Two Flights @ Once...

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu

This quote reminded me of my first day of vacation. I arrived at the VanGalder bus terminal 10 minutes before the bus was to depart at 6:00 a.m. The parking lot had not been plowed...causing Ruby to get stuck. I managed to get her out and remove my luggage from the trunk...only to discover as I opened the bus terminal door, the said bus was leaving the premises leaving behind one sad Angie and another gentleman. We both asked the cantankerous clerk if she would call the bus back and her reply was a firm and kind of unfriendly, "no." This was fine. There was nothing I could do...and after getting how many ever EVIL inches of the white stuff...I was not about to drive to O'Hare myself. Oh yes and let's discuss the $30 per day (plus an airport tax which hovers around 30%)...so I sat and waited and watched it snow.

The bus came at 7:00...we boarded and left at 10 after. Hmmmm...perhaps if the 6 o'clock bus would've been waiting the extra said minutes and not have left at 6 on the dot...you know what? I am not going to even to dwell on this issue.

7:10 left the station. 7:30-ish got on the road after all the stops hither and yon in Rockford.

7:45 - driver informs us that he's not going to risk our lives. He will be driving what he's comfortable with...approximately 50 mph. The roads were bad!!!!!

8:10 the bus got stuck behind a TRIFECTA of snow plows...kind of plowing stair-step style blocking the whole road. (Nice.)

8:40 -- the other man who missed the first bus with me gets a call that his flight and all other American flights are cancelled due to bad weather. (I'm hopeful that perhaps Northwest might call my flight off or delay it.)

9:01 arrive at O'Hare and make my way into the NWA counter. Go to auto check-in. Flight has left. Read, "pay $50 to fly on the next flight taking you directly to Memphis and bypassing Detroit." I insert my credit card and give up the fight. There's no sense in stressing out. $50--it is what it is.

Haul my luggage to the X-ray machine and pray that it finds its way from Chicago to Memphis and PLEASE Memphis to Chattanooga. Leave my belongings with the nice people.

9:15 get through security. No beeps. Thank goodness. (Last time I flew, I got to have the whole pat-down and wand...goodtimes.)

9:20 call my parents.
9:25 call my brother.
9:30 order Starbucks and JUST NOT CARE ANYMORE.
9:45 find my gate. I got to sit next to someone obviously having a fight with his significant other--something about the money she owes him and this-n-that. Expletives flew.
9:46 -- changed seats.
9:50 dove into my book.
11:00 my next flight was to take off.
11:05 NWA announced flight was running late getting in. 20 more minutes.
11:30 Flight still delayed. 20 more minutes.
Approximately 12:45--We actually board the said plane.
1:15 p.m. We pulled away from the gate to be de-iced.
1:30 p.m. The pilot informs us that they over de-iced the plane which shorted out something and we would need to go back to the gate and wait.
2:00 p.m. Re-deiced the plane.
2:15 p.m. We began the Taxi process.
2:30 p.m. We took off.
4:20 p.m. We landed safe and sound in Memphis. People connecting to Chattanooga needed to "please hustle to gate E-9." Hmmmm...we needed to PLEASE hustle. No kidding. Well, I had a stop to make along the way to pick up a little something in MEMPHIS!!!!!
4:40 p.m. Got to the gate on the other end of the airport after stopping to purchase a little souvenir. (On our way to the gate, we -- Bry and I -- heard overhead, "Bryan Good to gate E-9..."
4:42 p.m. I was informed that I was not on the said flight.
4:43 p.m. NERVOUS LAUGHTER.
4:44 p.m. MORE LAUGHTER.
4:45 p.m. They must've found me because they let me board.
5-something...landed in Chattanooga. I was soo thankful to be here!!!

*My dad was checking our flight status the whole way. Once I boarded in Memphis, he thought it was cool that I actually appeared on two flights on their computer system!!!! TWO FLIGHTS AT ONCE...interesting!!!

Thus marks day #1.