I was supposed to drive. It was supposed to be a fun trip across the country to school, all by myself, enjoying the freedom and the adventure.
And then my car broke down.
I made it to my cousin's house (which was where I had planned to spend the first night anyway), but it was pretty clear that my car wouldn't make it through another three days of hard driving. The good thing was, though, that my cousin's grandfather runs a mechanic shop, and my cousins agreed to keep my car until Fall Break, when I could come back and get it.
But that still left me buying last-minute plane tickets, and paying for the repairs, neither of which I would rather have paid. And it left me paring down from two suitcases, a backpack, and two boxes to simply two suitcases and a backpack. I had to basically only take what I actually needed, although some of the things that I simply really wanted fit too. (In hindsight, that was a pretty good thing by itself. I am sharing a dorm with two other girls, and I'm not sure it would all have fit.)
So my mom drove me to the airport this morning. Aside from the fact that it was abominably early (we had to get up at 3 AM), it was actually a pretty good first flight.
When my first flight landed in Dallas, it was raining pretty hard. On top of that, it was thundering. I found my next gate, and found myself sitting next to some people who had been there since last night, waiting for the storm (specifically the lightning) to pass so they could finally take their flight. Every time there was a big burst of lightning, their departure time would be moved back 15 minutes. I suspect that this had something to do with FAA regulations, but it didn't make them happy.
My flight also kept getting delayed. We were waiting for the plane in front of us, which was getting delay after delay, and finally, they announced that my flight was canceled. Canceled. I'm stranded in Dallas, all by myself, with nowhere to go. Great. Now what?
Then the announcer told us where the next flight to my school was leaving from, and said that we might be able to get seats on that. Fortunately, I did, and my luggage even made it onto the plane.
Meanwhile, I don't have any way to tell the girl who's supposed to be picking me up that I'm going to be delayed (The Dallas airport has apparently decided not to join the 21st century, and thus doesn't offer wifi), so I have no idea whether or not I'm actually going to have a ride waiting for me or not.
Anyhow, long story short, I did get to school, though I was an hour and a half late. And my ride was still waiting for me, though she was rather concerned at how late I was.
So the moral of the story: Life happens. Be ready.
The other moral: My car is not allowed to break down on a road trip again. Ever.
And then my car broke down.
I made it to my cousin's house (which was where I had planned to spend the first night anyway), but it was pretty clear that my car wouldn't make it through another three days of hard driving. The good thing was, though, that my cousin's grandfather runs a mechanic shop, and my cousins agreed to keep my car until Fall Break, when I could come back and get it.
But that still left me buying last-minute plane tickets, and paying for the repairs, neither of which I would rather have paid. And it left me paring down from two suitcases, a backpack, and two boxes to simply two suitcases and a backpack. I had to basically only take what I actually needed, although some of the things that I simply really wanted fit too. (In hindsight, that was a pretty good thing by itself. I am sharing a dorm with two other girls, and I'm not sure it would all have fit.)
So my mom drove me to the airport this morning. Aside from the fact that it was abominably early (we had to get up at 3 AM), it was actually a pretty good first flight.
When my first flight landed in Dallas, it was raining pretty hard. On top of that, it was thundering. I found my next gate, and found myself sitting next to some people who had been there since last night, waiting for the storm (specifically the lightning) to pass so they could finally take their flight. Every time there was a big burst of lightning, their departure time would be moved back 15 minutes. I suspect that this had something to do with FAA regulations, but it didn't make them happy.
My flight also kept getting delayed. We were waiting for the plane in front of us, which was getting delay after delay, and finally, they announced that my flight was canceled. Canceled. I'm stranded in Dallas, all by myself, with nowhere to go. Great. Now what?
Then the announcer told us where the next flight to my school was leaving from, and said that we might be able to get seats on that. Fortunately, I did, and my luggage even made it onto the plane.
Meanwhile, I don't have any way to tell the girl who's supposed to be picking me up that I'm going to be delayed (The Dallas airport has apparently decided not to join the 21st century, and thus doesn't offer wifi), so I have no idea whether or not I'm actually going to have a ride waiting for me or not.
Anyhow, long story short, I did get to school, though I was an hour and a half late. And my ride was still waiting for me, though she was rather concerned at how late I was.
So the moral of the story: Life happens. Be ready.
The other moral: My car is not allowed to break down on a road trip again. Ever.