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I'm sure we all got em, just post some of your interesting vacation stories here. I'm sure we all got em. It could be a weekend trip to grandma's cottage in the country. Or an all out vacation to the Caribbean or something. Just say what you though was interesting. Fun or not. It's always fun to read others experiences. And possibly what others think of the area you live in.

I'll start off with one of my own

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For you who hate to fly you probably shouldn't read this!!! xD

I was on a flight from Chicago O'Hare to Anaheim. There was nothing unusual. Surprisingly no delays what so ever at O'Hare. A rarety if you are a frequent flier in and out of that airport. The flight wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It was probably a 4 hour flight to Anaheim. And probably 3 hours in the pilot comes over the intercom of the plane and announces that they are experiencing some technical difficulties with the plane. You can imagine what's running through my mind. "Great I'm 15 and gonna die. Perfect." So I start to feal my ears pop as the we make our drastic desent down to the nearest airport which happened to be Vegas. It probably only took 8 minutes to make our desent from our cruising altitude down to terra firma. Luckily we landed safe and sounded in Vegas and when I looked out the window I see a birage of emergency vehicles escorting us to a gate. I felt like royalty sitting in that plane on our way to the gate. A mecanic then looked at the plane and said an emergency light wasn't working properly and there is nothing wrong with this plane. The emergency light came on for no reason. After about an hour detour sitting on the tarmak in Vegas we took off for about an hour flight into Anaheim. Needless to say we missed our connection to Seattle. But hey at least that was better than dead.

I don't believe anything has ever happened to me.

Interesting story though.

I have a decent horror story.

So, I get all ramped up to go on this vacation to New England, to visit my cousins and whatnot. They were likewise excited to see me, so it was cool. Well, our arrival goes well, only about an hour behind (not bad at all for an airline...) And the first couple days are cool, then I realize, my cousin that wasn't at college, really has no care that I'm there. So I hardly see him, and when I do, he's 'too tired' to do anything. So, being me, if nobody's around, I get up and do it. Although that was difficult, because I didn't have a vehicle to use there, so I spent a week pretty much bored out of my mind, since people are either working, or doing whatever it is they do. My aunts were nice, my Grandma wasn't really herself, due to age related mental breakdown. So really, I don't get to do a whole lot, a burn of almost $700. So then, trying to return home, upset the week was a total suck, I had the greatest problems of all. I had a flight to catch a connection in Philadelphia, then fly back home, to Seattle. Well, Philly's having this crazy storm, so our plane is delayed, and eventually canceled (twice.) They get me a flight on a different plane, to go somewhere West, where I'd be able to catch a plane home. Well, that plane has problems, so being the last one on the list I get booted off it. I'm glad they got to sit on the tarmac for three hours since the plane broke down (LOL!) Well, they get me an AM flight to Philly, again, the next morning. Well, they're boarding, when the announcement comes over the radio for Alaska Air, that Philly's pretty much closed...Due to storms. Well, that's just wonderful. They manage to get me another carrier, to connect in Denver, or something like that. Well, that plane ends up being overloaded, and being last on the list again...I get booted. So now I'm livid, and desperate, as I call my boss, telling him I can't make it for Monday. So they get me a flight to Charleston, I figure, I'll get in Monday afternoon, sleep it off, then resume work on Tuesday, as normal. Well...we get to Charleston, nice and early, so I'm feeling good. I grab lunch, then head off to meet my plane. Massive storm rolls in, lasts for hours and hours, I get sent all over the airport to changed gates, and canceled flights. Eventually, around 9:30PM East Coast time, there's a window, so they quickly herd whoever they can on their flights, and pretty start launching two at a time. Anyways...I missed work on Monday, and Tuesday, and didn't even get so much as a "we're sorry" from Alaska.

It really sucked, I don't ever intend on going back to New England again, if they want to see me, they can come here.

I'm going to make a long story short. I was with my best friend and my dad. My dad's an alcoholic who makes /very/ wrong decisions. We went to a theme park, my dad had maybe 4 or 5 drinks, and it wasn't long before he got drunk. My friend and I didn't know what to do. We're both 14 and with the ONLY responcible adult we could have, who obviously isn't responcible, eh? We finally decided to have him drive us back to the hotel room, which we knew was extremely dangerous concerning how drunk he was. But what could we do? We were stuck far away from family in a theme park with a drunk parent. I seriously considered driving myself but nooo, that wouldn't be very good either. Not to mention I didn't know exactly where the hotel was. So we got in the car, my dad started driving, and he was immediately swerving. He kept speeding up, getting close to the edge of bridges, making sudden stops, many swerving, and he even passed the hotel. We didn't know where he was taking us by then. We were holding on to each other the whole time, we were so scared. I found it hard to breathe because we were seconds away from so many car accidents. All I can say was I was praying like heck. xD I practically saw death right in my face. He almost hit poles, rear-ened other cars, and drove past the speed limit sometimes. It was like nightmare gone worse, but in reality. The whole time. We finally got to the hotel, and I could hardly walk. We got up to the hotel rooms (thankfully my dad got conjoined rooms so my best friend and I were in a separate one), I layed down on the hotel bed, and cried. I was so scared, and I was still breathing heavily as if I sprinted for almost a mile straight forward. It was bad. My heart rate wouldn't even go down. I was sweating. I was also enfuriated at my father the whole time, obviously. And what's worse? He didn't remember a single thing. >> Oh boy was I mad at him, and I still am. He did the same thing the next day even at night. Now that was terrifying. After the vacation he left me with a very bad fear of accelerating cars. If a car accelerated in speed or suddenly stopped I would go into panic. My parents are divorced (thankfully) and I still haven't told my mother and step father. I'm trying to find every way possible to stay away from my father. This wasn't the first time he's put my life at risk.. But this was the worst. He mostly threatens my life from vehicles and alcohol, go figure. He should be given a car that can't go fast and has good breaks. Thankfully after many weeks I've now gotten over the fear of accelerating cars, but I still get very tense. I'm terrified to ever be in a car with my father ever again, whether I'm alone or not.

Those were some very interesting stories. Very good. But I can tell you that, for those of you who have had flight problems, so far nothing tops what I experienced back when I was 13 years old (and I am going to date myself by indicating that this was back in 1980 ). This may be a bit long...and I do apologize for that. But the story is worth it!

My father was going to Orlando, Florida on business, so he and my mom decided to take my brother, sister and I (I was the oldest) on the flight down there so that we could all spend some time at Disney World, and also looking around Orlando. What fun (even though it wasn't our first time down there, and not our first time flying)! Now, my mother hates flying...with a passion. My father used to do it a lot with the job he used to have, flying all over the country. So he was accustomed to occasional mechanical problems, delays, etc. Even a close call every now and then.

So we get down there without incident (we were flying out of Philadelphia International Airport on what was known as "Eastern Airlines"...one of the U.S.'s largest and most lucrative airlines back in the day, though it has been out of business for many years...this incident being one of the reasons why, I believe), and we had a fantastic time. My father had to remain on business in Orlando, so the rest of us had to fly back without him. We were booked for the return flight on an A300 Airbus...a BIG plane. And we got going without incident (in the afternoon).

By evening, we were approaching the airspace of Norfolk, Virginia, and the Chesapeake Bay (a huge body of water surrounded by Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, for those of you who don't know), and we had just been finishing up dinner service on the plane. Lots of people were up and moving around, smoking (which was permitted in U.S. flights back then) and mingling. Seatbelts were loose or removed (as this was also permitted back then, even when a passenger is seated). The stewardesses were still in the process of collecting trays, so we kind of waited for them to reach us. My mother and I were sitting together, and my sister and brother were in the next row behind us. As I looked out of the window of the plane, with the sun setting, I could see us approaching a HUGE dark cloud...anvil-shaped, with flashes of orange and white (from lightning) through the haze. And we were making right for it. This thing had to be a few miles thick. And even back then I had the clarity of thought to say to myself "naw...he's not going to fly into a thunderhead...he'll go under or around it...right?" And sure enough, he did...he flew right into it.

As the cloud surrounded the plane, the turbulence began. Steady but gentle at first. And it got dark outside and wet. It was pretty amazing to see the flashes outside of the plane, and the wings moving (as they are supposed to do under the rush of air over and underneath them). And then the fasten seatbelt light came on with the usual *ding* warning sound. And just as it did, there was a loud *BOOM!*, and the plane lurched up and then started to turn and dive...suddenly people are screaming, being tossed around (trays and other loose items as well), and the engines could be heard screaming even through the bulkheads of the plane! Now...not everyone got their seatbelts on in time (mine was loosely fastened around my waist...with a fair amount of "give"). Interior cabin pressure changed dramatically (though apparently not enough, allegedly, to drop the oxygen masks as I recall)...causing a very distinct muffle to our ears. So in the midst of the screams and shouts (and the engine noises), I could hear the captain come onto the loudspeaker, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

As the plane continued to drop, the force of gravity changed...suddenly I found myself starting to drift up out of my seat. I was naturally scared to death (as we all were)! What goes through a person's mind in those moments? That they are their last? Believe me, there wasn't TIME to think about that. All everyone was absorbed in was the moment...the panic. In time, the pilot managed to right the plane (mind you, we were over a huge body of water at the time) and level the plane out. Immediately (as we learned later), he made an emergency call out, and tried to request an emergency landing. The shocker is that, at the time, no airport along the route would take us! We had to fly to our original destination...Philadelphia International Airport (still many miles away)!

So we landed without incident (in the midst of all manner of fire and emergency vehicles on an emergency runway). We were kept out on the runway while injured people were taken off - amongst requests for doctors to come forward (a stewardess had been thrown against the arm of one of the chairs in coach class...which are STEEL-reinforced...and she had broken her back. I heard that the impact of her body against the arm of the chair had actually BENT it. And there were still other injuries). Once the injured were unloaded, we were taxied to the intended gate for the flight, and deplaned...still in shock. As we emerged from the jetway, not only was the concourse jammed with people, but with news crews and press as well. It was quite a struggle to get through to get our luggage (which was rushed to the pickup area) and out of the airport.

I later learned that it was "clear air turbulence" which had caused the incident. Basically, a pocket of dead space through which a plane's engines have nothing to grab onto. No air to pass over the turbines. The plane had dived five thousand feet before being leveled off. It seemed like an eternity at the time...a horrifying eternity. But it was actually just a matter of minutes at most. A few minutes. That's how fast it happened. Ironically, I have been unable to find an incident report, or even an old news story, anywhere on the net about it. But I know that that flight also was the catalyst for the change in the seatbelt law on planes (where now you MUST have your seatbelt on when seated). It was probably also one of the incidents which sent Eastern Airlines into bankruptcy and failure...what with lawsuits and damages which were no doubt paid out. Even though this was not an actual disaster. What's REALLY odd is that, even though my mother hates flying even more since, the incident actually had the opposite effect on my brother, sister and I. We actually have lost our fear of flying. And I heard that can sometimes happen with people in near disasters (or even survivors OF disasters). I love flying now. Though I still recall that incident with some degree of clarity all these years later.

The flight crew was amazing...they controlled that plane with amazing skill in what could have been a much worse outcome with a less-experienced crew.

My recommendation, em? Next time, call the police...or ask a staff person wherever you are to do it for you. That would be the safest, most responsible thing to do. If your father IS an alcoholic, he needs intervention. And his driving privileges taken away permanently, as he is a danger to everyone. He may kill someone someday. Tough love is the best course here. He needs that kind of tough love to have his privileges taken away, and to be put in a mandatory counseling program. Don't be soft on him either because he's your father or because you fear your mother and step-dad finding out. Do what's best for everyone...including him.

While we were in the car I did think about calling 911 a few times but never summed up the courage to hit the call button. :/ My fault on that part. Anyway, that occured in May this year and as of recently (last week up to this week) I've stopped seeing my father. That was an old story from May that I copied to here and I told my mother last week what happened because she needed to know if he ever endangered my life. My dad is coming to my house tonight for me to babysit his dog and my mother says I have to atleast say hi, but I don't have to see him or go anywhere with him. There's a lot of bad history about him and I would turn him in to some program if I could. My mother believes it's simply not necessary. We're also believing in a few years my father might just disappear. He's been showing signs and he's even told me about it while he was drunk once. He always complains of suicide and what not, but nobody will do anything about it. He doesn't listen to anybody, including doctors. It's a real shame but.. I really don't think there's anything I could do. He just got foreclosed on his house and he's finding somewhere new to live and everything's downhill for him, plus he realizes I'm aware of many things he didn't think I knew about. He knows I don't like being around him so he never pushes me about seeing him anymore.
Thanks for the advice though, I wish I could do something but my family sees no reason otherwise.

Edit: That's a pretty scary story you've got yourself there. I'm afraid of heights, and the main reason is I'm afraid of falling. I've always been scared of planes because of that. I'm glad everything turned out okay.

Now that is a real National Lampoon's "Vacation" story! Whoah!

For sheer frustration and loss (though perhaps not fear...lol), I think you've topped us all so far, Zors! (Not to lessen the impact aforementioned ones.)

It's amazing how one little story like mine (true though it is...I keep looking for some record of it! I think I will contact the local Philadelphia and New Jersey press next for anything they may have in their archives) can put people off flying. I mean, given the fact that the flight crew was able to pull the plane out of the freefall/dive (it wasn't a direct nose-to-ground dive, mind you, but a sort of downward-banking fall...the plane was tilted and turned only at a moderate level if memory serves) should give readers hope that there are pilots out there with that sort of bravery, determination and skill as to be able to pull so large an aircraft out of a situation like that (and, at the time, the A300 Airbus was one of the largest in operation). Certainly not an easy maneuver, as I have heard. And clear air turbulence incidents can go much worse than that.