I flew to Arlington on Thursday afternoon to speak at the homeschool conference there. When I got to the hotel, I discovered a surprise in my bag: the entire brand-new bottle of Robitussin spilled out all over my during the flight.
I had brought it just in case my cold came back and had double-checked that the lid was on tight when I packed. I should have put it in a plastic baggie, but at least I had the presence of mind to pack it in my extra bag, not in my suitcase where most of my clothes were.
Gratefully, only a white cami ended up suffering a casualty in the episode. There could have been a much, much worse outcome — especially since I had gotten brave this trip and packed white pants to wear for one of my speaking days. (Yes, white pants!!! I was kind of scared that clumsy me was going to sit in grease or something right after I put them on — but I somehow managed to wear them all day long without a mishap!)
These three girls were my on-the-ground team for this conference. They helped run the booth, took care of all the details of getting me set up in my speaking rooms, talked to countless attendees, and made sure I got to eat, sleep, and be where I needed to be. They stayed quite busy and I appreciated their willingness to put in long days on my behalf.
It was my first time to travel with two of them and it was the very first conference for one of them to work and they were amazing!
Also, I don’t know how women in TX keep their hair looking nice. The humidity made any effort you put into your hair kind of useless. My curls turned into frizz in about 10 minutes!
This was one of my favorite pictures of the conference. This is Amanda — a friend I’ve known for over 13 years and never actually met in real-life. She was incredibly sweet and it was so fun to get to meet her and spend time with her in person after all these years. Spending time with her was the highlight of my weekend!
When I was flying down to Dallas, it occurred to me that I was supposed to be flying back home on Sunday and that Dallas is super close to Kansas. So then, I got this crazy idea to look and see if I could get a super cheap flight to Kansas to spend a few hours with my mom on Mother’s Day and then fly back to TN from there.
Jesse spent some time researching flights and found a dirt cheap option that would give me about 4.5 hours in Kansas on Mother’s Day and still get me home in the evening. It seemed like the perfect idea, so we got the ticket and then I called my mom up and surprised her.
Problem was, Sunday morning, when I got to the airport around 7:20 a.m. for my flight out, it was raining and my flight got delayed and then delayed again and then delayed again.
By about 9 a.m., basically every flight out from Dallas was grounded — either cancelled completely, delayed by a few hours, or stuck on the Tarmac for a few hours. It was surreal to be sitting at the airport with nothing going in or coming out and everyone just camped out at gates, hoping that the rain would let up so that flights could begin taking off again.
I had gotten re-booked on a flight to Minneapolis and then to Kansas and thought I was going to make the flight, but then, after waiting for a few hours thinking it was going to board at any moment, it was also cancelled.
So I went and waited in another long line to try to find another flight. I was so relieved to get on another flight directly to Kansas that was supposed to leave at 4:19 p.m.
There was another flight to Kansas that was supposed to leave at 1:50 p.m. but it had been (supposedly) slightly delayed. They couldn’t get a seat for me at the desk or over the phone, so I ran halfway across the airport to make it to that gate to see if possibly I could get a seat or be put on standby.
When I finally got to that gate, there was a standby list of about 27 people and they were pretty much all there. So I decided to instead head for the 4:19 p.m. flight where I had a confirmed ticket.
By this time, a few flights were getting out — very few, but I was at least encouraged that planes were actually moving again.
The problem was, things got SO backed up while the planes were all grounded, that by the time flights actually started going out again the systems were in mass chaos and overwhelmingly backed up.
{This book by Shaunti Feldhahn is so good. I highly recommend it if you want to better understand your husband, son, boyfriend, etc.}
I got to the gate for the 4:19 p.m. flight — which was halfway across the airport in the other direction! — and discovered it was delayed by about 30 minutes. So there was nothing to do but wait for updates.
The pilots and crew showed up and I expected them to get on the plane at the gate and then have us start boarding. But instead, the crew just stood around and waited. They finally told us that the plane at the gate wasn’t our plane… that our plane had flown in and was sitting on the Tarmac somewhere with people in it.
They couldn’t locate it just yet, but it was out there and we just needed to sit tight and wait. 5 p.m. came and went. 6 p.m. came and went. 7 p.m. came and went.
Still no sign of our plane. But nothing had changed with the story we were being told and our crew was still there so we kept holding onto hope.
{I say “we” because, by this time, the passengers on our flight were developing quite the bond — sharing our crazy travel stories from the day so far, trying to find out any new info we could, and commiserating about the bizarre nature of the day!}
At close to 9 p.m., a plane pulled up to our gate and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Only to discover that it wasn’t our plane. What a let-down!
Finally, after sitting at the gate and waiting for over 6 hours for our plane that was supposed to be pulling in at any minute, they cancelled our flight around 10 p.m.
And we left with very few options… especially since there were no more flights out to Kansas on Sunday night.
I wasn’t sure what on earth I was supposed to do. I just wanted to be somewhere — anywhere — in a bed so I could go to sleep. But I also wanted to get to Kansas and the only flight option they were giving me was a flight on Tuesday mid-morning — which would never work since I needed to get home to my family in TN.
So I prayed and asked God to give me clear direction. And right after I prayed, a gal who I had briefly met at the gate, came up to me and said, “I know you don’t really know me at all, but I was thinking of just driving to Kansas. Would you be at all interested in driving with me?”
I usually would never go jump in the car with a stranger, but after being at the airport for over 14 hours and having gotten to know her a little bit, Jesse and I both felt comfortable with it. So I jumped into her car and we drove most of the night to get to Kansas. She ended up being the sweetest gal and we had such great conversation in the car!
I was completely exhausted by the time my mom met us at this gal’s hotel to pick me up when we made it to Kansas early Monday morning, but I was so happy to have finally made it to Kansas.
I slept for a few hours and then got to spend the morning and early afternoon with my mom before catching a flight from Kansas back to TN. It was so, so good to get to spend a little time with my family — every bit worth the long travel day and tiredness.
But I was never so happy to step foot back on the ground in TN and be re-united with my family late Monday evening. And I’m happily going to (hopefully!) not need to step foot in another airport for at least a few weeks. I think I’ve had my fill of airport life to last me for at least another month. 😉
I posted this on Instagram tonight and thought it was a fitting way to end this post — because it’s what I reminded myself of during the airport adventure:
Life is full of setbacks, interruptions, and unexpected hardships. And while we may not be able to change our circumstances, we *can* choose our attitude. Choose joy. Choose love. Choose gratitude. Choose courage. Often, a simple change of attitude can be the catalyst for turning curveballs into home runs!
Great article! So fun! It seems like when so many things go crazy, you really only can laugh at the circumstances. I love the note at the bottom about choosing joy, love, & gratitude. Kinda goes along with “clothing” ourselves in compassion, kindness, etc. in Colossians 3. 🙂 Even if that clothing has cough syrup. So glad everything turned out into a fun adventure. Blessings & joy! KC
What you said about your husband finding a dirt cheap airline ticket really caught my attenion. Especially the fact that he found one at the last minute.
My extended family was recently in a situation where finding a cheap airline ticket would have really been beneficial. But, I don’t fly at all really (or haven’t flow in years), and felt very overwhelmed when trying to search for an inexpensive airline ticket for them. I realize that booking way ahead of the time of your departure date can save you money, but wasn’t sure of the savings options for those people who have to find a flight at the last minute.
May ask how you (or your family) search for the best airline deals (for your personal use) -? Especially for last minute tickets? Do you use sites like:
— orbitz.com ( I don’t even know if I’m using the correct name and/or
spelling)
— travelocity.com
There is at least one other that I just can’t think of.??
Are the more familiar, (and many times more expensive) airlines better than the less familiar, inexpensive airline. EX: Delta Airlines vs. Spirit Airlines. Or Delta vs. Frontier Airlines. If so, besides price, what are those differences w/ regard to:
— customer service
— safety
–any other factor that a flyer may consider important? 🙂
I know that my “safety” question sounds crazy. I don’t fly because flying is so expensive. But, even if cost was not a factor, I admit that I’m a bit weary of flying, despite the fact that I’ve flown in the past. Even with this being the case, I would still not rule out flying as a travel option. I’d just be really, really nervous. 🙂
Other questions/Considerations:
— What is considered cheap? Is there a such thing as a “too good to be true
deal?
— I would imagine that nonstop flights would be a flyer’s preference.? But,
are flights that have layovers (is this the right word?) really that bad?
Would it that depend on a person’s situation? (kids vs. no kids, deadline vs.
no dealine, patience vs. no patience — 🙂
— I realize that some people may have frequent flyer points. Or that a
portion or all of the cost of their flight is covered due to business reasons.
Thanks.
We use a variety of sites — Orbitz, Hotwire, Travelocity, Kayak, and sometimes directly from the airline. Since we book flights often, we can usually get online and check a bunch of different options pretty quickly. Sometimes, places like Southwest are offering crazy deals — like flights for $69! We’ve also found that it’s good to check into one-way flights versus round-trip flights — especially for last-minute deals.
We’ve found that last-minute deals are definitely there to come by — if you’re willing to be somewhat flexible on dates/times/layovers. They aren’t always available, but we’ve found that sometimes it can be a lot cheaper to book at the last minute than weeks or months in advance.
Thank you! – for the information that you’ve provided in your response to my question, and for being such a help to your readers in general.
You’re so welcome!
I don’t fly often either, but from a recent experience prices can go up and down for no apparent reason (I’m sure there’s one…) so unfortunately in a last minute scenario you can only get what’s available. Kayak will compare many websites so you can see the best price. My last ticket purchase to visit family in another country went up $500 in one week for 2 tickets and then down sane amount in another week for a direct flight which is what I wanted. This is months in advance before the trip. Also, once I decided I would buy from Travelocity I was able to go thru swagbucks and since it was such a large purchase I’ll be getting a lot of swagbucks once fight is completed! As far as layovers, I think it really depends on who you’re traveling with and small children can make it difficult to wait for long periods of time so plenty of entertainment is the key. I once had to basically run thru an airport while pushing my toddler on a stroller and carrying bags to make it to a connecting flight, all because my direct one got cancelled and I had to take that one. It’s important to consider extra costs when buying a ticket. Last year I flew JetBlue one way and spirit back and I can testify JetBlue was much nicer. They didnt charge for a checked bag and even have drinks/snacks, while spirit’s philosophy is that you only pay for what you want but that means any bags (including carry on which is more expensive than checking one), if you want to choose your seat, to check in at airport (free of you do online), drinks, etc. As Crystal mentioned southwest has crazy good deals often. Prices will also depend heavily on what airport you fly from/to, in areas with 2 airports it’s worth checking which would be cheaper. There are also sites where you can name your price and see if it’s accepted but you have to be flexible with the times such as provolone. Hope this helps.
Dallas Fort Worth = Delayed For Weather =)
😉
Crystal it was so super nice to have met you in person on Saturday, glad I made it with my son just 45 min before it was all over! I just could not have stayed home knowing you were in the same town and only 20 min away! I sent you an email, I obviously know you can’t possibly answer them all but hope you got it. Sorry about the airport craziness, I promise you I never had any of that happen at DFW, but I also don’t travel a whole lot, so I think anyone that flies a lot probably has a bad airport story. (Hope that doesn’t keep you from coming back to the area!)
It was SO great to meet you! And look for an email from me soon — I loved your email!
Maybe next time I’ll actually watch you speak! Hope things are back to normal now that you’re home!
This Dallas weather is killing us! My husband was supposed to fly out Monday morning for a business trip and his flight was cancelled midday on Sunday (flight crew was going to have timed out)–not making the trip was NOT an option and it took him until 10:30 Sunday night to resolve the issue. Crazy! So glad it worked out for you!
Oh, and it’s not usually that humid here…last weekend was brutal! Our house wasn’t even hot and we had to turn on the a/c to get the humidity out, it was so gross.
Continue to be encouraged by your blog, so frequently. I recently got delayed almost 8 hours on the tarmac in Dallas, trying to surprise my mother in Phoenix. First time ever delayed that long, and it was due to ice. Thankfully, God got me there safely and the surprise still was a success, despite most other flights being cancelled. But I’ll never forget what one of the other stranded passengers told me she’d renamed the Dallas airport. Instead of Dallas Fort Worth, it was Delayed For Weather. Your story supports this =)
So, so sorry you had to be delayed for 8 hours on the tarmac!! Yikes!! But I’m grateful that you were still able to pull off the surprise!
Once you’ve had some rough traveling it starts to be less stressful. We live in Asia and travel back to the States for a few weeks visit every year. This past trip (February) we got stranded overnight in Chicago in a blizzard. Thankfully I had packed a heavy coat for our almost 2 year old but so many families flying internationally had only light-weight clothing! We finally arrived at my parents almost 24 hours after we were supposed to! It was chaos but apart from trying to catch our hotel shuttle in a blizzard with improper clothing for my husband and I it really wasn’t too stressful for us. You get used to it and make friends and help each other out (like your ride to Kansas – I totally get that!) Your next “stressful” airport time will seem like nothing because you’ve already experienced about the worst! (At least domestically 😉 )
So fun that you got to meet Amanda Wells!! I count her as one of my closest friends, and try to see her once a year… last year I got to spend a week with her and her family, camping out in their living room. 😉 I can definitely see how spending time with her was the highlight of your weekend! 🙂
Oh, btw, I’ve known her for 16 years, so I’ve got you beat!! 😉
😉
Crystal–I have followed you since the beginning. At first I always referred to you and your wise advice as “the money-saving-mom-lady”…but in the last few years you have become “Crystal” to our family! “Crystal says…” or my husband will ask “what does Crystal say on that?” 🙂 It’s posts like these over the years, where your sweet personality, your seeking the Lord’s wisdom, your husband’s “ok”…shines through cyberspace! Love your transparent, genuine heart–it’s a blessing!
You are the cutest. You look healthy and radiant in your pictures – tiring adventures and setbacks and all!!
Aw, thank you so much! You’re so sweet!
Yeah, we Texas girls with straight hair don’t often curl it…and those with naturally curly hair have some serious curl!
So glad you got to see your mama!
Loved your upbeat attitude in this story! First time I’ve found you, but I will be following you from now on. Thanks!
Off topic: how do I turn off the ads that come on every time I come to this site now? I cannot see an ad. I am usually listening to another website when browsing different sites on the web to make doubly good use of my time.
Thanks for you help.
Argh! We are trying so, so hard to block all ads with sound… I guess the ad companies recently changed some stuff and now there are a lot more video/sound ads. I’m about ready to just block all ads because I’ve been so annoyed about it. While we try to figure out what’s going on, if you see/hear an ad playing, email crystal @ moneysavingmom.com with the name of what the ad was (what it was advertising, etc.) and I can try to do my best to block it forever. I’m so sorry about this — it’s been a source of great frustration the last few weeks especially!
Thanks for the email to share this information with that I’m finding. It does seem to slow down the page loading so that is another issue but thanks for not putting pop up ads on your page; I leave those blogs faster than you can blink! 😉
We’re working hard today to try to try down and block ALL video ads. Hopefully we’re able to kick them to the curb once and for all!
I’m just curious how your children handle you traveling so much. Especially over special holidays. Do they struggle with this…crying and upset when you’re leaving and such? I just know I couldn’t handle that and I’m curious how y’all make that work. (not asking in a judgemental way)
Great question… there are times when it is hard, but there are times when anything in life (including staying home!) is hard. For the most part, they do really well. Jesse and I believe wholeheartedly that me traveling 1-2 times per month is part of God’s calling in my life right now and Jesse is 100% supportive of it — I wouldn’t be doing what I do if he weren’t.
The kids know that this is what God has called me to, as well, and they usually are very supportive of me going. I limit my trips (i.e. I say no to opportunities to travel a lot) and try to keep trips as short as possible. In addition, when I’m home, I spend a lot of time with the kids and I usually spend extra time just snuggling, hanging out, being all there with them the few days before the trip and the few days after.
In most cases, it works well and they love getting to spend extra time doing special things with Jesse. It was hard for them (and Jesse and me!) this time because of the flight delays, but they were true champs about it!
So sorry Crystal. The weather was crazy here that day. Our church had to cancel because of no power. If you’re ever stuck again in this part of the south, I’d love to see you!
Getting rides to work with strangers is a popular form of frugal commuting in northern Virginia’s DC suburbs!!! This custom is astonishing to newcomers to the area, such as me, but considered routine by people who grew up there. It’s known as “slugging”: http://www.slug-lines.com/Slugging/About_slugging.asp.
I’m glad that you and Connie of Smockity Frocks are home safely despite weather-related difficulties after leaving the conference.
I think I’ve discovered that the only way to nice hair is lots of hair products, but I hate using chemicals! : / Funny how most girl’s hair either goes really flat or really frizzy in the humidity. My curls go flat and limp in 10 minutes if it’s super humid, which is often here in Tx. I don’t know what frizz is! lol
I blame Kansas! I live in Phoenix and my best friend lives an hour outside of Wichita. EVERY time we attempt to fly in our out of Kansas something happens and we get stuck and/or rerouted! Once we got to our gate only to be told we couldn’t fly out until 6 the next morning (this, with an 8-month-old)! Had to drive back to her house, sleep a couple hours then drive back :-\ there was plenty to be thankful for, but I’ve gotta admit, it scares me to fly to Kansas!
This time around, it was every single flight out from the airport. My team members ended up either getting stuck on the tarmac for hours or stuck in the airport for hours. (Two of them finally ended up getting a flight to Dayton, OH and then driving to Nashville late at night from there!)
Oh, your babies must have missed you terribly on Mother’s Day!
Yes, they were so, so sad I didn’t make it back on Mother’s Day and I felt so badly about it — but it was out of my control, so I just had to trust God for them and choose joy.
It was *quite* a joyful reunion when I got home and we spent most of yesterday just hanging out together and snuggling and talking to make up for it! So, so good to be back with them again!
I am glad that you got to meet a new friend who helped you get to your Mom for a few hours. Enjoy your down time!
Reminds me of a flight I took once. They had problems with the landing gear so we sat in the air right after takeoff and circled for a while. They finally got it down and didn’t want to risk putting it back up so we circled for about an hour. After we had burned off enough fuel we landed right where we started. I was just grateful we got stuck at my home airport and not at my layover. I had my one year old with me who has multiple food allergies, so getting stuck in an airport is my worst fear. Since it was a trip that could be cancelled, I called up my husband and went home. We joke that it was the quickest roundtrip flight ever.
That sounds like an adventure. I love the quote you ended with. When I look at those sort of setbacks as adventures rather than frustrations, I find there’s usually a lot of fun and joy to be had in the process, even if it wasn’t where I initially wanted to be. I’m glad you made it home safely!
Oh gracious! I would’ve been a puddle of tears! Glad you were able to see your mom, though and that you were safe. That must’ve been a bit scary. :-/
Oh wow, what adventure! But I just love reading stories like that and how everything finally ended up 🙂
What a crazy story! I’m so glad that you made it home safely, having spent time with your family! By the way, I wanted to gently say that the term “gal” can be viewed as offensive by some people. It was used in a very derogatory manner to refer to African-American women for many years. Probably most people are not offended by it now, but it’s always good to make sure!
I didn’t know that at all… thank you for letting me know! Yikes!
Wow! You always have quite an adventure when you fly. I remember waiting for 8 hours at the airport for my husbands flight. I think I read the same book three times because I was so bored. Glad you were able to make it to Kansas and home again.
Life never seems to be dull for me when traveling, that’s for sure! 🙂 I think this is by far my most eventful travel day ever… and I’m hoping I never need to top it! 🙂
Also, I meant to say you are looking so much more rested and healthy in your pics. I think your color choices in clothing are becoming to you!
Aw, you are so sweet! I didn’t necessarily *feel* rested in some of these pictures, but it’s amazing what good colors can do for making you look more energetic than you feel! {I think that Dressing Your Truth and doing a lot more experimenting with clothes/hair/makeup is reaping some good fruit!}
Definitely the Lord was guiding you! So glad you trusted Him; the stranger may have been an angel.
One question, though, WHOOO loses an airplane on the Tarmac!?! Makes you wonder…!
Haha! I was wondering the same thing. 🙂
And such cute pictures in this post, Crystal!!!