A weekend ago (as in a week and a half ago and not last weekend, or I would say last weekend), Travis and I were traveling to South Carolina to celebrate our friend Debbie’s 60th plus one birthday. It was supposed to happen last summer, but Covid. Then, it was supposed to happen over New Year’s, but Covid. It finally happened, but it was a year late. It was supposed to be a surprise, but Debbie, like many women, has a way of inadvertently ruining any potential surprise. She knew something was going on, just not the specifics.
That Saturday morning, we needed to leave our house early to catch our 7:30am flight. I wanted to leave at 4am. We managed to leave at 4:15am, which is basically on time for us. Everything looked okay, since the drive app was saying we would make it to O’hare in 1 hour, 7 minutes. All of the routes had the same estimated time, so we picked 294 straight up. As the drive progressed, it was actually a little slower than the app predicted. Then, somewhere around 5:15, we stopped. We actually stopped. The app marked the delay at 17 minutes, but it was clear to us that we would be there longer. We sat completely still for 30 minutes. At 5:45, I was starting to panic, but we started moving, just very slowly. Everyone was moving left. It was like that traffic scene in The Office. Our lane would sit and sit and sit, so we would struggle to change lanes, only for that lane to sit and sit. People who are up driving at 5:45 on a Saturday are not going somewhere casually. Everyone wanted to MOVE! It took another 30 minutes for us to get up to the scene of a horrible accident. As we were passing the accident, I finally got a human from United Airlines on the phone, after 30 minutes of menu options and holding. As the agent set up our backup plan, an indirect flight at 2pm that may make us late for the party, I snapped a few pictures of this accident, thinking that maybe getting out 15 minutes late saved us from being involved in this scene. All the lanes of 294 were forced into one line on the shoulder. The police must have closed the entire road to have emergency vehicles come from the north. Since it was still 6:15, I thought we still might be able to make the flight. The United agent said she put the entire plan in the notes, so I should be able to change it should we actually miss the flight.
With everyone wanting to get to their destination, traffic moved quite quickly after we passed the accident. We made it to the airport in record time and went to remote parking F. Then we stopped. We were in one of those lanes with curbs on both sides, so we couldn’t get out. And we were stopped. And there was a bend a few cars up, so we had no idea how long the line was or what the hold up was. And it’s 6:30. By the time we made the bend, Travis informed me that he really needed to relieve himself. Many cars ahead, there was an airport employee talking to each individual car before sending them AWAY from remote parking. UGH! We had plenty of time to switch drivers so Travis could run up to another airport employee that was randomly walking by to inquire about a restroom. Travis came back to the car, climbing into the backseat. So, the breakdown was that we were stuck, that employee had no bathroom solution for Travis, and Travis was out of options. After grabbing my water bottle (which I really like) and emptying my water (I had stopped drinking anyway because an hour ago it became apparent that we may never get out of our car), Travis discovered a discarded cheap water bottle under a seat and decided to use that instead. He was in better spirits when he returned to the front seat to resume our wait. People were actually walking up beside the cars from behind the bend. The report came that the line behind us was around two bends, with no escape. And some of those individuals may have been caught up in the stop on 294 with us.
Finally, we got our turn. Lot is full, but here is a voucher to park in regular airport parking. It’s 6:45am. I have NEVER parked in the expensive parking. I made a wrong turn that we had to correct. UGH! When we finally get to regular parking, we were behind a line of cars that seemed to extend into perpetuity away from the terminals. By luck, Travis saw a green car back out of the lane I had just passed. Yes, it was a green car. That’s what he said. There was nobody behind us. Suddenly, I couldn’t manage to get the stick shift into reverse!!! AHHHHH! But then I did (after a couple grinds that caused Travis pain), and miraculously, we got that spot. But it was almost 7, and I have never heard of anyone making a flight when they park their car 30 minutes before flight time. We grabbed our bags and RAN! I don’t remember much of this part, but when we got to the United check-in (we had two checked bags… both Travis’, I packed in a carry-on), I ran up to the agent that was manning the premium United line. I told her we had a flight at 7:30. She looked at me like I was nuts, but let us pass the line. The lady behind the counter helped us move swiftly and yelled, “WE HAVE SOME HOT BAGS HERE!!!” Travis tipped that baggage guy $20, and we ran to security. There was no line at security! We got through in no time. It was a little after 7:10. We started running to our terminal, F17, which was pretty far out. But I HAD to stop to use the bathroom. After the bathroom stop (Travis went again too), we looked like Olympic runners, if only in our heads, as we ran across O’Hare. We made the flight. Our friends, Bee and Jeff (also going to the party) were standing by the terminal to keep the agent from closing the door. The four of us walked through the door, and they closed it behind us.
We had an uneventful flight. Scott, Debbie’s husband, picked us up at the airport. Our bags were somehow in the baggage claim area. Can’t even imagine how they made it into the belly of the plane. After a nice lunch in downtown Greenville, we decided to take a nap before the party. I set my alarm for 5:30, since the party was at 7:00, with Debbie arriving at 7:30. When I woke up, the clock beside the bed said 6:25. AHHHHH! I jumped out of bed, while thumping Travis in the chest as he slept beside me! So, I hard set my phone to central time, because the Lakehouse that I used to own was close enough to the time change line that my phone would flip between eastern and central time, making it impossible to know what the actual time was. And I forgot that. My alarm went off at 6:30, while I was taking a rapid shower. Since we were so well versed at rushing that day, we made the party by 7:05, which is basically on time for us. And the only other surprise that weekend was Debbie’s surprise to see Bee, Jeff, Travis, and me. WHEW!
Have a great week everyone! And count your blessings! It still unnerves me that we could have been caught up in that accident. If you have a minute, send strength and prayers to those that were in the accident.
