The Long Strange Trip: My Bad Travels

Finally back from Texas... and I can't say that it was the best trip. There were some fun points in the middle, but the ends were pretty bad. I still haven't gotten my luggage yet.

I was flying from my familiar (and comfortable) Northeast into the heart of the south, Texas. I had always wanted to go there, would have preferred if my wife had joined me, but not like this.

My "adventure" started on Monday, where upon my arrival in Houston, my connecting flight to Corpus Christi was cancelled. To avoid the uncertainty of standby, my work associate and I opted to drive the 4 hours south. I got to see more of Texas than I expected. Corpus' weather was nice, warm, sunny, a little humid and I had a running partner throughout the week.

I even broke my no fast food rule and gorged on Whataburger after a Reckless Kelly show on my last night. We all knew that Friday's weather in Boston could cause a problem for us. I prayed that I would luck out and get home.

And it didn't seem too bad. My flight from CC to Houston was delayed an hour, but I would still make my connection. They boarded us quickly to try and beat the weather...

Needless to say that didn't quite work out. The turbulence at points closer to home was scary, I have never had a plane shake like that. And as we began our descent into Logan the passengers were overjoyed. We could see the land, could see the runway, and then suddenly we were gaining altitude. WHAT!?!

The captain gets on the PA and announces that there was a plane at the end of the runway which would prevent us from landing. All this took place at 6:28pm. Logan closed at 6:30pm.

However, the tower was going to try and clear the runway and let us try again in 30 minutes, but there was no guaruntee. We didn't have the fuel for that, so we were going to divert to Burlington, VT to refuel and try again. 20 miles from the airport, once again the captain's voice fills the plane. We are being diverted to Montreal.

Upon arrival on Canadian soil, we are not allowed to disembark due to regulations which state that passengers on a domestic flight can only get off the plane on US soil. Therefore we waited, and waited, until once again the captain's voice is heard. His voice would become a depressing notice of unfulfilled expectations and hopes. We would be heading to Cleveland, a Contintental Airline hub, where we would have to spend the night.

At the gate we were greeted by an announcement that we would be on a 10:30am flight to Boston on Saturday and that they had reserved a block of rooms 40 minutes away, which we would have to pay for ourselves. The reason: our inconvenience was caused by the weather and Continental was not liable. God bless CYA, right?

4 other travellers and myself banded together and reserved rooms closer. My agency will be getting the bill. As I laid down in my bed for the night, i anxiously waited for morning to come. I missed Boston, I missed my normal life, and even though I pack running clothes in my carry-on, I was not prepared for 23 degrees and snow. Get me home I need my daily run!

Logan was a nightmare, we landed and I just needed this "adventure" to end. the luggage carousel spun and spun, my bag never appeared. I'm still waiting...

Lesson learned, travelling is hell, and I should have left earlier.

11 days, 11 runs...