Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

WARNING: This is a VERY long story. A few of you have asked about my trip troubles to Florida, and the rest of you...well, haven't. But, I'm bored, so I'm going to share my story.

I made a comment a few posts back about how I wondered if I blog because my life is crazy or if God gives me crazy life events so I have blogging material...either way, this past weekend was a case in point.

Part I

Each year, our family goes to Florida after Christmas. I didn't think I was going to make it...but because of a case of my infected eyes (continuation of the "pretty in pink" post), I was able to go!!!

The plan was to leave on the 26th (Friday) by catching a ride with Tara up to Midway and then take a taxi from the airport in Florida to my Dad's place. With ticket in hand, I was ready for some fun in the sun.

Needless to say, Friday morning didn't go quite as expected as I found myself flying down Main street in an attempt to get to Tara's before I was horribly late...at which I failed miserably.

1:30 - I got to her place, I jumped out of my car and tried running to hers without falling. We had a good ride up and when I got to the airport, I was so glad that I had a non-stop flight as this would mean that I should be in Ft. Myers in about 5 hours. I saw the long line for the checkout counter and breathed a sigh of relief that I had an e-ticket, and since I wasn't planning on checking any of my bags, I would do a self check-in and get to my gate in plenty of time. The prompter asked for either the confirmation number or a credit card. No problem, I'll go with the credit card......yeah, let me just get that card.....not...a...prob....lem......?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Where's my card? OH NO! Where's my wallet with my card, all my money, and most importantly, ID?!

Oh....no.

Suddenly, vision of that wallet sitting in my car flashed in my mind. Please let it be in Tara's car!!! I frantically called Tara...at which she confirmed that the wallet was not in her car. I proceeded to make many frantic attempts to reach my sisters, at which they were not answering their phones, and even more desperate text messages to Tara.

3:30 - By the time I got to the ticket counter, Heidi, Jarod, Devon, Rebekah, Denny, Tara, my Dad, and Uncle Dave had been contacted in an attempt to solve this. You see, I had no way of getting home, I would definitely miss my flight, and I had no money. There was rumblings of FedEx, locksmiths, and riding the train home. We finally came up with a plan that Bek would get my wallet, fax a copy of my ID to the airport, and hope they would let me through. At this time, Tara had shown back up to the airport to my aid a loaned me $40 in cash. I got to the ticket counter and told the lady my situation. She literally did not even blink as she went along her business and informed me that I could pass through without my ID. What?! Miracles still happen.

I proceeded to security, which they led me down a long hallway, sent me through an air puffer, wiped down my shoes, and unpacked my bags. They took my liquid items...didn't care. I was just glad I was getting through.

4:15 - I got to my gate. My flight was scheduled to leave at 5:00. It was unusually crowded...but I wasn't suprised, because there were many flights delayed. I made myself comfortable on the ground. To my right was an elderly lady who had been there since 10:00 am waiting for a flight and a highschool aged boy to my left who when his father asked what he was reading, sheepeshly replied, "the art of effective dating". After relentlessly harassing his son, the father squeezed in between the boy and myself for a nap. I managed to take a picture of the dad on my phone!

5:15 - I was getting pretty hungry as I realized I hadn't eaten all day. However, I wasn't sure how far I was going to have to stretch the $40, and decided that food could wait. I had woken up that morning with a sore throat, and was starting to really bother me. I also began to feel achy, but I was hoping that it was a result of sitting on an aiport floor rather than a temperature.

5:45 - They announced over the intercom that all flights were going to be cancelled due to heavy fog, that they were going to shut down the entire airport, and that the city would be notified because they did not want people sleeping there. If our plane was not on the ground, it would be cancelled since all flights that had not landed were being directed elsewhere. The son of the lady who had been there since 10:00 am decided to drive his mother to Tennessee that night. The family to my left with the adolecent son gathered their belongings as the mom called "Mike and Karen" and advised them to get out the turkey sandwiches as they were coming back for the night. I had called Rebekah and wasn't sure what I was going to do if I couldn't sleep at the airport. The underground world of Gotham city from Batman came to mind as I pictured myself snuggling up to newspapers in some alley close to the airport. I think this was the beginning of a slow emotional breakdown. :) You think I'm kidding...I wish I was.

6:15 - There were about 300 people in line at my gate trying to rebook their flight. By now, I could definitely tell that my aching was from a fever which I would guess to be about 101-102 degrees. High enough to make me feel pretty miserable. I didn't want to stand in line and since time was the only thing I had excess of at this point, I decided to sit and wait.

6:45 - All the computers at the gates crashed. Everyone was directed to proceed upstairs to the main baggage claim area. I had been on hold with the airline for 30 min. at this point, and decided to get in line upstairs as quickly as possible in order to beat the crowd.

When I got up there, I realized, there was no "beating the crowd". Since every flight was cancelled in the airport, I would guess there to be 5,000-6,000 people in a very congested area. We were literally standing shoulder to shoulder and we were unable to move through the crowd. I found myself in line with an exact look-alike to Ty Pennington (guy from Extreme Home Makeovers), a little old lady that kept frantically stating that she's "all alone", and a husband, son, and wife combination that if her accent had not given away her southern roots, her excessive makeup and jewelry would have. There was an elderly lady that kept bumping into the husband and would then yell at him for about knocking her over and to "watch out!" He would respond politely by saying "Ma'am...I believe you keep bumping into me. Anyway, there's no where to move". They had this exact exchange 3 different times.

Our little group bonded over sharing our traveling stories...I was taking my turn when the lady that had kept yelling at the husband to "watch out!" passed out! Personally, I don't think she passed out as she was wide awake 3 seconds later and seemed to have a flair for the dramatics. Nevertheless, a circle was formed around her as someone managed to push a wheelchair to her. The event led to a Southwest Airline employee to stand up on the desk and yell out "everyone in wheel chairs will be served first". I think the entire west section groaned in unison. Suddenly, there were a shocking number of people going crippled as they hobbled to find the nearest wheel chair. Don't get me wrong, the thought crossed my mind too.

8:15 - At this point, I had stood in line for close to 2 hours and not even moved forward 1 foot. I had been on hold with the airline for over an hour, I could feel my temperature rising, and my body feeling weak. I've always disliked the sound that is made with the "fasten seatbelt" light turns off, as it always makes me feel a little anxious. I think it's because when I was little and that noise was made when we'd hit turbulance, it always scared me. Well, the hold music that I was listenening to was to the song of William Tell and instead of using a drum to keep time, it was the 'fasten seat belt' noise used repeatedly...which only heightened an already stressed out situation.

About this time, a man with a large backpack yells out, "Anyone want any hamburgers?! I've got plently and wouldn't mind sharing the wealth!" as he unwrapped another burger and took a bite into it. I heard some groans, a few applause, and some laughter as we realized what a crazy situation we were in. "Ty Pennington" kept trying to talk to me, and I realized the next day in thinking back that I think he may have been flirting...at least he asked what I was doing this weekend and asked if there was room for two. At one point, he even had his arm around my shoulders.

I finally got a live representative who told me that the earliest flight she could get me on was TUESDAY! This was Friday...so the next flight was 4 days from now. Obviously, that was not going to work, so I thanked her and hung up. I grabbed my bag and headed towards the train because Tara had invited me to stay with her and the Nussbaum ladies at the Ritz Carlton. She told me to take a train to State/Lake. From there, I was to take a taxi to the hotel and the money she gave me would more than cover the fair...thank the Lord for a cousin like Tara!!

Part II

I made my way down to the train and stopped in a hallway to plug in my cell phone as it had died, but the electrical sockets weren't working...of course. I found the train and bought my ticket, but was clueless as what to do from this point. I found a CTA employee and asked her what train to get on if I wanted to go to State and Lake. I was disturbing her catching up on her celebrities in People magazine, so she brushed me off and said, "Any of them". I walked down to the train, and as I was about to walk into the train, the doors closed and the destination sign changed to "closed".

Not knowing what to do, and being completely exhausted, I saw the train conductor walking towards me. This man was about 6' 5" and in his mid-sixties. Standing there with luggage in hand and feeling the tears welling up in my eyes, I said to him, "Excuse me sir?.......Can.......(sniff).....(sniff)....you........tell me......(bursting into tears)....hooooooow to gettttttt to staaaaaaaaaaaaate aaaaaand laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaase?!" With a look of shock, he gently placed his hand on my shoulder and said, "Young lady...it's okay. You can calm down. Now, lets try this again. How can I help you?" At this point, I'm almost hiccuping because I'm crying so hard as I burst out in tears once again, "Caaaaaaaaaan youuuuuuuu tellllllllllllll meeeeeeeeee hooooooooooooooooow tooooooooooooooo gettttttttttttttt toooooooooooo Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate aaaaand Laaaaaaaaaaaake pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"....................................................................."My name's Bill. What's yours?"....."It's Taaaaaaaami!"..............more crying. This dear man, sent from heaven, also known as Bill, walked me to a map where he explained exsactly what I was going to do. Then, he walked me to a seat in the train, found the train conductor and asked her to personally come find me when it was my time to get off. She agreed. He assured me that "the bullet" was a good train and I should get there without any problems.

I got to my stop and to the hotel without any problems. Tara, her aunts, cousins, mom, and sisters let me hang out with them, and it actually ended up being a fun night as I laughed at the ladies while we played Catch Phrase. Besides, who could complain about staying at the Ritz Carlton?! Staying there was definitely a first for me.

The next day, I tagged along with Tara while she shopped and I hitched a ride back to Bloomington. I had booked another flight...this time from St. Louis. The plan was to leave that night on the 9:00 pm train to St. Louis. Take a taxi from the train station to the airport. Fly to Ft. Lauderdale. Rent a car and drive to Ft. Myers (2 hours apart). I think it was about 8:00 pm when I realized that this plan was ridiculous, and with my traveling luck, I was just asking for more disaster. How did I expect to rent a car without a license? So, I had to recall all the airlines, cancel the flights I had booked.

I called Bek and told her that I wasn't coming. But, as I told Tara, I'm either very determined, stubborn, or stupid (at which she confirmed that I was probably all three)...so I checked one more time for tickets, and I found one flying out of St. Louis that next morning at 11:00 am. I took it and flew directly to Ft. Myers without a problem.

I had a great trip. I ended up getting a new car, at which you all know how badly I was in need of one. I also got a new phone, so my reception at my house should be much better and now, everyone should be able to get ahold of me.

So there you have it...a very long end to a very long day!!!! If you're still reading...you have about as much determination as I did. :)