And I thought it was going to be as simple as getting on an airplane...
Our flight home was initially scheduled for 6:30 pm, putting us into OKC around 8:30 pm. However, our schedule for the day was clear, so we decided to head to the airport early in hopes of catching an earlier flight on standby.
We arrived shortly after 12:15 pm and attempted to book on the 1:11 pm flight. It had been cancelled due to inclement weather. In fact, many flights around the country had been cancelled for this reason. So, we had the agent rebook us on the 3:13 pm flight. There were several seats still available and we figured we got lucky.
3 pm rolls around and I check the departure screen to see if everything is on time. The Oklahoma City flight had been vaporized. Gone! I checked with the agent and the flight had been cancelled due to mechanical failure. Great.
So, it's back to the original 6:35 pm flight. The plane didn't arrive until 7:30 pm and it was overbooked. They were offering $250 travel voucher per person, matching air miles for Aadvantage members (that's me) and a hotel voucher for the evening. Whoever volunteered would be on the first flight in the morning. Were it not for the fact that Mary has a 9:30 am meeting that is very important to her, I would have leapt at this offer. As it was, we boarded the plane and buckled in.
Soon, the flight attendent came onboard and announced that the plane was carrying too much weight (must have been the french fries?). They required the last three people to board be removed from the flight. Bummer. Glad it wasn't us.
Around 8 pm we finally hit the runway and settle in for a leisurely two-hour flight to OKC. Leisurely? Hardly. I have flown more times than I can count on the hands and toes of my immediate and extended family. But I have NEVER experienced turbulence such as what we encountered at 28,000 feet. It felt like the plane was going to be smacked out of the sky by the hand of God! I was thinking to myself, it there a "Jonah" onboard? (read the Old Testament book if you don't know what that means).
Anyhow, we finally touched down in OKC shortly after 10 pm. It only took 15 minutes to get the luggage (yes, all FOUR pieces were delivered properly), another five minutes to find the car, and then a 30 minute drive back home in the rain. From the time we hopped a cab to Chicago O'Hare International to the time we entered our home was ELEVEN HOURS.
It was a long and stressful day, and we are glad to be home. The kids were incredible troopers at the airport. On a scale of 1 to 10, they only hit a 2 on the "complaint-meter". I was very proud of them. I am exhausted and must... sleep... zzzz.....
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
