Thursday, May 31, 2018 (United States)

This is officially the last day of school for Norman.  We both hated to miss the sing-a-long but there was still last minute packing and we had to leave for the airport at noon.  (You know you’re getting old when your last minute dash to the store is for compression socks, under advice from my daughter, Kim.  And, they have been a lifesaver!)

We arrived at the airport and were surprised at the lines of people. I was proud of myself for selecting lightweight clothing and I love the organization of packing cubes.  However, after adding hair products, a couple pair of shoes, a small pharmacy of drugs (prescription and what-ifs like Immodium, bug spray, suntan lotion, etc.), the suitcase was near full.  My bag weighed 39 lbs, Tiffany’s 27. 

Our trip soon took an unexpected turn (literally and figurately).  As we neared Charlotte, NC, the pilot announced the time between our international flight was only an hour.  We landed in Columbia, along with four other American Airline flights, and spent the next three hours on the runway.  Finally, we were allowed to get off the plane, get food, and use a real restroom.  Two young girls in front of us were going to Spain, one wittingly said she’d heard “Columbia was the Rome of South Carolina.”  You had to try and keep a sense of humor.  We just sat down to order food and the announcement came on that our plane was now reboarding. Really? We waited to reboard for at least 30 minutes. Good news: We were finally on our way to Charlotte. Bad news:  Our international flight was finally on the way to Rome. 

Deboarding in Columbia, SC

Look at her using alphabetical order to get us all back on the plane! 

We arrived in Charlotte at 10:30pm (originally scheduled for arrival at 5:30) to find a sea of depressed, hungry travelers (at least 1000 passengers).  It looked like a scene from a movie, with bewildered looking people sitting, standing, and even lying all over the floor.  We were sent to Customer Service to see about rescheduling our flight. There were over 200 people in line.  While waiting in line Tiffany was able to get online and get us a flight that left in the morning at 7:00 for JFK, NY. We would still have a layover until 5:30pm but would arrive in Rome two hours earlier than the original flight – two hours earlier but also one day late. 

A sneak peek at what it looked like all over the Charlotte airport.

American Airlines wasn't rebooking everyone very quickly--over two hour line.

Feeling a little defeated, we headed toward our terminal.  I spotted a closed Starbucks with two padded seats along the wall.  We each took a side, put in our earplugs, and tried to sleep.  There might have been a few minutes of sleep but it was always interrupted with people talking as they walked by, lights in the airport, and frigid AC blowing right on us.  We must have looked like hyperthermia was setting in because a lady walked over to me and said, “Cots and blankets in Terminal C”.  A cot is definitely not what I would call 5 star accommodations but it beat a freezing, semi-soft bench.  Turned out there were too many people for everyone so cots were not distributed that evening.  We did get a paper thin pillow and light blanket. As we trudged back, we found two others had moved in on our Starbuck Suite.  We walked all over and every spot was taken by someone else, even passengers sleeping right on the carpet.  I noticed a cafeteria roped off with a closed sign.  I snuck in and found a booth with padded seats.  We each took a side, and again tried to rest.  I slept sporadically but Tiffany was able to sleep better. My last brief attempt at sleep ended when I was startled by hearing a cook in the kitchen banging pots and pans, right across from where we were resting.  In just a few minutes I heard other workers coming in and Tiffany was still asleep.  Finally they all walked into another area and I whispered to Tiffany that we needed to leave.

WALKING ACTIVITY:  1.4 miles; 3,405 steps, 2 floors