D.C. and the dreaded Delaware

After a week in Idaho it was time for us to fly out to D.C. to start trying to catch flights back to Germany. The friends we were going to be staying with unfortunately had a sick child in the hospital so luckily Nate was able to contact my friend Trina from BYU and she was happy to let us stay with her til we could catch a flight out. All seemed to be going well on our trip until we landed in Denver on our layover to D.C. and a huge snowstorm hit. We were getting ready to take off but our wings wouldn't stay de-iced so after waiting around in the airport for awhile they ended up cancelling our flight. Reese and I got to stand 12 people deep in a line to get reticketed and it still took us nearly two hours to accomplish. I'd had Nate get on Travelocity and find us a room for the night since sleeping in the airport with Reese and all our luggage was a non option, and I'd called Trina for the hundredth time to let her know that we wouldn't be coming in til the next day (she deserves a saint medal for agreeing to let us stay with her and then having to deal with pushed back flight times and cancellations). Reese and I were able to catch the shuttle to the hotel but when we got there we were told that Travelocity was overbooking rooms for them and that the airport had booked them up as soon as the snowstorm hit. Now I didn't book through the airlines, which would've been cheaper, because I was 12th in my two hour line at the gate counter and in order to book a hotel I would've had to have gone to the customer service line which was over 120 people long when they officially cancelled our flight. So I sat in this hotel trying with a sleeping child in my arms and a trolley of luggage next to me trying to decide what my next move would be when the manager came up to me and said that they had one room that was closed for soem repairs but if I wanted it I could have it. The maintenance guy took me upstairs to show me the room and there was one tile in the bathroom ceiling that had water damage and the rest of the room was fine so of course I took it despite the water damage and the fact that it was a suite and meant I had to pay for a suite. In the morning we went back to the airport and everything was cleared up for our takeoff and arrival in DC a mere two hours later than my rebooking said I would arrive.When we got to DC Trina picked us up at the airport and we went back to her place to relax and let the kids play. Trina's oldest daughter Claire is a day older than Reese and her youngest Alice is 4 months old, luckily Reese pretty much left Alice alone and she and Claire had a blast playing with one another. They went out in the front yard and rode bikes up and down the sidewalk and used sidewalk chalk to make pretty pictures on the walkway. When they were inside they played on the slide, watched videos, and did everything else they possibly could together. It was so much fun to watch them play together because they're that same point in development so they both do everything the other one does, it was super cute. We had so much fun hanging out with them and told them that they'd have to come out to our house next.

We'd arrived in DC on Wednesday and hadn't seen any flights out yet so on Friday I saw there were 3 flights out of Dover, Delaware and another two on Saturday. By this time we'd been in the states for nearly 5 weeks and were ready to get home, so Trina's husband drove us the 2.5 hours to Dover so that we could get home. Unfortunately we barely missed getting on the first of the three flights and the other two took zero passengers so we got a hotel room happily assuming that we'd get out the next day. Well, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were more of the same. I believe it was Monday when I started losing hope and the only thing keeping my attitude upbeat was the knowledge that Reese would start freaking out if I started freaking out. Everyday we'd get to the terminal around 11am and sit and wait on flights until about midnight when they'd finally say the last one was cancelled, oh and I forgot to mention that I'd picked up a package in DC so I had a huge box on top of my two bags and Reese's carseat to haul to and from the termainl everyday. Luckily they had a playroom with toys for Reese and a place for her to take naps and my child is wonderful because she was so good the whole time we were in the terminal and didn't add any stress to my already overstressed mood. On Tuesday night we finally got ticketed on a flight and I was elated to finally be heading home. They took us out to the plane.....and then decided they were overloaded with cargo so they bumped us off. The next day I talked to Nate and we decided that if I didn't get out on a flight that day then he was going to fly out to meet up with me so that Reese and I would get bumped up a couple catergories and at least we wouldn't be apart anymore. All the flights out of Dover were going to be overfilled with cargo that day so we saw there was a 1am flight out of Baltimore and hopped in the cab and hoped for the best. Luckily after the $170 cab ride we were able to get on a flight to Ramstein without Nate having to come out to get us.

Moral of the story is that we made it home, despite the nearly 6 days spent in Dover which is by the way a place I refuse to ever go again, in fact I told Nate that I will never again set foot in Delaware because it's a hole of a state. I wish I'd taken a picture of us in Delaware, with our stuff sitting by that same chair day in and day out, but it's probably for the best that I didn't because I'm now attempting to block that period of time from my memory. Hopefully in a months time the last thing I'll remember is having fun with the girls at Trina's house.