what a day!

Well, we started off getting to the airport an hour early and that wasn't early enough. It wasn't the security that made us miss our flight, it was the check in process. The ticket lady said to get in the self check in line and by the time we got to the front of the line, it was too late to check in by yourself, you needed someone to check you in. They told us to go to another line where they would help us and by the time we got to the front of that line, the plane had left. They booked us on another flight, this time through Denver. But, that meant 4 1/2 extra hours at the airport. That was 4 1/2 hours I could have slept last night.

So, we got on that flight, but didn't get to sit together. The first flight was ok, but there were thunderstorms in Denver, which meant a bumpy ride into the airport. As we were getting ready to land, the stewardess said something I've never heard before. She said, in case of emergency landing, do not go back for your personal belongings! I thought maybe she knew something was going to happen, but we managed to land safely.

We had about a 2 hour layover in Denver and managed to get seats together on the next plane to Cleveland. But, after getting on, we found out we had to wait for baggage from other planes. The bags arrived, but it was shift change time and there wasn't anyone there to load the bags onto our plane. 1 1/2 hours later, we finally were able to take off. We managed to make up some time in the air. Again, another bumpy ride because of the thunderstorms in both Denver and above the Great Lakes. A lady behind me kept saying she was going to throw up. I just hoped she had her barf bag handy!

After getting in around 9:30 local time and getting the rental car, we tried to find the hotel which was at the airport. The directions from the rental car place were make a left and a right and you are there. It took me an hour to find the place. I think I will ask Santa to get me a GPS for Christmas!

I have a funny story to tell about a pair of scissors and the security inspectors, but that will wait until tomorrow. It's 12:22 local time and I need to get some sleep =)