Day 33: This is how we roll...

Super Troopers

...to the airport at 5:00 in the morning, when not one but two cabs fail to show up in a timely fashion.  Of course, when I get to the airport (in record time), they canceled my flight due to weather delays/crew rest issues. Hopefully, the 7am flight is a go.

Here is the saga thus far, since I have time to kill. 

• Monday Afternoon: Scheduled for a 4pm flight out of Fayetteville on US Airways
• Plane is delayed due to maintenance issues, desk agent say not to worry b/c there is a later connection out of Charlotte
• Plane is still delayed, I start looking flights up on the Internet, where I see that the later flight from Charlotte is sold out.
• I bring it to the attention of the desk agent who starts looking for other options.
• The good news it that Fayetteville Airport now has a USO. I was able to grab a bite to eat, a magazine, and some Advil for my killer headache that has emerged.
• Finally, I am rebooked on the 6pm out of Fayetteville to Charlotte to Phoenix to Los Angeles
• Then the 6pm flight is diagnosed with maintenance issues and is delayed until 9:30pm
• There are now two flights worth of folks (about 100 people) who need to rebook flights due to missed connections.
• Los Angeles is no longer an option tonight.
• After an hour long wait, I if finally get my flight rebooked. Of course the 5:45 flight out of Fayetteville was already booked up.  I asked to switch airlines because Delta has a 6am flight leaving Fayetteville that gets into LA at 10:15am.  (US Airways option was for them to put me in a cab to Raleigh, spend the night, and take a 7am flight with a scheduled arrival in LAX at 12:30pm.)
• This is where I thought I was being smart. I get to spend another night with the kids, I will get to my business meeting not too terribly late, and since I am on a different airline, I shouldn't run into the same issues again. 
• After leaving for the airport at 2:30pm, I get home at 7:30pm.  The kids are very confused about my trip.
• The cab driver that dropped me off at home offered to come pick me up the next morning, I give her my number and ask her to call me when she is on her way in the morning.
• Grab some dinner and go to sleep to start the fun again.
• Tuesday Morning: I get up at 4am to get ready. The nanny shows up as scheduled at 4:30am.  Cab driver hasn't called by 4:45 (our agreed upon pick up time), so I call for another cab. 
• By 5:10 still no cab(s), so I grab the kids and the nanny and toss them all in the car to get to the airport.
• 5:30am, I check in at the counter (I couldn't do online check in due to my new ticket type) only to find out that the 6am flight has been cancelled due to weather delays/crew rest issues. I am rebooked on the 7am flight out of Fayetteville which is scheduled to arrive in LA at 12:30pm.  (That Raleigh options isn't looking so bad now.)  At least, I go through Atlanta, so there are more options if things go wrong there.
• By the way, I think US Airways is still trying to fly the same broken plane from yesterday.  The 5:45am flight has been pushed to 7:30am due to maintenance issues. Good thing, I didn't get that flight.
• Well, it is now 6:42.  I think I have seen our pilots and plane, so hopefully, I am out of here soon.
• I finally got on a plane out of Fayetteville around 7:30am and slept all the way to Atlanta.
• From Atlanta, I tried to get on a slightly earlier flight to LAX, but the flight was in an oversold status.  The desk agent said she could put me on the standby list, but the odds weren't good for getting on the plane. She said I should just keep my first class ticket put my feet up and have a glass of wine and get in at 12:30pm vs. trying to get on standby. I decided to go with her recommendation.
• So, I enjoyed a 1st class flight from Atlanta to LAX for all my troubles and go in around noon, picked up my rental car and off to Simi Valley. 
• After trying to check in at the wrong Bank of America building, the rest of the day went okay. Of course it involved a 1 hour phone call with tech support to set up my new laptop. 
• I did have a good team dinner of Hawaiian Fusion. I am still not sure what it was, but it was good. 
• Now it is 2am EST, 11pm CST and I am off to bed.