Making it to Ohio was quite the accomplishment after it seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong - did! Most of our travel woes started once we arrived in Dallas to switch flights. The original connecting flight was cancelled just before boarding due to mechanical issues. We were told to wait in line for rebooking and Lily was just hanging on by a thread. She was on antibiotics and lets just say I had to change her diaper every 30 minutes or so. She was also exhausted but unable to take a nap. So she decided to entertain herself by rolling on the carpet in the pathway of masses of people trying to hurry to their terminal with giant suitcases on wheels. When I attempted to pick her up to stop her from tripping people, she completely lost it and threw a tantrum, smacking me clear across the face. Yes, in front of all of the people in line waiting for a flight reassignment. After the stress of flight #1 (the highlight being Lily spilling a full cup of apple juice in the lap of my neighbor - who was not amused) I cracked. Blame it on pregnancy hormones or just plain embarassment and frustration. I don't know. But there we stood, the two of us crying. At some point 2 American Airline employees whisked us away to reassign our tickets privately. And a kind older woman offered me a tissue and entertained Lily. Thank you to you wherever you are!
We waited at yet another terminal for the new flight, as we watched the cops escort some guy who ran onto a flight without a ticket and entered the cockpit. Just more drama to add to the already dramatic day. We stood in line to board at last and just as they were about to call the first section, they announced that all runways were closed due to the inclement weather. I just couldn't believe it.
I decided we needed to sit and regroup and relax at Chili's before I had a nervous breakdown. I ordered us lunch and we watched the empty runway. I counted my inventory of diapers and I was down to 2 from the 9 I had packed that morning. At this point I also started accepting the fact that I might be spending the night in Dallas. I was not in a happy place. Just as we were finishing lunch I noticed 2 planes taking off. I paid the check quickly and returned to the gate. The gate had been reassigned once again, so I ran to the end of the corridor to check the departures screen dragging Lily behind me. My flight had been moved to the complete opposite side of the airport and was scheduled to leave at 6:30. I looked at the clock and it read 6:34. I thought I had better make a go of it just in case the departure was delayed, so I sprinted to the tram and hopped on with Lily and my 2 giant carryons in tow. Just as the tram came to my terminal, the strap to my bag snapped and it went flying. The automatic doors started to shut before I could get to them and I yelled, "HOLD THE DOOOOOOOOOOR!" It was like something from a movie.
I dragged the bag on the floor behind me and picked Lily up to go down the elevator. I arrived at the gate, which had a long line and a screen that still read Cincinnati. Ahh, I thought...I've made it! A woman who had been waiting with me at the other gate must have recognized me and she approached me to ask, "Are you trying to make the flight to Cincinnati!?" and I said yes. She told me that the flight was just about to take off and I had better get up to the front of the line. So I charged ahead, and in desperation yelled "I NEED TO MAKE THAT FLIGHT!" The man said there was ONE seat left but no carry-on bags could go on at this point. I told the guy, whatever it takes to get me to Ohio tonight, I'll do it. I wasn't really thinking about the fact that all of Lily's diapers, food, toys, etc. were in those bags, but whatever! Let them all suffer.
We made it on and somehow Lily instantly fell asleep and stayed that way most of the flight. I also had the good grace of being seated next to a very nice Air Force gentleman who educated me the entire way to Ohio on his training and joining the military. I needed that so bad, because the 2 hour flight went by so fast that I could hardly believe we had made it so quickly. My mom felt mercy on me and met me in the baggage claim at 11 pm at night. We grabbed my luggage and went to catch the Enterprise shuttle, when I suddenly realized that I was missing the carseat I had checked at the gate. I ran back into check again, but there was no carseat to be found anywhere. When I told the Enterprise shuttle driver that I would need to get off to wait in line at baggage claim, he told me that the Car Rental office was about to close. So we ended up renting our car and then returning to the Baggage Claim. Still no seat! The guy there looked it up, but it was not listed in the computer. He referred me to the 1-800 number.
The only thing I could think of was to run to a 24-hour WAL-MART to buy Lily a new carseat. I asked the guy for directions and my Mom and I ended up roaming the Kentucky hillsides looking for the WAL-MART cursing out the guy for his less-than-fabulous directions. Lily sat in the back in a lap-belt with Nana by her side. This made me very nervous. We finally got through to my Aunt Jan who gave us accurate directions and we pulled up to WAL-MART at about 12:30 in the morning. We walked out with the new carseat that we now had to figure out how to assemble. My brain was fried, but somehow with the help of my mom(who had just driven 11 hours from Pennsylvania and was also fried) we got that thing put together and anchored. We arrived at Aunt Jan and Uncle Lee's around 1 am where she served us a lovely dinner - or breakfast i spose! We still had to check into the hotel and all, so we didn't get to bed until about 3 or 3:30.
And all I can say is that was an extra good night's sleep!
