Saturday, December 20, 2008

How to get to South Carolina in 30 hours

So we are in South Carolina, but it definitely was not the smooth trip that I wanted! Prayers worked for clear weather in Eugene. It warmed late Wednesday, then rained all night, not dropping below 35 degrees. We arrived at the airport at 4 am, got through security no problem, then boarded our plane on time, and left Eugene at 6:05 A.M.. On to Salt Lake City we headed, grateful for our good fortune with the weather. We arrived at Salt Lake City, where our smooth trip went down the drain. Our connecting flight to Cincinnati was delayed about an hour because they needed to fly a part in from Atlanta. We settled in the chairs at the airport, knowing that with the delay we'd miss our connection. The airline had already rerouted us to go to Cincinnati, then Atlanta, then finally Charlotte, and also put us on standby for the final direct flight from Cincinnati to Charlotte. We knew it would be a much longer day, but had faith we would make it.
Well... then we watched as our flight delayed further. Then the part from Atlanta did not work. They then decided to replace the entire fuel line of the plane. An hour longer of repair turned into a half hour longer, than a half hour more. Finally 5 hours after our flight was scheduled to depart, they decided that the plane in fact could not be repaired in a timely matter... and they got us another plane. At this point, everyone on our flight was unable to get their connections in Cincinnati. We landed in Cincinnati at nearly 10 PM... where we were sent downstairs to collect our accommodations in local hotels, paid for by the airline since it was their fault that we found ourselves in Northern Kentucky. Yes, you read that right... the Cincinnati airport is in Kentucky. We "lucked" out with our accommodations and ended up at the Hyatt. Some of our fellow "distressed passengers" were sent to budget inns! We also were unable to lay hands our our checked bags... so all we had was our laptops, my medical stuff... and well, that's about all! Matt didn't even have his coat, figuring the bulk of our time outside was spent in Eugene, so he checked it! 32 degrees and waiting for a hotel shuttle was not fun for him! The airline provided us with a small bag with a toothbrush, hairbrush, a packet of toothpaste, q-tips, cotton balls, a t-shirt, and most baffling of all, a packet of laundry detergent. I suppose they expected passengers to find a washing machine and wash the clothes on their back while wearing only a t-shirt? The visual image of that had me giggling pretty good.
After a short rest at the hotel... where my body decided I was napping and not sleeping, so I didn't sleep much at all, we found ourselves at the airport at 615 am, ready for our 8 something departure to Charlotte. At this point I wasn't sure what time it was, let alone what time zone I was in. It's a good thing we got out of Eugene, as the weather turned nasty again after we left, dumping more snow on the city that sees it maybe once to twice a year, and almost never before Christmas.
Our plane in Cincinnati boarded a few minutes late, but we thought we were finally on our way... only to get stuck on the tarmac waiting for a place in line to take off... then Charlotte grounded all incoming flights for fog... finally after sitting on the ground for about 30 minutes, we took to the air... and finally arrived in the Carolina's... only a day late!

But we are here, and happy!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

hmmm washing clothes in only a t shirt. That is pretty funny it was a nice thought.

Courtney said...

glad you finally made it to South Carolina, I hope the rest of your trip goes more smoothly ;) HAVE FUN

Christy said...

Sorry about the deleted post. My daughter was signed in and I didn't know it.
You were so close to me when you flew into Charlotte. I hope you have a wonderful (rest of the) trip.
Merry Christmas!