Travel woes part 2

As if Thursday hadn't been enough, Sunday's journey home really tested my patience. B was sweet enough to accompany me to the airport and then have his own adventure taking public transportation back home from LGA. We had lunch and then said our goodbyes before I headed to the gate. At this point my 3pm flight was still showing on-time departure. When 2:45 rolled around and there was no movement toward boarding, I started to worry. Then the gate agent announces the flight is delayed until 4pm. Apparently there are mechanical issues with the airplane.

When it's determined that they can't fix the plane, they announce we will be taking a new plane which won't arrive until 6:40pm. Clearly I would miss my connection in Dallas so just as everyone else on my flight did, I stood in line to see what my options were for getting home. As I am standing there they announce that our plane has been fixed and we'll now be taking off at 6, but that still doesn't resolve my connection problem. An hour and fifteen minutes later I get to the desk and the gate agent informs me that I can stay on the 6:00 flight but they can't guarantee a seat for the last DFW to Austin flight and I would probably have to spend the night in Dallas. Um, no. Others in front of me were being rerouted to other airports but that wasn't an option for me since all of the flights were oversold, so I requested a flight out on Monday if American would pay for my taxi back to and from Manhattan. Done.

I was excited to spend another night with B, but frustrated that I had wasted the most beautiful Manhattan day at LGA. ARGH. I took my town car ride back to the city and felt like Mr. Big. :) Met B at the flat and we decided to take advantage of what was left of the gorgeous day and went and got margaritas and nachos and sat outside at a restaurant patio. It was lovely after the day I had had.

Monday morning B was off to work early and I got ready to head back to LGA. I had a sinking feeling that morning as I was getting my things together and could hear thunder and see gray foggy skies. The driver was waiting for me at 9:30 sharp and despite some heavy traffic we were at the airport in less than an hour. I was supposed to be on a noon flight that was now delayed until 12:30. Still not an issue, but I had been in this situation before, so I was not convinced. 12:30 became 1pm so I knew I would again miss my connection in Dallas but managed to get that changed quickly to the 5:30 flight. 1pm became 1:20 and I got more nervous -- anytime after 1:30 would make my connection in Dallas tight and I did not want to miss that flight.

We managed to board by 1:30 and again it was a horrid flight. Turbulent throughout, horrible take off and landing. I was a mess on landing at DFW and never wanted to get on another plane for the rest of my life, but didn't have time to worry since I had less than an hour to get to a different terminal and catch my flight. At least that flight went smoothly. Still bumpy and rough landing, but I made it to Austin on time and in one piece. Luggage showed up and the car started which were my next two concerns, so with that, I met RR for dinner and then settled back in at home to get back into the swing of things. Ugh, school.