Be warned! This is a long ventful post!
We had a very eventful trip to get to Maryland for Christmas this year. We were very worried about making it because we had a layover in Minnesota and there were all kinds of warnings that flights may be cancelled going in and out of Minnesota. We called the airport numerous times before the flight to make sure we were good to go, they kept telling us we were but to make sure we got there two hours early just in case. Our flight left at 5:47 so like dutiful flyers we arrived at the airport at 3:30. The baggage takers (i'm sure they have a name but I don't know it) did not arrive til 4:30. Grrr. Oh well, we just dozed on some chairs and watched the cleaners.
This flight left without a hitch and we were told we were just fine to land in Minnesota. After we landed there was another plane in our holding spot so we had to wait off to the side for 40 minutes before we were allowed to finally pull up-the only problem was we landed at 9:25 and our next flight left at 10. I was in a panic!!!! We finally got off the flight in the "G" gates and our flight to leave was in the "C" gates. If you have ever been to the Minnesota airport you can get an idea of exactly how far we had to run to try and get on a flight that left 5 minutes ago! And on top of that the ticket agents refused to call the correct gate to let them know we were on our way. Lucky enough the flight was delayed to leave until 10:15, a blessing we thought. Apparently, however, the pilot for this flight did not know he was supposed to be flying it so we had to wait another hour for him to arrive to fly our plane!!! Ridiculous!! Then another half-hour for them to de-ice our wings. It's okay, all we had to get to was Baltimore, and we were just grateful there were no taking off or landing hitches in Minnesota.
We arrived to Baltimore and felt like the plane just kept circling and circling and circling. Sure enough the pilot gets on the intercom and tells us it is too foggy to land and he is going to keep circling until it clears up. We circled for about 10 minutes when we started gaining a lot of altitude. We figured, it's okay, if we can't land he will just take us to the nearest airport in D.C. and that will be fine. The pilot gets on the intercom and tells us that for safety reasons he has to land the plane as fast as he can and he is heading to his nearest landing option-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. WHAT!!!!! That is 4 hours away from my parents!!!!! Noooo!!!! (By the way: My Little Sisters flight landed with no hitches in Baltimore 30 minutes later!)
We landed and they assured us they would do whatever it took to get us to Baltimore. Whatever! 15 minutes later they told us to get off the plane because they were headed back to Minnesota and if we wanted to go back that way then we could stay on the plane. Oh and by the way, there are no flights out to Baltimore but we will pay for a bus ride or for a hotel room for you. Great! We decided the best way to go was just to get on the bus, it wouldn't arrive for another 4 hours and we would get there about midnight. We just wanted to get there and figured that would just be the best way. 20 minutes later-never mind on the bus, they can't get one to go to Baltimore. This is Crazy!!!!! Are we not meant to get to Maryland for Christmas?
The guy behind us in line received a call from his wife who had been looking online and found a flight that the airport claimed to know nothing about. That flight doesn't exist, they tell us. After a lot of badgering from the people in the lines this flight all of a sudden opened up!!! How weird is that?!?!? We only had to fly to Detroit, Michigan, and from there D.C. It was better than any other options and we would arrive there at 10:00 at night.
We made it! 9 1/2 hours late and in the wrong city but we got there! I'm sorry that was a long spiel but I just had to vent somewhere! Kory has had a goal all year long to accomplish when we made it to Maryland and as you can see below he made it! I think you better watch out Kory!
