Thursday, June 5, 2008

Off to a bad start...

So you know how I said the last post would be the last one from the US? Well, not quite right. I'm stuck in Cincinnati.

Wouldn't it just be my luck for tornadoes to be going through Cincinnati right at the time I was supposed to land. I was in a small jet, the kind with two seats on each side, and we circled for a while, then we had to land in Louisville because we wouldn't have enough fuel. At that point, the entire flight crew had timed out, but luckily they flew anyway, though it didn't help me any. We landed in Cincinnati at around 8:10. I got off the plane and ran all the way to the gate in the next terminal, just to be intercepted by a Delta agent saying the Paris flight had left. Abbie was on it, I was not.

To make matters worse, in my panic, I left my CD wallet and travel pillow at one of the gates and didn't realize it until later, so I had to go back through security to this distant terminal to get them, which luckily I was able to do.

The earliest they can get me out is the same flight today, but now I've lost my travel companion. And I have to sit in Cincinnati until 7:30PM tonight. So many other people missed connections too. I think this hotel is populated entirely by people from the airport, and the only restaurant, a couple hotels down, was the same. I had a beer and hung out with a couple guys whose flight to Grand Rapids was canceled and a girl who missed her connection to Frankfurt, and we commiserated.

After not a very good night's sleep, it will be back to the airport at 1, then maybe an airport floor nap before my flight? We shall see.

Anyhow, not the best start, but it can only get better from here, right?

6 comments:

Baczooski said...

Awww that sucks big time. I know you were excited to get to travel with Abbie. Flying is such a huge pain in the ass at the best of times. I hope things go smoother!
-chev

Unknown said...

Ai ai ai, you poor thing... Don't you just hate Ms/Mr. Murphy? Au moins tu seras en Afrique quand tu liras ceci!

Thierry

Anonymous said...

Funny, I was just escaping Ohio as you were getting stuck there. I had a pretty nauseating flight from Columbus to Phoenix on Wednesday morning as we flew over some massive thunderstorms, but at least I got out.

I hope the rest of your travels go more smoothly!

Unknown said...

Good luck, Laura. I hope things have been a bit smoother...can't wait to hear when you get there! Say hi to Jeff -- I'm off to Maryland tomorrow for a job talk Tuesday (CASL/U Maryland). It's a position for an Africanist, so I'm really hopeful. Cheers.

Unknown said...

Bah that sucks! I saw some hurricane shelters in a bathroom at the Louisville airport and hoped that they wouldn't be through anytime soon. LAME. Hope you're in Mali right now and rocking out! Thanks for the Mall of America trip!

LindseyM said...

FRICKEN TORNADOES

Scott and I were in Oklahoma City on Thursday when we heard the warnings of "damaging winds, torrential rains, very large hail, and potential tornadoes" for that evening and we got the hell out of Oklahoma and made it safely to Arkansas. Driving in high winds is not the funnest. I'm so sorry that you got stuck and that the Paris flight didn't wait for you, total balls. Hopefully you are safe in Mali now and hangin out with the pangolins!