the 16 hour flight

our first trip back to Michigan was quite the adventure. Husband was supposed to drive up right after school so that we could catch a train to the airport. he got delayed and we missed the train we had planned on taking. fortunately [?] our flight was already delayed by an hour. by the time we made it to Newark and checked in at the gate, we were delayed by another hour. which meant we missed our connection in Chicago to get back to Detroit.

there were some bad storms rolling through the midwest, so there was a chance our connection might be delayed as well, and we could still make it. if not, we planned to rent a car and drive from Chicago to Detroit. [we had a meeting with a financial planner thursday morning that we could NOT miss] at that point in time our flight would land around 9pm, and after the driving we could make it home around 3am. Luke took a powernap to prepare for the long drive.

of course, the storms grew worse to the west but cleared to the east, so our connecting flight took off from Chicago while we were still waiting in Newark. it got to be late and we decided to take the first flight out in the morning rather than drive. we were delayed and delayed, and eventually took off 5 hours after originally scheduled. we landed in Chicago around midnight and the place was packed. flights all over were delayed or canceled. we called around and were lucky to ring up the Holiday Inn Express just after someone had called from Dallas to cancel their room because their flight wasn't making it. it was literally the last room in the hotel, and quite possibly within 50 miles of the airport.

after 3 hours of sleep, we showered and took the shuttle back to the airport. our flight landed 45 minutes before our meeting, so my Mom picked us up and drove us straight there. we were only 5 minutes late.

it was a long and ridiculous trip, but I didn't mind it so much since Luke was with me. we don't get to spend much time together during the week, and weekends are always full of things to be done. as crazy as this sounds: being delayed in an airport with nothing to do for 5 hours but spend time with each other was actually quite enjoyable. snuggling up together on a plane reminded me of flying for our honeymoon. sometimes it really doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing, as long as you are together.

[plus I got to take a nap in my own bed at home later that afternoon.]