Ok so here I am in
Chicago finally.
Well yesterday was an
experience - here's the story.
10:00 am -
LA
I wake up in my hotel room. My head is telling me that that last pint of
snakebite
last night was probably a mistake. I turn on the
TV and check my flight times. My flight is on
schedule but there is a
warning that flights to Chicago may experience delays due to
weather.
I don't pay much attention.
11:10 am -
LA
I arrive at the
check-in line and am
dismayed by its length. I have to be checked in
20 minutes before departure and my flight leaves at 11:35. I
resign myself to missing the
flight and going on
stand by, but when I get to the top of the line they tell me the flight
has been
delayed until 12:00 so I will be able to make it after all. Foolishly I think this
is a
good thing
11:50 am -
LA
I board flight 1560 to
Chicago
11:55 am -
LA
I get off flight 1560 to
Chicago. We have been told that due to bad weather in Chicago all
inbound flights are grounded
until further notice. We are asked to wait in the
terminal.
We are told it shouldnt be
too long
2:30 pm -
LA
I board flight 1560 to
Chicago. We leave the gate and
taxi out to the
runway.
The
Captain comes on the
PA and explains that we have been grounded again due to
bad weather in Chicago. He explains that although it will be
uncomfortable we will wait
on the
plane since it is not expected to take
too long
5:30 pm -
LA
We finally take off for
Chicago
8:30 pm -
mid-air
The
captain tells us that due to
bad weather in Chicago we have been diverted to
Minneapolis
9:00 pm ( LA time ) -
Minneapolis
We
touch down in Minneapolis. The captain tells us that all gates are full so we will have to wait
for a gate.
9:30 pm ( LA time ) -
Minneapolis
We get a gate. We are given a
1800 number to call to book a new flight to Chicago.
We are told that usually we would be put up in a
hotel until our flight leaves, but apparently
all hotels in
Minneapolis are fully booked. We are invited to take the little
pillows from
the plane with us since we will probably have to sleep in the terminal.
9:45 pm ( LA time ) -
Minneapolis
I finally find a free phone and ring the
1800 number. All flights to Chicago are fully booked
until
11:30 am the next day. This is a
problem since the course I am teaching in
Chicago
starts at
7:30 am. I book myself on that flight anyway since its the best option at present.
I go and collect my
luggage from the
carousel
10:30 pm ( LA time ) =
Minneapolis
I go back to the arrival gate. There doesn't seem much else to do. When I get there there is only
only 10 people left and we all have reasons that we need to get to Chicago tonight. I have
no idea
where everyone else went.
11:00 pm ( LA time ) -
Minneapolis
The gate is
manned by some very stressed people. They are having to deal with flights from
all over that have been diverted here. We have
latched on to one lady in particular who
is trying to get us to Chicago. She is doing a great job - at times she is one three separate
phone calls and the radio at once. She is very
thirsty but has run out of water. I go and buy
her a bottle of
evian from a vending machine. She
deserved it.
11:30 pm ( LA time ) -
Minneapolis
Our gate lady tells us she may be able to get us on a flight that has been
diverted here
but which will now be continuing on to Chicago. She tells us not to go anywhere.
12:00 am ( LA time ) -
Minneapolis
The flight arrives but it turns out there was a
miscalculation and the plane is
overloaded
for the amount of
fuel they have left. She ends up actually having to take people
off the plane.
12:30 am ( LA time ) -
Minneapolis
Out gate lady finds another flight from
Montreal that has some spare seats.
We board. This plane has also been trying to get to chicago for the last
12 hours
and they have run out of
refreshments. I am
beyond caring
03:30 am ( Chicago time ) -
Chicago
We touch down in
Chicago. The flight attendant tells us he is almost
moved to tears to be able
to say '
Welcome to Chicago'. There are people asleep on the
luggage carousel. I guess its as hard to get out of Chicago today as it was to get in. I ring for a
limo. They say they will be there in 20 minutes.
03:40 am -
Chicago
I am sitting slumped on my
suitcase with my
akubra in my hand gazing hopefully at every
limo
that goes past. I notice a guy taking
photographs of me. He comes over and tells me he is from
some Chigaco
newspaper and that they are doing a
24 hours at O'Hare airport special. He asks me
how my traveling has been. I tell him. I tell him in
explicit detail.
05:00 am -
St Charles
Only 14 hours late, I arrive at the centre where preparation for the class I am to teach starts at 7:30. And to think I complained about a
3 hour delay in
Melbourne
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