We got in with no problems last Thursday. The flight in was with United, and they seemed to have their shit together as much as airlines do these days. I did notice that the already stupid practice of charging you to put your bag on the plane which is going to the same place you are is not only still in full effect, but that the prices have jumped 10 bucks since the last time I flew to a wonderful 25 bucks($175 if it was over 50 lbs!), adding $50 to the price of the trip. And that was just with one bag. If Jackson had to check a bag as well, it would have been twice that. However, my plane was small enough that most people's carry-ons weren't going to fit in the overhead, so they were gate checking those for free. So I guess the trick is to get a bag that is just the right size to be small enough to carry on, but too big to fit in the over head, and you won't have to pay to check it.
We stayed in a very nice hotel, on the 15th floor, which Jackson loved. Even more so when the blizzard hit on Friday, because he could watch the city get covered from above. My brother and his wife were in the next room, which was nice as well. I spent more time with them this trip than I have in a long time.
My dad took us all to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where Jackson freaked out about the Space Odyssey Exhibit. They have an awesome new "Science on a Sphere" display. It looked like a planet was in the room with you. Totally awesome. I half expected Admiral Ackbar to come out and start telling me where the shield generator was. We stayed in the Exhibit for a few hours, then did a whirl-wind viewing of the rest of the Museum, as Jackson was less interested in ancient Native American tools. We ate lunch and Watched an IMAX movie about the Hubble. A good time was had by all.
Let me tell you something about my son's crazy memory. Two days after we saw the Hubble movie, we came across a picture of Orion in one of his books. He started reciting the narration from the Orion Nebula part of the movie word for word, and went on for 5 minutes. That kid is a genius.
Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, where I are one of the best hamburgers I have ever eaten ever. Jackson had one of the most awesome plates of Mac and Cheese ever.
Saturday was the Wedding. My suit is getting steadily too big for me. I'm gonna need a new one by summer. YAY! We had a great time Jackson did really well considering how boring weddings are for children. Mom looked great.
Sunday I met a few friends for coffee, and spent the afternoon at my dad's house. Jackson is fascinated with my dad's basement. We don't have those here in Tulsa, and the fact that it is a catacomb of shelves and books makes that much more interesting.
Here is where the fun started. Monday was our day to leave. Or so I thought. We had a 1:10 flight on Frontier, and My brother and his wife had a slightly earlier flight on Alaska Air. Dad picked us up a little after 10:00, and we made it to DIA about 10:30, a good 2 hours, 40 minutes before our flight. At check-in, the nice lady informed me that the flight was over-sold, and to check with the gate crew to see if I have a seat.
I assumed that traveling with a 4 year old would save me. Not so. Boarding started at 12:35, and they did the usual pre-boarding, including anybody with a child under 5. I waltz up and they say, "not you, you are on stand-by. If we have available seats 10 minutes before take-off, we'll seat you then." So I wait, and a steady stream of people who didn't show up 2+ hours ago parade by and take their seats. I'm getting nervous now. They make an announcement looking for a few passengers, and at T-Minus 9:59 minute, these two obviously hung over sorority girls in pajamas show up and take the last two seats. So they bump us. I ask why the guy with the 4 year old who checked in 2 and a half hours early even made it onto the bump list in the first place, and they say it done by when you check in, and that I should have done it over the web. I was in a hotel, I say, and they don't have a good answer for that. They start looking around, and tell me that there is not an available flight until Wednesday at 7:10, but that I can be on stand by for all the flights until then. They send me to the customer service center, where we wait in line for 30 minutes, then stand there hashing it out for another hour. They confirm me on the 7:10 flight Wednesday,give me a $400 check (double the cost of the two tickets) that I can't cash and some food vouchers, and tell me that if I can't get on the plane that night, they'll put me up in a hotel. What about my luggage, I ask. Well that went on to Tulsa on the original flight. Great. I have a 4 year old with me and no luggage. The guy says that the 7:10 flight is only over-sold by one, so I'd probably get on that one. After 5 hours wandering around the airport with Jackson (who is handling this way better than I am, BTW), we get in line for the 7:10, but don't make it. They only had one seat available. Not wanting to wait in line again for them to get me a hotel, I call my dad, who comes to get me. We stop at Target for some new underwear and deodorant, and crash at his place. The next day, we go to try for the 1:10 flight, and of course, don't make it. Luckily, the same gate crew was there, and seeing us in the same shabby clothes as the day before, and hearing Jackson repeatedly ask why we can't get on the plane, they felt really bad for us. I asked if they could get us on the OKC flight, which was miraculously held back because a connecting flight from Las Vegas was late, they put me on the top of the stand-by list for that flight, knocking out an equally distressed looking couple. I start to feel bad for them, but they don't have a Jackson with them, and haven't been at this for two days, so I decide to re-tune my moral barometer for the time being. I make it on the flight(YAY!), and call Jennifer to tell her to head for OKC. This was doubly awesome because another blizzard was heading for Denver, and was supposed to hit that afternoon. I make it to OKC, and Jen comes to get me after fighting rush-hour traffic, and after hugging it out, we get some dinner and head to Tulsa. Later that night, I go to Tulsa International to get my Luggage. Waiting with me in line was a woman who's 15 year old son was stranded in DIA because the 7:10 flight that I would have been on stand-by for was canceled because of the storm. So I dodged another bullet there, because if that flight was canceled, and every other flight was over-booked, that would have been a shit storm I would have been right in the middle of.
I have to say that the Frontier employees were awesome. They were just as frustrated as I was, and bent over backwards to get me into Oklahoma, and gave me every incentive they had available. However, the company's policy of over-booking every single flight they have and charging for every little thing, and not letting one know their status until the very last minute is pure bullshit. I vowed to never fly Frontier again, but since every airline now employs these practices, I may not have a choice. After my wonderful trip to New York a few months ago where I arrived on a Sunday, and my luggage arrived on Wednesday, I may be off air travel altogether. But we are home and safe now and that's all that matters. Jackson did really well. He's a good kid.
Powers out.
TL;DR: Frontier bumped me off three separate flights, stranding me in Denver, and they suck.
![](http://static.flickr.com/42/94934214_e5e1c75fe6.jpg?v=0border="0")
