This year's trip home was the worst travel experience I've EVER had. Early Friday night I found out that my flight for Saturday was canceled. Nobody heading to the East was going anywhere!!! The weather was horrendous with DC receiving record snowfall (3+ feet) and highest windspeeds EVER. When I called the airline to transfer my ticket, I was on hold for 3hrs, two separate times; not to mention the 6+ other times I called but refused to wait longer than 20min. I was beginning to worry when it looked (and sounded) like the weather wouldn't allow me to get home till after Christmas. I was told that they could get me a flight out early in the morning, but if I got stuck in some airport, I'd have to pay for my own lodging. No thank you, I'll stay overnight for free right where I'm at. In order to guarantee me some kind of flight before Christmas, dad went ahead and purchased another ticket online so all I had to do was get the refund for my original one. Once again, the call call-hold music and I became well acquainted and finally, 2hrs later, I got through. I had a flight home!!! It wasn't a direct flight, but at least it would get me home by Christmas. I was scheduled to leave Sunday at 2pm with a layover in Chicago and an ETA in BWI at 10:30pm.......OR SO I THOUGHT......
Everything started out perfectly. I got to the airport, checked my bags quickly, got through security super fast, and found the gate easily. I had my book, music, and Sudoku puzzles to keep me company so all was well as I waited for 2hrs for the plane to arrive. It arrived on time and we left 5min early. The old man on the seat beside me would not stop talking the entire 3hrs to Chicago!! I pulled my book and iPod out when I thought we was finally sleeping, but 2min later he popped his head forward and started talking again. Finally, we landed in Chicago where I was scheduled for a 2hr layover.
.......THAT'S WHERE THE FUN BEGAN......
I found the gate and sat down to wait out the 2hrs. Not so fast! 1hr into the wait, the loudspeaker proclaimed that there's been a gate hold on all flights heading east and so it'd be an extra half hour before we'd get going. Okay, I can handle that! I'd finished my audiobook and turned off my iPod to watch the Steelers vs. Packers game. The gate down the hall from us was apparently watching the same game, but our TV had a 5 sec delay from theirs. In the final milli-seconds of the game, where the game winning catch was caught by mere toes, we heard the other gate celebrate, but weren't sure if they were a gate-full of GreenBay or Pittsburgh fans till our TV showed us that indeed the Steelers were a dominating presence.
I found the gate and sat down to wait out the 2hrs. Not so fast! 1hr into the wait, the loudspeaker proclaimed that there's been a gate hold on all flights heading east and so it'd be an extra half hour before we'd get going. Okay, I can handle that! I'd finished my audiobook and turned off my iPod to watch the Steelers vs. Packers game. The gate down the hall from us was apparently watching the same game, but our TV had a 5 sec delay from theirs. In the final milli-seconds of the game, where the game winning catch was caught by mere toes, we heard the other gate celebrate, but weren't sure if they were a gate-full of GreenBay or Pittsburgh fans till our TV showed us that indeed the Steelers were a dominating presence....A BRIGHT SPOT MAY COME EVENTUALLY...
2hrs later, we were still waiting. The plane sitting at our gate was waiting to take off so our plane wasn't going to be leaving any time soon. 3 1/2 hrs later and I'm still not on my way home. 4 hrs later and our plane had finally arrived. I had an "A" boarding pass and was soooo happy to get an aisle seat with no one sitting in the middle. Definitely a plus in my not so fun day of travel. There was a lot of turbulence when we finally got in the air and that just made me nervous. Take-off and landing are my least favorite aspects of flying because I don't like that feeling of my stomach lurching up and down unpredictably (hence why I don't like rollercoasters). I'm fine when we're in the air, but the ups and downs are not fun for me...at all.......THE END IS HERE AT LAST.....
After circling the airport for an extra 20min, we finally arrived at the gate at 2am. 12 HOURS AFTER THIS TRIP BEGAN!!!!!!!! I was about to kiss the ground, but decided against it for reasons of sanitation and I was just too tired to get down there. I was cranky, tired, and definitely not wanting to be on a plane again until at least July. Our bags changed carousels 2 times before I finally saw my bright blue suitcase crawling along the conveyorbelt. Baby Brother found me wandering around and guided my half-dead body to the car where Mom and Dad were sleeping, "anxiously" awaiting my arrival. Finally, yes FINALLY, I was almost home. 1 1/2hrs later (15 hrs after my trip began) we pulled into our driveway and all three of us crawled to bed. At that point, I was too exhausted to care that I slept in my clothes, on top of my blankets, holding my book, and still wearing my glasses; I was just glad to be home...at last. 3am on Monday.
After circling the airport for an extra 20min, we finally arrived at the gate at 2am. 12 HOURS AFTER THIS TRIP BEGAN!!!!!!!! I was about to kiss the ground, but decided against it for reasons of sanitation and I was just too tired to get down there. I was cranky, tired, and definitely not wanting to be on a plane again until at least July. Our bags changed carousels 2 times before I finally saw my bright blue suitcase crawling along the conveyorbelt. Baby Brother found me wandering around and guided my half-dead body to the car where Mom and Dad were sleeping, "anxiously" awaiting my arrival. Finally, yes FINALLY, I was almost home. 1 1/2hrs later (15 hrs after my trip began) we pulled into our driveway and all three of us crawled to bed. At that point, I was too exhausted to care that I slept in my clothes, on top of my blankets, holding my book, and still wearing my glasses; I was just glad to be home...at last. 3am on Monday."I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, IF ONLY IN MY DREAMS"...almost happened to me
daaaaaaaang! I'm glad you're safely home. I thought it was bad when my parents drove to the wrong airport, but this tops my story...you've got me beat by about 10 hours and that's including my trips to and from airports! Merry Christmas Anne!
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