The Longest Travel Day....EVER

I've had a busy couple of months with work travel.

The most recent trip was pretty awesome and I'm lucky to have been able to go. 

So I can't complain too much.

I really didn't complain while it was happening, which surprised even me. 

The way home made me completely forget about the way down to Florida.

I don't usually have any issues when I travel. Very few instances of being held on the plane, of being delayed, etc. And for as much as I travel...I know I'm blessed. 

On the way down to Florida, my connecting flight was delayed. So I sat in Atlanta for a bit longer than expected. We boarded the plane, only to sit there for a solid 40 minutes before the captain came on and said there was a minor issue that would be handled quickly and we'd be on our way.

About 20 minutes after that announcement, he came back on to let us know that we had to head back to the gate and we had to deplane. While they were fixing the first issue, they found something else. 

So off the plane we go.

Delta handled it very well, I think.

They gave us updates every 10 or so minutes and brought out a cart of snacks and drinks.

We were only supposed to be delayed like 30 minutes but it ended up being closer to an hour I think.

People CLEARED this cart out so fast. They brought out another full one and I grabbed some M&Ms and a water. 

We got back on the plane and off we went. Since it was my connecting flight, I wasn't worried about being late to anything. I just had to get to my hotel and settle in before the event at 6:30pm that evening. 

That was just on the way down there. 

The way back? So much worse. But again, I'm glad I didn't freak out. I easily could have.

My flight out of Orlando was at 7am. We planned to leave the condo at 5am to get to the airport by 5:30am. Me and my fellow coworker who I was traveling with had to check a bag (since we brought home way more than we went with). 

Then I had to wait in in the security line. She had TSA Precheck (which, I do, too, but there's been an issue since I got it and I haven't ever used it - needless to say I've tried to figure that out ASAP after this trip).

Welp, the sign that said 24 - 35 minutes for the wait was WRONG. I waited in that line (with a lot of cranky people) for over an hour and a half.

I knew I was missing my flight. Since there was nothing I could do, I just mustered up the patience and dealt with it.

I was grateful I was traveling alone. I can handle myself. 

I got to my gate at 7:02am to be told to head elsewhere to get put on another flight. Ok....off I go.

I go and wait in line with maybe 8-10 other people. Start chatting to pass the time.

I get put on standby for another flight at 11am. Ok - about 4 hours from now.

Let's go find food, coffee and a spot to sit and relax.

I'm watching at the gate with a bunch of other people...all standby, waiting for ONE available seat. 

I text my boss and ask if it'd be OK if I just booked myself a flight home and not worry about trying to fly standby. 

She immediately said to do it and to not worry. Just get myself home. I was double booked for a bit while I made sure I didn't make the standby flight. Which I didn't. I'm so glad I booked another flight home.

Again. I was grateful that my company paid for this flight and my other flight will be credited to my account for another, future trip (which I will absolutely take).

I realize that other people didn't have that luxury to just buy another ticket for $550. 

But now my flight wasn't leaving until 4pm. 

And I still had a connection in LaGuardia.

But I was still ok. I had my boarding pass and a seat. I just had to find another spot to sit, eat and relax while I waited.

3:30pm rolls around and I finally get to board a plane and make my way home.

My flight to LaGuardia is fine, except that I'm in an aisle seat. But I'm not complaining. 

I made it to LaGuardia! 

I was not looking forward to spending 3+ hours there - yes, my layover was THAT LONG.....but once I landed, I realized that they had renovated! The terminal where I landed was absolutely gorgeous. Brand new, clean. It was lovely. And it had the largest Starbucks I had ever seen in one end. It was huge. 

I found my gate, which was totally empty and settled in. This last leg would be short.

The flight was uneventful and I made it back to Rochester in like 50 minutes. 

I had to hunt down my bag, because my bag got on the 7am flight that morning. It was now 11:30pm. My bag landed at 1pm with the rest of the people who didn't miss that flight. 

I found my bag in the Delta Baggage office and finally made my way back home.

You think it'd be over at this point, right? Wrong.

As I'm driving, I'm thinking - God Damn, this fog. 

Well, I battle the worst fog of my LIFETIME the entire 45 minute drive home. 

At 11:30 at night.

I made it home around 12:25am, I think. 

I had been up and traveling for over 20 hours at this point. 

I then had to shower because the previous day, I had spent 16 hour at Disney and didn't shower when we got back to the condo at 12:45am. LOL. Yeah. It was a VERY long 3 days for me. 

I swear it took a good 3-4 days before my body recuperated from all of that. 

I have two more trips before the end of the year. One is personal (my BFF's baby sister is getting married) and one work trip back to Orlando December 3-5. <Update: I now have THREE trips planned before the end of the year! More to come on that).

I'm going to blog separately about the wedding in Kentucky because I'm flying FIRST CLASS for one leg of it. I've NEVER flown first class, but after my last debacle, I figured the $50 upgrade was worth it.