So I decided a couple of weeks ago to buy a ticket home for a friends wedding reception. She got married last weekend (Thanksgiving weekend) in Salt Lake but I couldn't go because tickets were just a little too expensive.
Anyhow, I showed up to Logan Airport at 5:50 last night. Exactly one hour from the time my flight was scheduled to depart. I checked in and all seemed to be going well. I even took a few extra minutes to stop by the book store and pick-up a new book (this seems to have become a kind of tradition). As I made my way to the gate- happy for the opportunity for a brief trip home, I noticed a long line at the checkin desk. My first thought was, "Great, they are just now beginning to board!" so I did what everyone would do. I took a seat and waited for them to call my number.
After a few minutes I noticed that the line was not getting any shorter and I began to wonder..."is there something wrong with my flight." So I took a wander up to the checkin desk at a nearby gate and made an inquiry. Lo and behold the flight was delayed due to weather...
Funny thing earlier that day I had a conversation with a friend about how fortunate I had been in not experiencing flight delays out of Boston due to weather....
Anyhow, come to find out all flights were grounded. All except for that direct flight that has just been cleared...any guesses as to where is was going? Yep, that's right, Denver. It had just left the ground.
The down side about my current situation...my flight from Boston to Denver was not a direct flight. Because of the flight delay there was a 99.9% chance that I would miss my connecting flight in Washington/Dulles, which also happened to be the last flight to Denver that day. Either I could fly to Dulles and take the chance, which would most likely result in missing my flight and having to stay in Dulles overnight, or I could change my itinerary. My current itinerary was set for me leave Friday night and return Sunday afternoon. My new itinerary would be for me to leave Saturday morning and come back on Sunday afternoon.
So I did what any logical person would do....I changed my flight. Perfect....I could crash at a friends house in Boston. Get up at 5:30am to make my 7:15 flight and I would arrive in Denver at 10:15. If only....
So I got up this morning, thinking that everything was set. I took a shower, got dressed, gathered the few things that I had with me...
I should also mention I had decided to leave my luggage on the flight that I was supposed to be on last night. I thought that this was a nice alternative to having to wait another hour in the airport for them to find my bag. My luggage would then fly to Dulles and be put on the first flight out this morning arriving about 10 minutes after my currently scheduled flight.
So finally I arrive at the airport an hour before my flight is scheduled to take off, 6:15am to be exact. I make it through security without any hitches- I had gone through the same thing less than 12 hours previously, and I make my way to the gate. It's a beautiful morning in Boston so I am not concerned about the weather at this point in time.
When I arrive at the gate I notice that the time posted on the sign behind the checkin desk was a bit different than what I had expected. Hoping that the sign saying 10:30 is incorrect I search out the closest Departure/Arrival monitors. Lo and behold the board had not lied to me. I have arrived 4 hours before my flight was scheduled to depart. Reason for the delay....the crew needed more sleep....
As I sit here now...biding my time....I think to myself, "If only I had checked the airlines website prior to leaving my friends house, I could be nicely tucked in bed right now just like the flight crew..." Instead I am left with 2.5 hours to kill- good thing I brought all that HW with me.
The great thing about this experience so far (besides spending some much needed time with a good friend last night) is that I was able to change my return flight. It is now a direct flight out of Denver departing at 6:30pm. That means that by the time I arrive in Denver today I will have 29 hours before having to return to the airport only to repeat the checkin-security-boarding process all over again tomorrow....
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