What day even is it??
I'm typing this from a freezing cold Chicago airport. I don't know what temperature it is in here, but I do know I'm not quite dressed for it.
Zoe and I were both supposed to fly home Sunday night and get home Monday afternoon.
But I did not make the standby list, so Zoe got on the plane without me. I tried several other flights for standby, but no luck.
(A reader later let me know on Instagram that flying standby off of Hawaii is almost impossible. My anecdotal experience confirms this. Ha.)
So, Lisey came and picked me back up from the airport and I spent one more night in Hawaii.
I decided to bite the bullet and just buy a ticket home because I could envision myself spending days at the airport trying to land a standby flight.
Maybe some people could handle that but I know myself, and I would start to lose my cheerful attitude pretty quickly under such circumstances.
For me, it was worth it to buy a ticket.
I hopped on a half hour flight from Oahu to Maui (shortest flight I've ever been on!), then took an overnight flight to Chicago, and now I have a four hour layover before I can get on my flight home.
Zoe landed in Chicago yesterday and after nine (!!!) flight delays, she eventually got home.
Here's hoping I have fewer delays than her in my efforts to leave Chicago today.
I did not sleep at all on my flights (HOW is a person supposed to sleep while sitting up??) so I'm definitely gonna be awake for way more than 24 hours in a row.
On the upside, I don't think I'm going to have any trouble going to sleep at a decent hour for east coast time tonight.
It is very strange going between time zones like this, along with an overnight flight. I feel rather...discombobulated. 😉
The last time I slept was Sunday night, and now it's Tuesday morning.
But the good news is that school does not start until next Monday, so I still have some days to get myself right side up again.
I am going to be so so so happy if I get home today and am able to crawl into the sheets in my own bed tonight. Here's hoping!!
Best of luck getting home quickly! Glad you have a few days to catch up. Coming back from all that green lush to Chicago cold seems almost traumatizing...add in the lack of sleep and jet lag....you'll sleep great once you get warm and cozy at home.
I enjoy traveling when I do it but coming HOME to my own bed is always a thrill!! So much bad weather all over the country really messed up flying schedules I am sure! Glad you’re on your way home and had a nice visit!
Best wishes for a safe and delay-free rest of the trip. And I'm glad you don't have to go straight back to school after this!
I was at an airport in Wash DC once, sitting near a very stressed mom and her two daughters who were trying to get to Hawaii. Her husband was a pilot, so they had stand by privileges, but had basically been flying in circles, and after three standby flights, were back where they'd started with mom in tears of exhaustion.
That sort of took the luster off the perk of flying standby for me, so I think you made an excellent choice when you decided to go ahead and buy your return ticket!
It’s good you are at least getting closer to home! Slowly, but surely.
I live in Illinois and it is definitely very cold here! The temperature has not yet reached 0 degrees Fahrenheit today. The windchill is much lower. The kids are off school due to it not being safe to have little ones waiting outside for buses, then on buses without adequate heating.
Kristen, I hope you are safely in your own bed soon. Also I agree, sleeping upright is impossible.
I was worried about you getting home, between the MLK holiday and the horrible weather here in non-tropical U.S. Glad to hear you have a grace period before your next semester starts, and fingers crossed you have an uneventful flight today!
Good “Morning!”
The payoff from being consistently frugal is (hopefully) having extra money to easily adjust when things go south. To me, paying for a one way trip back from Hawaii was a VERY good use of discretionary funds. The savings in prolonged misery is worth it!
Hope you get home tonight and get a phenonmenal rest!
My thoughts to the Universe to clear the way for you to get home, Kristen, without further delays. And, then, to sink into a comfy bed and cuddle with Chiquita and rest up.
I'm waving at you from Michigan. What a shock this weather must be to you! Safe travels.
Safe travels.
That last picture is exquisite!!! I was wondering if all the snow on the east coast would cause you to get stuck in Hawaii, but I suppose there are worse places to be stuck. 😉 Anyway, I hope you get home soon, and I'm glad you were able to get away!
@Becca, thank you for saying exactly what I am thinking. Also, "discombobulated" is such a descriptive word.
I had wondered how your trip home was turning out, what with all this weather going on. I'm glad you are at least in the 48 again, and in the "middle," too. That's a lot closer than an ocean and a continent away! I'm not experienced in this; is there anyway you can get a blanket or sweatshirt (at inflated prices, I know) at an airport shop, to be warmer?
Poor Zoe, getting all those delays!
I'm still doing a little nail biting about flights, however, as my youngest daughter is to fly out today at noon from Florida to New Jersey. This just sounds like a terrible idea all around, but it's for work, so she is probably already at the airport here, waiting to go.
P.S. - I could never, ever sleep sitting up - until the last year or so. Now I can fall asleep sitting up, just like my dear old parents and grandparents used to do. I guess I am officially old.
All fingers crossed for you to get home. Flight limbo is the worst.
Good luck, Kristen! Best way to reset your body clock is to sit in the sun. Which is certainly not happening here today!
I don't mind flying (after being terrified of it when younger) but I always get angry and resentful when we're all supposed to sleep and everyone but me is peacefully snoozing.
Made me remember “Unexpected travel is dancing lessons from God.” Kurt Vonnegut. Good luck!
Thank God Lisey could come & get you from Hawaii airport & stay with her one more night. It will be good information to know for next trip about return stand by, that way you & Zoe can return together (also). The delays would have been more bearable if you two were together, but you both managed. 🙂
Not sure how you got to airport from home, but hoping you have safe transportation to return home from airport. With snow & then Polar Vortex temps longterm parking vehicles may be not reliable/buried. 🙁
Hoping you had a great trip. Stay warm. 🙂
I used to have trouble sleeping sitting up and then I was a band mom.
@Amy cheapohmom, This made me snort. ;-}
Hi Kristen,
I'm glad you are making progress in getting home. My boyfriend works for American Airlines and we fly standby a lot. I've heard that it's very hard to fly standby from Hawaii to the mainland. Last time we went to Hawaii, we used my Southwest miles, since they fly to Hawaii now, and even between islands. Maybe you could try that in the future, for the way home.
Safe travels!
Beth
@Beth B., Southwest had a boatload of cancellations in the winter weather. Not sure it'd work.
I hope you get back to your warm house and cozy bed with no more disconcertments - good call on buying the ticket!
Oh! I was thinking of you yesterday, with all the flight delays going on!! Hope you get home SOON!
Hope you made it home and can get some well earned rest. Winter travel is so hard.
Have a good trip ahead and I am thinking of you, all those in US and elsewhere with terrible cold -
My dad used to fly (his own plane, not commercial), and whenever we would go somewhere, thinking it would be quicker, he would say, "If you have time to spare, go by air". Sure enough, we sometimes got grounded.
Since Lisey is employee of ______ (airline) does she have employee access to their lounge area in airports? If yes, does that extend to you also? If not, I have seen recently that Groupon offers for airport lounges. Might not help today but maybe for future travels.
This adventure of yours is a nightmare to me. BUT it was a very entertaining blog to read.
Also I was so excited when I read this "I feel rather…discombobulated.". I tell you why.
English is a second language to me and just learnt this word from a friend. I have never heard or seen this word in written form before. Ever! I had a hard time pronouncing it so I practiced a lot. Could you imagine how trilled I was when I saw it in your blog?!
Good luck to a safe and quick return home!!!
@Edit, Congratulations on your English abilities!
There is a term, which I can't remember or define properly, for often used words composed of an additional prefix on a root word, while we rarely use the root word.
Specifically, I have never heard the word "combobulated" (organizing or un-confusing something) used in conversation or seen it in writing, but after your comment about "discombobulated", I looked it up. It is a real state, though spell check does not recognize the word.
I hope Kristen is closer to home now!
@Heidi Louise,
When we are getting ready to go out the door, I tell my kids that they need to appear "kempt and sheveled" because it amuses me.
@Becca, And they will never forget that! What a great line!
@Heidi Louise,
Yes, well, it is often followed up with "and go ahead and get yourself gruntled while you're at it..."
Good luck readjusting to the time zone change. And good luck with your flights. Unfortunately, this time of year, there are usually delays no matter where you are flying from or to because it has to do with the position of not only the equipment YOU will fly on, but other equipment (Planes) as well.
I was forced to make a business appointment that would last hours for the day after my return from Hawaii a few years ago. OMG. I have never felt so out of it and so brain fogged. It was a photo shoot and I can't believe I was able to stay awake through it.
When I got home, I zonked out for hours. It was so hard to get up and it took me over a week to get back into the Eastern time zone.
I live 20 minutes from ORD and I can tell you it is unseasonably cold. They canceled school this morning due to the windchill. Stay warm and I hope you get home soon!
That's a doozy of a travel snafu - I'm sorry to hear! Hope you are soon back home and snug in your own bed after your sunny getaway.
Best of luck! I hope you get home smoothly. O'Hare has some good food, at least.
I met a good friend after a similar set of circumstances: short hop Maui to main airport, flight to San Francisco, red eye to home at the time, full day of work right after, then dinner with a few people. We joke that of course he thought I was fun - all I did was ask leading questions cuz I was too tired to talk.
Don’t worry, you got another day with your daughter on a tropical island.
As long as you get home for classes it will be fine!
May God care for you in your weary travels & hassles, amen.
Oh oh, with horrible weather to contend with on the Eastern side of the country, too. I hope you got home safe and sound without too many delays and catch up on your sleep. I bet it's hard to go from tropical Hawaii to the deep freeze!
When we lived on the Big Island we would fly to Oahu and from there to California on red eyes. I can sleep anywhere, but would stay wide awake on those red eye flights until I finally figured out we always treated ourselves to Lappert's Kona Coffee ice cream at the Oahu airport--and there was enough caffeine to keep me awake for a week!
Too bad you couldn't get Scotty to beam you back to your home coordinates!
Oh, Kristen! I hope you made it home and got some sleep! I can’t wait to hear about your trip! I follow you on IG, and it made me happy to see you and your daughters looking so … happy!
Welcome to the Midwest!! Sorry it's not more of a fun visit. I hope you get some good rest these next few days!
wow what an ordeal, but so worth it.
Ooh, no post today. I hope you made it home safely with all your limbs and digits intact. Brrr!
@Dicey,
I keep picturing Kristen in a rental van with the Polka King of the Midwest...
Welcome home! I understand better that you live on the east coast, not Portland, Oregon? Warm thoughts from Ohio. And maybe a helpful tip from a longtime cross-Pacific traveler, who doesn't sleep upright either. I always pack a long book to read, something not too demanding because the brain doesn't work as well in high altitude fatigue. It helps pass the time pleasantly, and I feel less jealous of all the sleeping people. It takes a couple days to readjust to the new time zone; don't make any big, important decisions until you've been on the ground for two or three days.
Yup, I'm allllll the way over here on the east coast!
And good advice about not making big decisions. My brain is definitely tired.
As a Chicagoan, so sorry you had to experience the worst weather we've had in a while! It was in negative temps for several days. We are pretty hardy here, but it really ruined the three days weekend. It was space heaters and bathrobes for most of us.
I finally decided to fly south to get a break from it! Not looking forward to going back.