Stranded!!

Molly is taking ownership of my carryon. 

 It began with an email I sent to our friends, Ann, Michael, Stephanie and Bruce, a few days before we began our trip to Italy and then a Mediterranean cruise. The email said: "Since we have a long layover in Newark, why don't we find a place to order drinks and toast to a great adventure."  We did have a long layover in Newark as we did not want to be running to our next gate to catch a plane. Everyone thought that was an excellent way to spend a few hours waiting for our next flight.

Now, the truth. Our flight from Detroit was on time. We departed around 1:00 P. M.  Ray and I packed light and let the airlines (United) talk us into putting our carryon in with the checked in bags since the plane was so full. We arrived at Newark on time but at this time the plane began jerking and bouncing. It seemed like we flew forever, bobbing up and down, round and round the airport. After about twenty minutes the pilot informed us that our flight had been diverted to Rochester, NY to refuel because we were not able to land due to a storm. ROCHESTER!! Like that is halfway back to Detroit, or so it seemed. Here is the flight pattern of our plane in Newark.

When we got to Rochester, we were able to go inside the airport and wait for updates. We were also told we could stand in line to see if we could get on other flights if we were going to miss our connecting flight. We took turns standing in line while others were on their phones seeing if they could get any better information. The woman helping in the line was also responsible for checking for updates from the pilot. This meant that she had to leave her desk, walk into the plane, return and tell everyone that we would have another update in an hour. Then she would return in the ever growing line. She was working on the first couple, a woman and her adult daughter, for two hours. This did not look promising. 

I lost track of the hours we waited in line. We kept being told at each update that we would get another update in an hour. All of the airports in the New York City area had been closed because of this storm, and so everyone was trying to book new flights. Soon we decided to book a hotel since  it looked like we were going to miss our connecting flight....unless that flight was going to be late, too. Hope is great, but in this case it delayed us in getting a hotel. All of the hotels were filled around Newark because of this storm. Still, we could hope, because, well, what else could we do. 

Around 9:00 P.M. we were next in line and the adrenalin kept our tired bodies alert. The woman helping us had to be frustrated because there were few options people could take and people were getting upset. We were just happy to be next in line. She got to us and found that we could still make it to Venice, Italy but we would be a day late. We would also be diverted through Brussels. We took it. She had four of our reservations set and then she got a message that the plane was loaded and we had to leave,  NOW! She guaranteed us that she had the information for Stephanie and Bruce and would finish it and we could get those boarding passes in Newark. With that, she stopped everything and shuttled us all to the plane. 

Faith, well, that is a good thing too, sometimes. Did we have faith that Stephanie and Bruce would get their flights changed to the same as ours, or even changed at all? We had no choice. We would finish it when we got to Newark. 

We arrived at Newark around midnight. Some of us went to baggage claim to see if our bags happened to be there, and if not, to see how to get them. Of course, there were no bags. Here is where we stood in another long line to find out where our baggage was. I have a picture of the line that was taken at 1:50 A.M. 

It was a long line and a slow line. When it was our turn, I made the mistake of walking up to an open window before the woman announced she was ready. I had not noticed any of the other people doing that, because I would have waited if I had known that was the process. So, I got chastised for being rude. This woman almost had me in tears until the woman next to her called us to her window. 

I was relieved to find a kind soul, but she really could not help us. She told us that our luggage would follow us and we had nothing to worry about. We stated that we would just like to get  our luggage now and then go through security later the next day since our flight did not leave until 6:00P.M. But no, that was not the process. The luggage would follow us. We had nothing to worry about.

We left, heads down in defeat and eyes tired from no sleep. We met the rest of the group, found some cots that the airport was offering, and hoped to get some sleep. 

Michael waving hello before he tries to get some sleep.

Stephanie and Bruce napping

Ann got up from her cot for a few minutes and when she returned she found this.

We have no idea who this is. He just found Ann's cot and fell asleep.

To be continued.....