Gizmo and Me: Trip Back Home

Last Thurs I flew back home to MD for a quick visit. I had no idea that Ike would change my plans. 'Ike' being hurricane Ike.

I got to visit with family and friends and it had been almost a year since I had been back. I was supposed to come back Sunday, but since I was flying on Continental and one of their main hubs is in Houston, I was notified that my flight had been cancelled on Sat afternoon.

Once I found out my flight was cancelled on Sunday I made plans to see my grandparents that I didnt originally think I would get a chance to see on my short trip. The sweet part about it was that Granny had called on Sat at my parents to make sure that Michele and I were ok with the hurricane hitting TX, so we decided to drive down Sun afternoon and surprise them with proof that I was ok. :) We were sure they would be home since the Redskins were playing and of course we were right!

When my flight was cancelled, Continental had rebooked my flight for first thing Mon morning. First thing being 540AM. There was no way I was going to make that flight. #1 I didnt want my dad to have drive me that early, let alone, I didnt want to get up that early either. #2 Houston airport was just reopening on Monday, I didnt want to chance that my flight being one of the first into it would be cancelled and I would be stuck in an airport all day. So I had to call and reschedule my flight for a better time. I was able to rebook for 320pm Mon afternoon which would get me back to Dallas around 830pm which worked out perfectly.

Unfortunately as I was getting ready, packing and checking email Mon morning, I checked on my flight and found out that it was already showing up as delayed by 1 hr 40 min and it was only 10am; 5 1/2 hrs prior to departure. Figuring I had an hour layover in Houston, I was worried that with the delay I would miss my connection. I started looking at what my other flight options were. There was only one later flight to Dallas from Houston. I was trying to figure out if I should call and get my connection switched rather than wait until later and have it be totally booked. Within the next 10 min the flight was cancelled. So I immediately switched both my flights to the next available ones which were also the last ones that would get me to Dallas on Monday. I really didnt want to get stranded in the Houston airport. I would have rather stayed in MD another day. :)

So I guess the third time was a charm as I made it home safely. It was heartbreaking to hear some of the stories of some of those traveling that were from Houston. Many people lost their homes. One flight attendant I was talking to in the Houston airport showed my pictures of her parents beachhouse completely underwater and their other house had a huge tree that fell thru most of the house. I was very surprised at how well most of these people were taking it. Most talked about rebuilding their homes bigger and better. It really put things in perspective and made me appreciate what I have. :)

PS here is a cute picture I took of my friend Chrissy's little girl Molly. The night before I came, she wrote on her dry erase board about me, so I just had to take a picture of it. It was so sweet and so worth my trip, flight cancellations and all. :)