24 hours to Long Drive Farm

Christmas eve/Christmas day

This is not strictly a public transit post, it's a hellish airline transit story. The plan was to fly into Lexington, KY late Christmas eve. A 6am phone call put a stop to that. Instead of the christmas day flight they had re-booked me on, I got a Christmas eve flight into Louisville. Not a big deal as my ride, Brandon & Lisa would be passing that way anyway.

Everything was going smoothly: driving to the park-n-ride, checking in online, dropping off the baggage, going through security. Then, our flight was boarding. And then it wasn't. And then we were delayed. They boarded us anyway so we'd be ready to go at a moments notice. Two hours late, we leave. Again, not a big deal because I had a long layover.

When we got to Dallas, we couldn't land. So we circled and circled andght circled. Eventually we were diverted to houston where the plane refueled. And I swear that instead of taking the straightest path to Dallas, the pilot did loop-to(oops and zigzags across the state of Texas. And the entire time on ground in Houston, I was trying to keep my family informed and make worse case scenario preparations.

We make it to Dallas and as soon as I can, I check for my Louisville flight status. It's been delayed too, but is lifting off as we touch down. Off the plane, I get into line to re-book. Luck of luck, there's a flight in 40 minutes to Cincinnati! It leaves from another terminal but one of those crazy airport carts is flagged down to give me a ride. This is at first a huge relief until I become convinced the driver is treating the whole night as a sleepover because so many people are stranded. I ask him where we're going next, after he's picked up 2 or 3 other passengers and dropped them off, and he says ny terminal. He then drops me off at a set of escalators and tells me I'm still a quarter of a mile from my gate. I run up the escalators, across the moving sidewalks, down the escalators and through the terminal. All the while extremely confused because the signs say terminal D not B where I'm going. Luckily B is right next to D, but don't. Ask me where C is.

Arriving at the correct gate, I overhear the gate agent and a passenger discussing the lack of a flight attendant and possibly a pilot! I get in line (I'm next) and wait. A pushy woman from LA by way of Kentucky comes up and attempts to commandeer my place in line. The gate agent disappears, refusing to make eye contact with me. I forgive him when he returns with the flight attendant. I find out the other folks waiting were kept on a plane for 5(!) Hours before the flight was cancelled. This is their plane out of Dallas which I'm beginning to think is hell. I want on.

The gate agent comes back and I'm able to keep the pushy woman in check without resorting to physical or verbal abuse. I get on the plane. Pushy woman gets on the plane. There is a sense of comaderie especially among the 5 hour people. We all love the flight attendant with his spanish accent. We start to move, but only to the de-icing. It takes nearly 2 hours to be de-iced because one of the trucks break. Finally, as I slip in and out of dreams, hallecinations and dreamless sleep, we take off.

Did I mention that from midmorning California time to well past midnight Kentucky time, I didn't eat? That was awful. We got to Cincinnati at 4:30am. My luggage was still in Dallas but I expected that. I got in line at the terminal to make sure they sent it home, to Long Drive Farm. I get sent elsewhere, but it gets sorted out. I'm beyond exhaustion and I'm not sure I can eat because my stomach hurts so much and has been making funny noises since I had an energy bar a fellow passenger was kind enough to give me. I snooze as I wait until it's a decent hour to text my brother. He texts me first saying they're about to leave louisville. I decide to eat becausw surely that will help? Now, after dried pear, pita chips and chocolate milk, I await the last stretch to get to my old Kentucky home.