As I mentioned, I got stuck in the NYC Blizzard that came the day after Christmas. It's kind of a humorous story (though it was a bit frustrating at the time...) that I thought you'd enjoy... :)
A little background first: I flew into New York City (although my family was celebrating closer to Albany) because the tickets were about $250 cheaper into the NYC. My sister Jessica lives outside of the City so she just picked me up at the airport and we drove upstate the next day. Our plan was to drive back to NYC early on the 26th to catch my flight (that departed at 5pm that evening). That was the plan....but the snow had other ideas... ;)
Timeline:
Saturday
12/25, 8:30pm - I received a recorded phone message from Continental saying that my flight for the next day was already cancelled because of the expected storm (21 hours early).
12/25, 8:30pm - I received a recorded phone message from Continental saying that my flight for the next day was already cancelled because of the expected storm (21 hours early).
12/25, 8:40pm - I made my first of about literally about 200 calls back to Continental to find out when I was rebooked and if there was a possibility I could just fly out of Albany instead. I was on hold for 40 minutes before the call was dropped.
12/25, 9:30pm - I kept calling Continental, determined to get a real live person on the phone. After 30 minutes on hold I was dropped again. Then, on hold for an hour and forty minutes, dropped again. Never did actually speak to a real live person that day.
Sunday
12/26, 12:30 a.m. - I finally went to bed after a multitude of calls to Continental ended with my hearing the recording, "Thank you for calling Continental Airlines. Due to unusually high call volume, we cannot take your call at this time. Please try back later or visite our website at www.continental.com." Bleh.
12/26, 7:30 a.m. - I still couldn't get through to a live person so I decided that we should just get in the car and drive to NYC...before the storm began. My uncle and aunt (also upstate with us but having to get back to NYC) decided to leave also and since they live closer to the airport, I decide to head back with them, rather than my sister.
12/26, 12:30 p.m. - I finally get a real person on the phone and get rebooked for a flight to Denver on Monday afternoon.
12/26, 3:00 p.m. - We get to my aunt and uncle's house in Brooklyn just as the snow began.
12/26, 10:00 p.m. - The snow had definitely arrived. This is a picture of the doorway...check out the snow!
Monday
12/27, 8:00 a.m. - The storm finally stopped (we got 20+"!) but it was UBER windy outside! My 2pm flight was cancelled due to both the snow and the wind. I was rebooked for Sunday, Jan 2. What?! After an hour on hold, I finally get someone on the phone and get rebooked for Friday, Dec 31; it was the best they could do but they said I could keep calling back to see if earlier flights opened up.
12/27, 8:00 a.m. - The storm finally stopped (we got 20+"!) but it was UBER windy outside! My 2pm flight was cancelled due to both the snow and the wind. I was rebooked for Sunday, Jan 2. What?! After an hour on hold, I finally get someone on the phone and get rebooked for Friday, Dec 31; it was the best they could do but they said I could keep calling back to see if earlier flights opened up.
12/27, 6:00 p.m. - By searching online, I was able to find an open seat on a flight for Wednesday evening. I called Continental and - after an eternity on hold - got rebooked for the Wednesday flight. SCORE! :)
Tuesday
12/28, 10:00 a.m. - I settled into further enjoying the extra and unexpected time with my aunt and uncle as well as get some work done for my fulltime job (the wonders of the internet and being able to work remotely)! Here is a picture of the street two days after the snow stopped. The streets were still not plowed!
Wednesday
12/29, 12:00 p.m. - Already checked in for my flight, I departed for the airport. What should have taken an hour and 30 minutes via public transit took a lot longer. And, here's why:
*walked to the subway
*took the one-hour subway to the bus station
*the bus was running a bit late (I knew that though)
*the bus finally came and then, when we were only 10 minutes from the airport, we got stuck. Here's why:
12/29, 12:00 p.m. - Already checked in for my flight, I departed for the airport. What should have taken an hour and 30 minutes via public transit took a lot longer. And, here's why:
*walked to the subway
*took the one-hour subway to the bus station
*the bus was running a bit late (I knew that though)
*the bus finally came and then, when we were only 10 minutes from the airport, we got stuck. Here's why:
*I got off the bus, walked to a more main street and hailed a cab to the airport.
12/29, 3:30 p.m. - I finally got to the airport...only to find that my flight was delayed 45 minutes. And, guess how long my layover in Houston was? You guessed it: 45 minutes. Awesome.
12/29, 8:45 p.m. - I arrived in Houston five minutes before my next flight was supposed to take off. I RAN to the gate...only to find out that that flight was also delayed by two hours. :)
12/30, 12:45 a.m. - I finally, blissfully, arrived at my house. With the time change, I had been traveling for 15 hours by the time I got into my bed.
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