Well, most of you didn't hear about Ryan so far who I met in New Orleans when I asked him and his friend to take a picture of our group on Bourbon Street. This was back in November. We kept in touch here and there and met again for Christmas Eve in Washington D.C. Since then we stayed in regular and closer contact ;-) and the wish to see each other again was growing stronger. The only problem was that he lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Therefore we came up with the idea that I could fly down for a weekend.
Finally it was Friday, February 26, the day I should leave for Baton Rouge. Yes, I say 'should' because it wasn't clear whether I could fly at all. The reason was the third incredible snowstorm we had this winter. I was tracking the storm cloud and its movement since Tuesday that week already and was always up to date about the weather and its development. The weather was already bad on Thursday when we worked from home already and also when I got up Friday, I saw that it wouldn't make sense to get to work through the snow. First action this Friday morning was hammering the flight number of my flight into the flight tracker which was already saved in favorite internet links. My flight itinery was leaving from Philly at 6pm to Houston, TX and change planes there to Baton Rouge, LA. As the plane which I would take from Philly was coming up from Houston this morning, I could track it and stay up to date on delays. Around 2pm it turned out that the flight from Houston to Philly was already one hour delayed. My problem was that I only had exactly one hour in Houston between arrival and departure, incl. boarding time already. Therefore I called my airline to find out about my options:
Option 1: Taking the flight to Houston and trying to get the connection to Baton Rouge somehow magically --> If I would miss it, I would have to stay in Houston on my own expenses and get the first flight next morning to Baton Rouge
Option 2: Trying to find another flight connection --> negative, all flights booked out as the lady just checked then
Option 3: Postpone the whole flight and the return flight to next weekend --> negative, after the lady checked as there were no more flights available for the next weekend
So obviously, I really had no other option apart from dropping the ball completely or trying and hoping to be lucky. Saying that, my roomie Lalo drove me to the airport and I was hoping that the plane would have caught up some time meanwhile, coming up from Houston. But when I was waiting at the gate, it became clear that the one hour delay would remain. If you would have seen me...I was a wreck, mentally spoken. We were waiting for that weekend for such a long time and now the whole weekend together became uncertain. As I didn't want to miss any chance and opportunity, I decided to speak with one of airline staff members at the gate and explained her my problem. Even though all the trouble they had because of the snow and delays, the lady was really nice and changed my seat from the rear of the plane just behind first class, that I would be able to leave the plane in Houston as one of the first passengers. She also gave me the information that I would have to change the terminal building in Houston for the connection flight. GREAT :-(((!!!!I n addition, she mentioned that I should run my a** off once I am out the plane....Thanks for that advice...Anyway, I was very thankful for her service.
In the meantime, I updated Ryan with all the changes, possibilities, bad news and options what could happen. He wasn't losing hope and just reminded me: "The Germans drive fast on the Autobahn, so just run as fast as you drive on the highway!" I promised, I would do. Finally, we took off exactly one hour later than on original schedule. I was hoping that we would maybe catch up 10-15min on this 3hour flight, as every minute was worthwhile for me. Unfortunately, the weather and the wind weren't my friends that day, so we landed exactly at 9pm. The other plane was boarding at 8.45pm, with flight time 9.15pm. Changing terminals from my gate to the gate in the other building normally takes at least 30 min as you have to take a train between the buidlings. This is what I learned from the nice service lady at the counter in Philly.
Finally it was Friday, February 26, the day I should leave for Baton Rouge. Yes, I say 'should' because it wasn't clear whether I could fly at all. The reason was the third incredible snowstorm we had this winter. I was tracking the storm cloud and its movement since Tuesday that week already and was always up to date about the weather and its development. The weather was already bad on Thursday when we worked from home already and also when I got up Friday, I saw that it wouldn't make sense to get to work through the snow. First action this Friday morning was hammering the flight number of my flight into the flight tracker which was already saved in favorite internet links. My flight itinery was leaving from Philly at 6pm to Houston, TX and change planes there to Baton Rouge, LA. As the plane which I would take from Philly was coming up from Houston this morning, I could track it and stay up to date on delays. Around 2pm it turned out that the flight from Houston to Philly was already one hour delayed. My problem was that I only had exactly one hour in Houston between arrival and departure, incl. boarding time already. Therefore I called my airline to find out about my options:
Option 1: Taking the flight to Houston and trying to get the connection to Baton Rouge somehow magically --> If I would miss it, I would have to stay in Houston on my own expenses and get the first flight next morning to Baton Rouge
Option 2: Trying to find another flight connection --> negative, all flights booked out as the lady just checked then
Option 3: Postpone the whole flight and the return flight to next weekend --> negative, after the lady checked as there were no more flights available for the next weekend
So obviously, I really had no other option apart from dropping the ball completely or trying and hoping to be lucky. Saying that, my roomie Lalo drove me to the airport and I was hoping that the plane would have caught up some time meanwhile, coming up from Houston. But when I was waiting at the gate, it became clear that the one hour delay would remain. If you would have seen me...I was a wreck, mentally spoken. We were waiting for that weekend for such a long time and now the whole weekend together became uncertain. As I didn't want to miss any chance and opportunity, I decided to speak with one of airline staff members at the gate and explained her my problem. Even though all the trouble they had because of the snow and delays, the lady was really nice and changed my seat from the rear of the plane just behind first class, that I would be able to leave the plane in Houston as one of the first passengers. She also gave me the information that I would have to change the terminal building in Houston for the connection flight. GREAT :-(((!!!!I n addition, she mentioned that I should run my a** off once I am out the plane....Thanks for that advice...Anyway, I was very thankful for her service.
In the meantime, I updated Ryan with all the changes, possibilities, bad news and options what could happen. He wasn't losing hope and just reminded me: "The Germans drive fast on the Autobahn, so just run as fast as you drive on the highway!" I promised, I would do. Finally, we took off exactly one hour later than on original schedule. I was hoping that we would maybe catch up 10-15min on this 3hour flight, as every minute was worthwhile for me. Unfortunately, the weather and the wind weren't my friends that day, so we landed exactly at 9pm. The other plane was boarding at 8.45pm, with flight time 9.15pm. Changing terminals from my gate to the gate in the other building normally takes at least 30 min as you have to take a train between the buidlings. This is what I learned from the nice service lady at the counter in Philly.
Once we parked with the plane and the doors flew open, I was bursting out of the plane, starting to run. I made my way through the airport, running slalom and following the signs. I lost my breath and must have looked very desperate because one of the guys with the airport trolleys who normally transport olderly or disabled people with these, waved at me and let me jump on his vehicle. Not capable of speaking yet, I whispered my gate number and he brought me straight to the doors where the train to the other terminal was departing. This guys was my guardian that night, for sure, he saved me at least 3 min of running. Lucky enough the train arrived immediately and I had time to catch breath for a moment before starting of again. In the other building, the same procedure, chasing for the signs of my gate....everytime I turned around a corner, there was a new corridor! I just couldn't run anymore, as my legs were hurting and my lungs and my throat were burning. There was a guy running around 25m in front of me. I shouted and asked him whether he would fly to Baton Rouge as well, as he was running in front of me all the time. He scream 'Yes' but not stopping. I yelled at him to hold up the plane but when I turned around the corner, I saw the gate. The gangway was empty, no one at the counter, still the flight to Baton Rouge on the display....Both of us were standing there for a moment, unable to move, just breathing. Then a flight attendant came up the gangway. She rushed us through, into the plane and not only one second after I entered the plane, they shut the door.....It was unbelievable that I made it! I was breathing so loud, sweating all over, full of adrenaline and totally happy. The connection flight was only 1 hour. After the landing, the pilot took ages to park at the little regional airport and finally I stepped out of the airport and fell into Ryan'a arms. I guess you can imagine that I was so exhausted from the emotional chaos and running of the whole trip that I was totally fine with cheese and a glass of red wine.
From that point on, the weekend went perfect: He showed me around Baton Rouge, we went to eat in the Sushi roof top bar where he worked before, with view onto the Mississippi river, visited the Old Louisiana State Capitol and in the evening I got to know his friend Jordan and his wife who invited us for dinner. We had such a funny great night with them, enjoying the food and playing games. On Sunday, we slept in, got some food and then watched the Olympic Ice Hockey game between USA and Canada before he brought me to the airport. This weekend was far too short!!!!But isn't it always like this when you have wonderful time?? The way back to Philly was again with a stopover in Houston but this time far less stressful than on the way down there. My roomie Julien picked me up from the airport and brought me home save. We didn't take that many pictures but you might get an idea about the Old Louisiana State Capitol on my photoalbum:
From that point on, the weekend went perfect: He showed me around Baton Rouge, we went to eat in the Sushi roof top bar where he worked before, with view onto the Mississippi river, visited the Old Louisiana State Capitol and in the evening I got to know his friend Jordan and his wife who invited us for dinner. We had such a funny great night with them, enjoying the food and playing games. On Sunday, we slept in, got some food and then watched the Olympic Ice Hockey game between USA and Canada before he brought me to the airport. This weekend was far too short!!!!But isn't it always like this when you have wonderful time?? The way back to Philly was again with a stopover in Houston but this time far less stressful than on the way down there. My roomie Julien picked me up from the airport and brought me home save. We didn't take that many pictures but you might get an idea about the Old Louisiana State Capitol on my photoalbum:
