Final Push in My Solo Travel Fiasco

This is the final part of the story.

Click here to get caught up on the story of my solo vacation turned summer camp travel fiasco.

In the last post, I had to made a huge decision about how to get out of Atlanta. Either I could remain in the purgatory and uncertainty of the standby list, or I could grab a rental car and take a 3.5 hour drive out of Atlanta to get to my child.

Solo Travel Reality: Taxi Delays, Storms & Parenting Urgency

So I stayed in the airport and made my way to the new gate agent for my connecting standby flight. I had to wait a bit as I was fairly early and the desk wasn’t yet staffed. Once I found him, I asked about the chance I’d make it onto the flight, and the man looked at me like I had 3 heads. “Yep. It’s only 3 of y’all on standby. You’ll be fine.”

No better words could have been spoken. I was finally on my way to get my kid. My solo travel fiasco was finally getting somewhere!

And the gate agent was right. It wasn’t long before I got a text with my seat assignment. I could’ve been on the wing…I didn’t care. All that mattered was being confirmed on the flight. Turns out I wasn’t on the wing; I was seated in an exit row, but at that point, I couldn’t be bothered to care.

Again, contacting my daughter’s camp has been key for me during this time. They completely understood my situation and indicated my daughter would be with the weekend campers while we waited for my arrival. I’m coming honey!

Storms, Tarmacs, and Travel Delays—Again

Now that getting to my daughter was fairly settled, there was the business of addressing the return flights home to Charleston. Given all the delays, I needed to push those flights back by 3 hours. We are going home tonight.

…or so I thought.

In comes yet ANOTHER issue. When it rains, it pours, and literally. I mean, what would a solo travel fiasco be without a rain storm?!

My plane lands and appears to be taxiing to the gate, except it wasn’t. The pilot stopped the plane and announced on the intercom that we had both good news and bad news. Bad news first – the ground crew had been ordered indoors due to lightning in the area. Therefore, there was no way for him to properly taxi the plane. We had to wait on the tarmac until the storm passed. On the bright side, though, we completed the landing and avoided having to circle in the air while waiting out the storm.

YOU.MUST.BE.KIDDING.

The pilot’s estimate was a 30 minute wait. It ended up being a full 45 minutes.

So I napped on the plane. There was nothing else to do and I needed energy for the 90 minute drive to the cabin where my daughter was staying. The camp’s administrative team graciously attended to my daughter wonderfully during my seemingly never ending delays. Chef’s kiss.

Family Travel Blog Finale: Lessons From a Mother’s Return

45 minutes and one nap later, I was in my rental car and on the road. I can only say it was purely the grace of God, adrenaline, and momma bear instinct that got me through the 90 minute drive to pick up my daughter. I barely even remember it, except for the popping of my ears as the drive increased in altitude as I navigated through the mountains. Oh – and the storm. There was a fairly significant thunderstorm on the drive, which slowed traffic down to under 50mph at several points along the highway. In fact, once it turned into a low visibility issue, many drivers – including myself – turned on hazard lights as we drove along. I wasn’t surprised by the storm; after all, I had spent nearly an hour on the tarmac waiting for associated lightning to subside.

After what seemed like literally forever, I arrived at camp to find my daughter, exhausted and “done” but perfectly intact. It took all of 8 minutes to load her into the car and make the return drive to the airport. Yep – you guessed it – driving back through the storm again. Going down in altitude made for a shorter trip. I was highly concerned we would not make it to the airport in time. My concerns subsided however, after learning my flight was on a 15 min delay. Not bad, I thought. It was exactly the time cushion I needed for the trip anyway. So, I returned the rental car, grabbed my kid and all her stuff, and we made our way to the airport security line. We hadn’t been out of the security line for 5 minutes when I learned of yet another airline delay. That’s odd…why would there be another delay?

Well, I’ll tell you why. I learned that there was a hail storm in Atlanta, bringing the entire Hartsfield-Jackson airport to a complete ground stop. Insane. And what was worse is that the delay kept pushing and pushing and pushing out. My daughter and I were desperate to get home to our own beds, so we stuck it out for a while. But when the departure time delayed to 11:56pm with a post midnight arrival in Atlanta and projected 2am arrival in Charleston, I gave up. It was time to throw in the towel, find a hotel, and try again in the morning. After all, I’d been in an airport since 630am. My daughter had been in 6 hour a day gym practices for a whole week. We were weary. So I made some quick decisions and made another plan to get home before grabbing an uber to a nearby hotel. This is where we’d wait until morning, prayerful that we make our new flights.

Sleep, Strategy, and Sudokus

We both slept like rocks. Only the subconscious adrenaline allowed me to properly wake up in time to leave the hotel by 7am for our 9am departure.

I anticipated long airport security lines given the chaos of the night before, but it was smooth sailing. We arrived at the gate a full hour before departure and were blessed with the sight of clear skies.

Thankfully I was able to cancel the flight we were originally on last night, and we received a full refund of our purchase price and points. I had to purchase all new tickets for us on an entirely different airline in order to get us home. This time I chose Southwest so we’d be on a direct flight. Cheap? Absolutely not. But it was absolutely worth it. I’m just grateful to have the resources to make it happen because “Forrest, I just wanna go home.” Plus, I vividly recalled the days when sleeping overnight in an airport was my only option.

So, without having showered, we sat patiently at the Southwest gate for our flight to depart.

Solo Travel Closure: From Airports to Home

I’m proud to have documented this saga in the moment. Thinking back, this story is a bit of a blur. Once you’ve been in this situation, just trying to survive and get to your kid, all your body can really do is manage the constant adrenaline surges, and hang on until you’re home, showered, and to bed. We’ve had expensive airport breakfast, and since my daughter’s device died (if I’d known this were a 2 day trip, I’d have brought a charger), I allowed her to pick out a book from the newsstand. For me, a sudoku puzzle book to refresh on the game since it’s been nearly a decade since playing it.

Before we knew it, we were boarding and FINALLY headed home. When you’re in this kind of situation, in first-world survival mode, this is the moment you think will never come. In fact, it’s surreal. Boarding a plane alongside others who casually arrived that morning for a normal trip is an insane mind game. The only thing you can do is be polite, nod and smile, and avoid the rightfully earned cynicism developed from an 8 hour journey to pick up your kid that instead lasted a full 36 hours.

What I Learned: Travel Tips from a Mom on the Go

And what I have learned? Glad you asked.

1. Finish the doggone TSA pre check process.
2. Always pack a small toiletry bag no matter how short the trip is expected to last.
3. Don’t skimp on your kids’ skin care products. You’ll never know when you will need to rely on them for an unexpected overnight stay.
4. Don’t try to be a hero. While we could’ve stayed overnight in airport, it’s not a situation I would’ve wanted for my 12 yr old daughter. Now, if we didn’t have an option, I of course would’ve made it work. But thankfully, that’s not our issue. I’ve had to stay overnight in an airport before and it’s no fun. There’s no rest sleeping with one eye open during the wee hours of the night plus I don’t have 5 days’ time to recover after the fact.
5. Think outside the box. From my prior days as a consultant on the road, I’m fairly aware of all the options that can be taken in these situations. The only catch is I no longer have priority status which means my levers are fewer than before when I was in that role. Ask for other flights from the airline, ask for other flights from other airlines. Ask for flights in/out of nearby cities. Ask for upgrade options if that can be afforded. And always make sure the gate agent knows you’re there, willing and eager to take any possible option that’s available to get you home. If they don’t see you or think you’ve left, there’s nothing stopping them from giving the opportunity to someone else.
6. And – worst case scenario – don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. If I hadn’t have asked Paul for his spot on the standby list, I’d probably still be in Charleston, fighting to get to my kid.

If nothing else, hopefully this was an engaging and entertaining read. Life is crazy for everyone, but you have to remember to #stayseasoned through it all.

As soon as this plane lands, we are picking up lunch and heading home for hot showers and an afternoon in bed. I never want to leave my house again. I mean, not NEVER never, but you know what I mean.

Stay seasoned, my friends.

xoxo