So Remember when I said I had a trip coming up that I was going to get to see my team of girls from my business?? Well that trip was this last weekend. I packed a suitcase and went to the airport and flew all the way up to Cleveland, Ohio! The local airport here is tiny (only has 4 gates) and is a very peaceful airport- you come in check in, drop your bag go upstairs have a cup of coffee or snack at the little restaurant/bar go thru security and relax a bit til it's time to go. It's come a long way since the mid 1990's when I flew into this same airport to report to post as my first duty station. Back then it was just a white concrete building with a help desk, a taxi stand and I believe a 1-toilet restroom. I was from a small town- but this shocked me! Now it's a beautiful plantation-esque (or maybe it's grecian lol) building made of brick with some columns. Very nice improvements!!
Anywho- I flew from this quiet airport to Atlanta (Home of CHAOS) and had to deal with zillions of people (I stand completely by that number) who were rushing from one plane to the other, I on the other hand had a 2 hour layover to figure out what to do in... I found my new gate (after having to change terminals-anyone whose been to Atlanta knows what a pain this is) got myself a snack and waited for my next flight. As I flew further north I began to notice snow on the ground. I've never flown somewhere that had snow!! I've lived there but never flown in/out when there was snow on the ground- I wondered how this would impact landing!! (YAY something else to be anxious about)
But I made it into Cleveland and waited for my team to pick me up/luggage to come out of the baggage claim and got to spend time with my gals on Friday night. We went to dinner together and then back to our hotel to get ready for our mini-convention the next morning! We had a GREAT time Learned some AMAZING things and best of all got to spend lots of time together!!
When we woke up on Sunday morning it was snowing in Cleveland.. not hard, but a good steady snow! When we got downstairs to get ready to go to the airport the sidewalk in front of our hotel was a slushy mess- we loaded the car up and headed to the airport. I've decided that the state of Ohio doesn't have a single snow plow.. or if they do they are invisible- because in the entire trip to the airport I didn't see a single one.. In New York you see one every 5 minutes when it's snowing! Anyhow- made it to the airport and got checked in and went to my gate- where to my HORROR I saw this:
I knew there was a runway out there.. somewhere.. right? (OH and I think I found all of Ohio's plows.. they were at the airport).. GAH. If you have anxiety about anything this is sure to help trigger it. So I had some time to kill so I went and had some grilled chicken and a glass of wine at one of the restaurants in the airport- the wine helped.. a LOT! When our plane came in it was snowing a little less but was still snowing- but you could kind of see the runway out there- see?
.. well okay maybe not.. BUT at least I knew there was a runway somewhere that this plane had come in on! They let all the passengers off, cleaned and reset the plane and we boarded. We were at the gate for FOREVER past our take off time when the pilot announced we had to be de-iced.. GAH.. it was as bad as I thought it was!! I've never been de-iced before- wasn't even sure how they do that- but we taxied up to a "holding area" that was the de-icing lane- kind of like a car wash line. There were 2 planes that I could see out my window and I'm sure a couple more on the other side. This truck drove over with a weird cab on top of it and these weird spraying nozzles- and the guy up in the cab was driving the truck from up there (swear it's true- freaky but true)
And then they started spraying the plane with this orange-thick fluid! The whole plane was covered in it- I watched as this ooze flowed over my window in horror- but hoping and praying that this stuff is going to keep our plane from freezing up!!
And guess what?? It worked- we got up in the air and I made it from Cleveland, back to Atlanta with only a minor delay- BUT now my 1 hour 1 minute layover was just a 40 minute layover and I had to change terminals AGAIN.. so I hit the ground RUNNING in Atlanta- true story- okay well I ran down the escalator to the train doors and then back from the train to the gate to be safe- and I made it with just enough time to go potty and get a drink! YAY!
We got boarded and I was next to a man eating french fries.. seriously dude? Anyway- outside my window I watched the world of Atlanta get smaller and I took some time to read a book- I looked up at just the right time to realize we were crossing the Mighty Mississippi River! So amazing!
and then I noticed that there was this weird pattern on my window- kind of like a star or an angel.. was pretty neat to see it- check it out:
When we landed I was so appreciative of the quiet, peaceful airport here- It was so easy- no one was fighting to get to their connecting gates, no one was rushing for anywhere but a bathroom. I got into my car and I drove myself HOME.. it's good to be HOME.. I love to travel but I always LOVE coming HOME..
Do you ever have crazy travel stories? <3
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