catch the tram to the Kobe Airport and hop a shuttle to the ferry. I did just that (with only minor confusion) and got on the ferry.

When I think of ferries, I think of large plodding barges with room for cars and upper decks you can venture out on for fresh air. This was totally different. There were no cars and no upper deck. Instead, the boat looked like a small yacht with space for luggage and fancy seating (with TVs) on the inside. I noticed when I sat down that there were drops of water sprayed all over the windows, which seemed odd on a sunny day. Then we took off. Turned out, it was a SPEED FERRY!! We jetted off across the bay. It was awesome.

I arrived with about 15 minutes before their flight was scheduled to land. Russell met me. He had arrived an hour earlier, so he had scouted out their gate and grabbed a bite to eat. I was hungry, but I didn't want to miss them, so we went down to the gate and staked out a good vantage point.

We waited.

Luckily there was a screen right next to the exit that listed arrivals and had a status update with things like "customs" and "waiting baggage." We started getting antsy when the status changed to "waiting baggage." People who looked like true-blue Americans started walking out the arrival doors. They had to be nearby. I kept wondering if they were seeing the other side of the people we were seeing.

Time passed.

Flights from other countries started coming out.

More time passed.

We started to worry that maybe we had the wrong gate. After their flight had been on the ground for an hour Russell went to wait at the other arrivals gate. Still nothing. At about an hour and a half after arrival the notice for their flight disappeared completely. Our imaginations began to run wild. Had they missed the flight? Wouldn't they have called us? (yes, they had our phone numbers). Were they still stuck in customs? Had they lost luggage? Had they (God forbid) been detained at customs and sent home on another flight?? Russell went to talk to Information. They told him they would page our friends, which they did. No answer. The Information lady called to the back and was told that there was definitely no one left from that flight. Now we were really worried. The only reason we could think of for them not calling was if they were currently heading back over the Atlantic. Russell went back to talk with the harried Information lady. She gave him the number for Northwest Airlines in Japan. As Russell suspected. they could tell him nothing (for privacy reasons). We didn't know what to do. Then, the Information lady suggested we call Northwest Airlines in the US. It seems they are somewhat less strict with their security. We found the wireless Internet and Skyped NW Airlines. This was the magic ticket. Russell got a very helpful lady who looked our friends up and - this is the best part.

Told us they were coming tomorrow.

We had a very long ride home.

Update: It is now "tomorrow" and our friends have arrived. Russell is escorting them home as I type this. Happy ending.