Being Tom Hanks

Well, this is the story of my trip home from Orlando. Compared to this, the story of our stay in Orlando really isn't all that interesting. Quick summary: I flew to Orlando on Thursday, had dinner with Victoria and hung out with everyone. I spent Friday picking up people with my trusty sidekicks (mad props to Dave and Chris), then the whole group had dinner and a scavenger hunt in Downtown Disney. Saturday and Sunday were meetings, which went quite well. Congrats to our new officers, by the way. Saturday night, we spent most of our evening wandering around Downtown Disney and taking silly pictures. Sunday, after we finished our meeting, we started taking people to the airport. And here's where our story begins...

I got everyone to the airport. Got them there EARLY even. So there were five of us on the same flight, thus they rode with me to rental drop-off and we checked in for our flight. At the time of check-in, they told us that our flight was still at 7:30, but that it was slightly overbooked, if we’d like to take an earlier flight. We declined. Hahahahahahahahahaha! Wouldn’t have worked anyway. SO. We got through security. I suppose I should mention here that I have checked a bag. It’s too large for carry-on. We got through security. David gots his bag flagged for what turns out to be the gavel that he inherited as the new chair. Hahahaha. Too funny.

So we got on the tram and got to our terminal, at which point we arrive at our gate. It’s very crowded, but not too terribly crowded. At this point, it’s still 5:20, and there are several other flights scheduled before ours. All to Atlanta, it turns out. Which eventually explains the crowd. We sit down to wait and my phone rings. It’s the Delta system calling me to inform me of a change in my flight. My flight to Atlanta is now scheduled to leave at 8:40pm (with the others, as they are all on this flight). At the same time, two things happen. We find out that our gate has changed and the others realize that they will ALL miss their connections. Mine is still fine, but close. So we five go to our new gate and get put on standby for the earlier flight. We were like the first ones on the list.

So we make the necessary calls (oh my phone is half-dead) and sit down to wait. We start watching the monitor and see the radar. OMG. Tornado warnings, watches (like the ones in Clemson, according to the texts), flood warnings, high wind advisories. The works. In Atlanta and all the way up from the coast. Heading toward Asheville, my final destination (as a side note, Asheville really rocks). THEN we overhear the man at the counter say that ATL is CLOSED. Not delayed, closed. How can you close the busiest airport in the world. No flights in, no flights out. Then, through the course of the hour, we learn that all flights from Orlando to Atlanta haven’t left since like noon.

So we start to accept the fact that we’re not going to make this standby flight and that we can just take the original flight, whence they can get a hotel in Atlanta or something. No big. So we sit in the floor and play spades. What else would you do?

Eventually, we go get dinner. I have some soup. We finish and I suggest we go back and check on things. We get there and they’re finally boarding the standby flight. Did I mention that flight was supposed to leave at 3:30 originally? So not two seconds after we get there, they call Jaime’s name. Then mine. We all kinda crowd around and explain to the lady that there are three of them that need to be together and that we can wait if they can’t all go. So she sends someone to count the empty seats. While this is going on, we’re discussing it with the lady and this very rude man is telling us to grow up and accept that sometimes things don’t work. Apparently he didn’t care that someone had to drive 2 hours to get them when they got home. So I wanted to suggest that the rude man get on the plane and go away. But I didn't. Anyway, after about 20 minutes, they tell us there are 4 seats. Remember, there are 5 of us.

Doo…dee…doo…dee… (musical interlude. For suspense)

She tries to board us in order, and I somehow end up there before one of the guys. All four of them need that flight to get home. So we convince the lady to let them go and I’ll get on the next flight. Supposed to leave in an hour. They board and they are off. I call mom and tell her what’s going on and that I’ll call as soon as I’m on my plane. I go to the bathroom and return to the gate to see EVERYONE stampeding to the Delta courtesy phones across the hall. I stop a guy and ask what happened and he informs me that flight 1330 is now cancelled. Yeah, that’s my flight. And if I don’t get that flight, I miss my connection, the LAST flight to Asheville.

I consider crying, but I call mom and give her my info and ask her to call Delta because all the courtesy phones are full. I then get in line at the desk to wait to see if either of us can get me somewhere. I’m willing at this point to go to Greenville and get my car when I go get my bag or something. I’m exhausted, I’m frustrated, I’m by myself, and I want to cry. I start talking to a woman behind me and explaining to her the issue with the flight. She’s on her way back from working in Haiti. Tells me about the city and her work there. It made me feel like a brat for being so upset that I couldn’t get home. I liked her.

Anyway, I get near the front of the line. I’m like next, when my mom calls and tells me she got through and they booked me for 6:30 am on Monday and that if I stay in line, they will give me a hotel voucher. I get to the counter and the woman tells me they don’t give vouchers for weather. She does, however, print my boarding passes and check me in. All I have to do is go to the gate in the morning. I call mom. Again. She says she’ll get me a room and call me back. I go to the airport atrium, which is outside security, and call Chris for the fourth time, then I just sit there for like 20 minutes, staring at this fountain go up and down. Mom calls and tells me to call the Hampton inn for their shuttle. I do, they pick me up, and I check in. Around 8:45.

So then I got to my room. I put the key in, it turns green and I turn the knob. It won’t turn. It won’t open. I get in the elevator, go back downstairs, where the guy says “I think this is one of the rooms that opens backwards. You have to turn the knob up.” I go back upstairs, come in, take a shower, and took advantage of the free wireless.

I got up at 4 am on Monday, re-washed my hair and checked the weather (the same storm was probably going to hit Orlando right as I was leaving), then grabbed the shuttle back to the airport. When I got there, I got in the excessively long security line and learned that like 3 of the scanners went down that morning and that they were just starting to catch up. I finally got through there and got to my gate. The flight, being the 6:30 flight, was a combination of Monday morning commuters and angry people from the night before. I learned that most of the people from the night before had been put on standby for that flight rather than getting real tickets. I was quite lucky. My favorite was the man who was upset because he wasn't in first class that morning when he was the night before. I say shut up and be grateful that you have a seat on a flight at this point.

SO I finally got on a plane and made it to Atlanta. I was stuck between two men who took up more than their fair share, so I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and thought happy thoughts about home. We landed in Atlanta and I checked the boards to discover that my flight to Asheville was already cancelled. Seriously?!? So I go to the desk for the next flight to Asheville and asked them to rebook me. Of course, Delta has a new policy that involves telling people to go to the courtesy phones. Those phones, of course, are not usually nearby. This time, I got lucky. Turns out, they were next door and the nice man on the phone said I had already been booked on the next flight, which was to leave an hour after my original flight.

So I went and got breakfast and came back to learn that the flight had been delayed 20 minutes. Ridiculous. So I waited and waited and eventually got on the plane and went home and went to find my suitcase. To my amazement, my suitcase actually arrived. I kinda yelled from excitement when I saw it. I got to my car (once i found it) and had to go back in to the ATM to get cash and get out. I finally got into my car and onto the road, where I had to turn on Bon Jovi and sing insanely loudly in the car all the way home to stay awake. I got home at 2pm. For anyone who's curious, that's 22.5 hours after I started on my trip home. I fell onto my bed, slept from 3pm until 7pm, then from 8:30pm to 7:30 this morning. Then it was time for work, where I attempted to function. Didn't work. You can ask Courtney if you want a witness. Here are some pictures!