Sunday, June 8, 2008

12 1/2 hours later...

I started the day at 9am this morning - traveling to Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) to catch my flight to O'hare Airport, Chicago where I had left my car for the week. There was a slight delay departing as the plane was having problems with their A/C. Nonetheless, 15 minutes after the announcement, we were on the plane. About an hour into the flight, the pilot comes on the intercom and tells us that there's a bad storm in Chicago. So we were in a holding pattern for 45 minutes. I was able to sleep during this time (with my mouth wide open, of course). Once that was over, he comes back on again and this time he tells us that we will need to land in Indianapolis! We were suppose to be in Chicago by 1:15pm and now at 2:30pm, we're sitting on the tarmac, waiting to park the plane,... in Indianapolis.

The crew tells us that we will only have about 15 minutes if we decide to de-plane while they refuel. So I waited on the plane... used the toilet on the plane and it would not flush. I later find out that it's being serviced. Thankfully, I wasn't making butterflies. Anyway, back at my seat, we wait... and wait... and about ONE HOUR later, we finally get our turn on the runway and take off. I thought I heard the pilot say that the flight was only going to take 30 minutes or so, but then after 30 minutes had gone by, I finally feel the plane descending. That means it will be another 30 minutes before we land in Chicago.

Once on the ground, the baggage took forever to come out on the belt. With my golf bag and small carry on, I make my way to Door 2 at the Shuttle center about 2 par 5's away. I see the hotel shuttle... but the driver doesn't see me! I get close enough to bang my fist on the vehicle, but the back wheel of the shuttle catches my carry on and tips it over while he's pulling away into traffic. So ok,... I wait for another 15 minutes for the next shuttle.

After paying my parking ticket, I find my car where I had last left it. I'm glad I was able to park inside a parking structure. My car was nice and cool when I got in. Once I got everything loaded in, I turned on my new GPS - an early birthday present from sis and my bluetooth earpiece - a gift from Bob. I felt so high tech!
I'm glad the GPS found its way to my housing because it was getting dark and I was getting tired. I had a 3 1/2 hour drive from O'hare to Decatur, IL. About 30 miles left into the drive, I drop my earpiece on the passenger side and did not attempt to retrieve it. A few minutes after that, a couple of deers run right across the freeway and thankfully no one got hurt. And finally, less than 2 miles to go before I get to my destination, I see in a distance what appears to be warning lights for a train. Yup... just my luck. It's 9:13pm... and the slowest and longest train is going by. The train took about 7 minutes before I was finally able to cross the railroad. And finally, I arrive at my destination at 9:30pm. WHAT A DAY!!!

My housing - the Skeffington's were nice enough to keep my dinner warm when I arrived. Pork chop wrapped in bacon and mash potatoes... YUM!!! :-)

No comments: