Airport adventure... Not!

I spent most of the week in San Francisco at a conference. Got 4 good runs in while I was there. Ran up Nob hill twice and out to Fisherman's Wharf twice. On friday, I took the "red-eye" home to Mentor. That is when the "fun" began.

My first leg was Frisco to Charlotte, N.C. I left Frisco at 10:40PM (1:40AM EST) and arrived in Charlotte at about 6:45AM EST. So far so good. To be completely honest, before I left I fully expected to get stranded in Charlotte since there was a fierce blizzard raging over pretty much all of Ohio starting some time on Friday and continuing through Saturday. I was very surprised to find that the plane bound for Cleveland took off right on time at 8:05AM. Turns out, that was just a "teaser". The ride to Cleveland was uneventful but when we tried to land they were plowing the runway and the snow was just too deep to attempt a landing. The pilot then diverted to Akron/Canton to try to land there. Cleveland Hopkins airport is about 45 minutes from my home. Akron/Canton is about an hour and 15 minutes from home. Still ok. We were able to successfully land at Akron/Canton, so I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing at this point. Very happy to be so close to home.

They refueled the plane and gave us the option of trying a second time for Cleveland Hopkins. Of course, if we were unable to land there we might end up in Pittsburgh or even back in Charlotte. That's a no brainer, I'm staying put at Akron/Canton. So, it's about 10:30AM on saturday and I am only a relatively short car ride from home. So close, and yet so far away. Problem is, with the blizzard howling away outside the interstates were a mess. Maybe if the weather lets up a little I can still get a ride later in the day. Not a chance! It wasn't until after midnight that the snow and the wind began to abate giving the snow plows the opportunity to begin clearing the roads.

I was hanging out near the gate at which I had entered the terminal (nice and quiet) until security told me I would have to move out into the terminal. Watched CNN most of the night, unable to sleep for more that short periods - this is the night following my all night "red-eye" flight! Got really sick of seeing the Larry King interview of Janet Jackson. They repeated it 3 or 4 times during the night!

Finally got a ride home. I'll try to get a little sleep and get ready for my flight to Florida tomorrow. But, I've got a lot of snow to shovel :-(