Innominate Girl: Safe travels!

With my boyfriend's birthday coming up, and a month and a half worth of time spent away from him, a trip out to the west coast, or as some would say, the best coast, was inevitable. I got my ticket and counted down the days. Yesterday, it was time to travel.

I started out on what seemed like a normal trip, with myself running late, check-in being incredibly slow, and a mother with two small boys holding up the security line. I rushed to my gate with what I thought was 10 minutes to spare and stood there waiting for boarding. After a couple minutes, I realized that the board said my gate was for a delayed flight out to Houston, not Chicago where I was headed. The "next" flight on the board was mine, late, two hours to be exact. And so ensued my panic.

I called my boyfriend for advice. He told me I should wait in the customer service line cuing up outside of the gate. With two flights delayed, the line seemed endless, and my patience was wearing thin. When I reached the front, the man quickly switched my connecting flight to a later one, giving me an hour layover in Chicago and landing me in Los Angeles only one hour later. I waited calmly for the flight with a Quizno's pesto chicken wrap and some TEDtalks (see my playlist below).

What a sigh of relief! I thought. But, boy, was I wrong!

Boarding time came and we all climbed aboard the little puddle-jumper. After waiting 30 minutes for take-off, the pilot announced that the crew was having difficulty starting the plane. Namely, they needed to jumpstart the turbines, but they couldn't get them to stay on. Brilliant. Even if they can get the plane started, what are the odds that the turbines won't quit out while the plane is in the air? I waited nervously for take-off. An hour went by before we rolled onto the runway. There goes my layover, and my new connecting flight!

The flight was a little bumpy but other than that pretty uneventful. I was thankful we didn't crash, but my cheery thoughts quickly left when they told us that we had landed at 8:37 in Chicago, ten minutes after my connecting flight was scheduled to leave. I quickly turned on my phone and checked for other flight options, but my flight was the last one out for the night. It seemed like my only option was going to be staying overnight and flying out the next morning.

You can imagine how sad and scared I was. I would have to tack on another day away from him and I'd be alone all night in a Chicago hotel room.

I decided I would check on my connecting flight to see if there was any last hope, perhaps, a chance that it, too, was flying out late. It was, but I had only 10 minutes to make my connection.

I climbed off the plane, pushed through the crowds, and ran from terminal C to B in hopes of catching my plane. Alas, I made it just as the final boarding call sounded.

The heavens opened up, a beam of light shone upon my face, and the angels sang me a song of triumph. Okay, it didn't quite happen like that. I was panting, out of breath, and out of water, but I had made it! I called my boyfriend, let him know we were still on for our date at the airport, and then we took off.

At baggage claim I was greeted by a sneak attack from around the corner. A big kiss and an "I'm so happy to see you!" was the perfect way to help me leave my tiring day behind and enjoy the present.