It is about 1100 kilometres (or about 700 miles, if that’s how you think) from Toronto to Raleigh, North Carolina. It takes about 90 minutes to fly there, and I know that because on Friday at lunchtime I got on a plane in Toronto and flew straight there, and then I had a terrific time. Really great, and for a bunch of reasons. First, it was warm there. It was super warm there on Friday, and then on Saturday and Sunday it was less warm, but I still thought it was an upgrade from the weather at home. The locals kept saying it was cold, but let me show you a picture I took. 
Right? I was so blown away that I emailed that picture to just about everyone in my family with a note that said "Look! Flowers blooming in December!" (The response from just about everyone was "where they in the ground?" It boggled our Canadian minds.) Then there was Mary and her fabulous staff at the two stores, they were helpful and kind and accommodating and everything you’d expect from a shop in the South. Then there was the knitters. See them? 
They were pretty awesome too. I don’t know if you’ve been to the south, or had a lot of contact with knitters from there, but they are smooth. They’re so smooth that it’s about 15 minutes into a conversation with them that you realize that the charm is just a cover for the fact that they’re delightfully bonkers… and although it sounds strange, one of my greatest wishes for every person is that they have the experience of being criticized by a Southerner. They’re so good at it that it’s about three days before you realize what happened. (Pro tip – "Bless your heart" isn’t always good.)
It was awesome, and then yesterday morning I packed myself up and went to the airport (thanks for the lift, Mary!) and breezed through security, and got told a very funny joke by a really nice officer, and that, my friends, that was the last thing that went right. When I book flights to and from shops, I try to get the most cost-efficient ones I can. Arriving in Raleigh I had the talk on Friday night, so I took a direct to eliminate the chances of having a connection screwing me up. Heading home I don’t worry as much, and the flights with connections are much, much cheaper. So off I headed, with a flight from Raleigh to Washington, Washington to New York, New York to Toronto.
Things started to go wrong in Raleigh. The inbound plane was late, then we sat on the tarmac so long waiting for a fuel-top up that I knew there was no way I was going to make my connection. In a way, I like knowing that there’s no way in hell that you’re going to make a flight. As long as there’s hope I feel compelled to try, to rush, to keep checking the time… once you know all is lost, you might as well knit, really, so that’s what I did. Arriving in Washington, I discovered that it had snowed there the day before, and even though the snow was gone, there was no ice and the ground was dry, they were dealing with being screwed up from then, so there was a million people there from a million cancelled flights and the lady at the airline just about laughed at me when I asked when I was going to fly to New York.
It turned out that she didn’t have a basically optimistic nature though, because I did fly to New York, although that flight was delayed (also on the tarmac – why can’t they delay you before you get on the plane? It’s like all day steps were taken to come between me and food) arriving there last night at 5:24, which was sort of good, because at least I was one step closer to home, but sort of bad because my connection to Toronto left at 5:30, but closed it’s doors at 5:20, so I knew I’d missed that too. The nice lady at the desk told me that they’d rebooked me onto a 6:30 flight, and the 7:30 as well, just in case I couldn’t make the 6:30 in time – and all I had to do was get to the other terminal so I could switch airlines.
It turns out that to do that there’s lots of stairs and and escalator and a strange hallway that it felt wrong to be in and I had to ask for help three times and take a bus that I waited for outside. Then I had to do security again, and by then it was past the time that I could maybe get on board for the 6:30 … but I didn’t panic, I just kept going as fast as I could because I was sure they’d just bump me to the 7:30, on which I was so conveniently booked. I arrived at the desk, sweaty, jumbled, hungry and tired, and handed my now vintage boarding pass to the agent.
I knew the minute I saw her face that I had a big problem. "I’m not booked on the 7:30?" I asked her, and she nodded. I was – or at least my name was on the list, but she explained, the fact that the other airline had "booked" me on that flight didn’t magically create a seat to put me in. She scanned the list of flights with a deepening frown. They were all oversold and overfull, although she decided to put me on standby for the 8:45, because it was the least screwed up, and there was a slim chance. The place was packed so I sat on the floor and waited, until she came and found me at 8:00 and told me there was zero chance I was going home. We rebooked me on a flight for this morning, and she told me to go back to the other airlines counter, and they would give me a hotel voucher.
Back I went, this time changing terminals by way of a longish walk outside in the dark, until I somehow found the airline counter, where to make a very long story short, they first said that I wasn’t getting a voucher because I was late for the 5:30 flight (I don’t know what I said in return. Something incoherently corrective) then said I wasn’t getting a voucher because the delay was due to weather – even though the weather wasn’t at the airports I was at, there was weather somewhere that impacted my flights so no dice. (I did point out that this policy meant that they would never, ever have to give out a voucher, and they had nothing to say to that.) They gave me a number to call to get a hotel room that at least had a discount, so I went staggering off in search of a payphone, where the hotel broker phone thing put me on hold for 30 minutes and never gave me a room, at which point I sort of snapped a little, hung up the phone and staggered over to a really nice information lady and said "I need help solving this" and promptly lost control of a few tears, which was both humiliating and apparently effective.
She helped me, I got a room, and a shuttle and an hour later I was lying face down on a bed where I stayed for five hours before reporting back to La Guardia to watch the snow start to fall, because it would appear that now I’m in the middle of a snowstorm.
Me and my sock are waiting now, and I’m sort of tired and so far we’ve been delayed four times, to the tune of four hours… but it’s not snowing that hard. Right? No matter. I have a whole other skein of yarn and it has to stop sometime. I’m just going to knit, and list all of the things I’m not in charge of. Let’s start with how it can take 90 minutes to get to Raleigh, and more than 30 hours to get back.
WOw. Good luck!
Wish I had something witty to say to make you smile, but I can only think of one thing…bummer 🙁
Thank goodness for extra yarn and Christmas knitting time. Hope your delay isn’t too long. Just think of the stories you can tell at Christmas dinner.
Sorry you had so much trouble. We need to work out these communications better – you could have stayed with the Blog. There are lots of guest rooms in NYC (and everywhere else) attached to blog readers.
It is safe to say that a skein of yarn and some knitting needles has saved my life (and countless others) on more than one occasion when there has been no recourse except to wait.
My heart goes out to you navigating those airports. We love you. Keep the faith.
Thank heavens you have yarn! If you’d run out, I imagine I’d have been reading this story on the news. It’s probably also good you made it out of DC, since they panic more easily at snow than NY does. Good luck!
There is a lesson in all this. Your time, peace of mind and over exposure to radiation count for something. You are in incredible demand as a teacher and speaker. Why not just build the cost of the most direct round trip flight into your appearance fee. You’re certainly worth it.
So glad you have the extra yarn! Hang in there, take a deep breath, and just concentrate on the stitches. The Blog is with you (and if we could get into the airport, I’m sure we’d surround you with more yarn and love).
Annoying. But think of all the knitting you can get done with no interruptions! You worry (always) about the knitting schedule, so this will be a big help.
Plus, if you run out of yarn, I suspect there will be several hundred New Yorkers who will troop over to you with supplies. They might even just join you to knit.
Relax and enjoy.
Time to start singing, “I’ll be home for Christmas.” Seriously, though, it was such a treat to meet you, and get a pic of my youngest with a big grin in the arms of the YarnHarlot! I, for one, really appreciate all the trouble you go to. My hubby travels a lot, for work, and I know how it can wear a person out. Strength to you, for this last bit!
They do have to give you a voucher for a hotel if the delay was for mechanical reasons, also food vouchers. Just so you know. I have had a similar experience with double connections coming from North Carolina. My luggage seemed to make the connection even though I did not, so the overnite was without my luggage. To add to the fun the hotel had a fire alarm go off in the wee hours of the morning and we had to evacuate our rooms! Oh, and I was suffering with double ear infections. All in all a memorable travel experience.
Oh man, I know this story well. I was also coming from Raleigh, though heading west to Phoenix, and also had a connection thru LaGuardia. It was summer, so rain was the issue, not snow, but I definitely know the feelings here.
You will get home and it will be a wonderful moment when the plane lands in Toronto no matter what time it is!
As a Canadian in London it still freaks me out to see palm trees sometimes – and yeah, in December! Good luck getting home – I’m sending good vibes that your skein doesn’t run out any time soon! Hugs!
Ahhh the trials and tribulations of traveling in the winter in the States!
Here is my recipe for traveling in the States in the winter. Book your flights for the afternoon, never the evening, only use the southern hub centers ie Charlotte, Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas/Fort Worth. I know that cuts out a lot of options but at least I usually get where I want when I want. In the summer, I travel first thing in the early morning so I miss the afternoon thunderstorms and try my best to be home by 3. Oh! And I carry yarn to keep calm!
You are scaring me.
I’m getting ready to pack up a 1-yr old and 5-yr old to fly from Calgary to NL. Even the thought of being held over makes my stomach churn.
I was a bit concerned when I read your schedule and then the weather. Best of luck!
Oh, Stephanie. Hang in there, girl. So sorry about all this. Praying you will get to go home soon. So glad you had a grand time in N Carolina.
Yay, for yarn and needles.
Knit girl, knit!!
You didn’t say which NY airport you’re at, but it from the description of the terminal change it sounds like LaGuardia. Because I’ve done that flight, complete with lack of food. At the time, I thought about eating a fellow passenger on the flight I wanted to free up a seat, but that sort of thing just leads to questions, questions, questions. And you’re a vegetarian and Canadian to boot, so I’m sure that wouldn’t work for you.
Best of luck getting home today, and thank heavens for knitting!
Oh honey, I’m so sorry about that. It sucks big time. I can’t believe we haven’t banded together yet to create a Knitters’ Express. Like the pony express but for knitting teachers traveling to and from our conferences.
You need one of those Tardis knitting bags but one with actual time travelling properties. And a Doctor would be a nice touch. (My favourite is the Tom Baker Doctor but you can pick whichever you prefer).
Sorry about your Planes, Trains and Automobiles adventures. I hope you get home soon but, in the mean time, knit on!
Oh no! What a nightmare! We North Carolinians were trying so hard to make sure you had a fabulous time. Darn Yankees with their delays have buggered it up fine and dandy, didn’t they! Just keep knitting!
Oh, Steph! That’s terrible. But if you’re delayed long enough to use up your yarn, let us know. I’m sure someone can make a quick trip to the airport to bring you some more!
Please buy less complicated tickets next time! Your time is valuable.
That just stinks for you.
However, as a newish knitter I am happy to say that waiting isn’t nearly as painful for me now. I sort of look forward to forced waiting.
Funny story, there was a door malfunction at my daughter’s ballet studio this weekend. So three of us moms were locked in for the 3 hour rehearsal. Two of us pulled out our knitting and were happy clams sitting on the bench. The third mom was in the studio with her toddler and her knitting had been left in the car. It was right outside in the parking lot but she couldn’t get to it. Guess which mom was miserable?
Enjoy your sock knitting. 🙂
Do you know what is great about the blog? Even though the last 30 hours have been horrible and you are feeling miserable and probably about ready to snap, you captured this memory with just the right amount of angst and humor and for ever after, the retelling will be enjoyable and you can add it to all the other crazy things you have done in this wonderful life.
I hope you don’t mind that your horrible trip brightened my morning 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Now, the pansies growing in the south. They are cool weather plants that love the cool winters we have and die in the heat of the summer. I am in an agricultural zone of 7 where the ground does not freeze if there is mulch, or at least not the 25 years that I have been in either a 7a or 7b zone so many plants can live through the winter. Unfortuanately the 6 weeks of 95+ degrees F along with the sun and dry or humid weather kills off lots of plants too! So those little pansies and violas just keep on going until the end of May!
I have also experienced this, more than once. It is hell to be stuck somewhere, knowing that you are so close to getting home, but so far from the actual last flight home. I won’t compete to tell you mine is worse. Just know you will be so very grateful to be home, you will almost forget about the travel hell time.
Oh honey, that sounds truly horrible. And I’m worrying that your yarn supply is running low, one skein won’t last a super-knitter like you very long. Do they sell yarn at the airport? They should, it seems like the perfect place to sell it. I do hope you get home soon. Good luck.
At least you are allowed to knit and have yarn. And for sure you managed to tackle your 3,7 hours of knitting this day!
have a safe and fast journey home.
I’m so sorry you’re having travel troubles! I missed my first flight in my entire life this summer and it just makes things miserable. I think Barbara @ 11:16 has a grand idea. Just make travel part of your fee. I deal with speakers for a living, and travel is always a standard cost in every single contract. You could throw in a yarn rider for good measure! 🙂
Hoping everything starts going your way and you get home safely today, and at a reasonable hour!
Mother Nature always seems to have a way of reminding us who’s the boss. Good luck in getting home soon!
That sucks so bad! Good that you met a kind person who recognized the total meltdown signaled by tears. It’s all a learning experience.
Stephanie, that airline is SO screwing you over! I have two words for you: Christopher Elliott. He helps people get what they should get from airlines (and other travel-related businesses), he’s a consumer advocate for travelers. Find him on Facebook or go to his website (just Google him) and I bet you can get your hotel reimbursed, at least. Advice from him got me a hotel room for free and an upgrade to 1st class a few months ago when Delta tried to tell me I was on my own due to “weather” related delays.
So sorry you’re having trouble and I hope you’re home safe soon.
Sometimes it’s just cheaper to pay for a direct flight.
You poor thing. This points out the wisdom (which my husband can never understand) of ALWAYS packing an emergency knitting project. Or two.
I’m with Barbara and Ellen. Although it’s so nice of you to try to save your hosts money by booking cheaper flights, it’s time to get a little selfish. You’re a professional and your time is worth the extra money for direct flights.
Trust me, you will still have more bookings than you can handle.
My first response after reading your post was “bless your heart”. I’m a southerner, in this case, it means just what it sounds like it means 😉
I’m So Sorry you’ve been trapped in LaGuardia, been there, done that, it’s horrible. But, on a brighter note, Terri loves the picture–thank you so much for brightening her day. And mine!
Oh, that travel makes me crazy… i hope you have a safe, uneventful last leg home…
That skein will not be sufficient. La Guardia is a trap – it is a very old airport and their equipment does not allow for planes to land or take off if there is more than one decorative snowflake. Rent a car and drive home.
Oh dear. I’m glad you have yarn, and hopefully you will manage to get on a flight home today. And you are exactly right. Following the airline’s logic means nobody will ever qualify for a voucher. 🙁
Be brave, knit on, and remember that even winter storms don’t last forever. I bet you could find a friendly yarn store that would deliver to the airport. It would be worth it to them for the publicity.
I live 15 minutes from La Guardia. My husband can pick you up, you can eat and sleep here. Free. Gratis. If you have a long wait, call me at 917-412-4561. You met me in Brooklyn at B&N about 1 1/2 years ago. If no one scared you, take a chance.
Janet Kelly
Oh Stephanie. *hugs* I do like Judy in MT at 11:56’s comment–good luck!
My rules for flying are these:
1) No more than 1 connecting flight
2) There is no rule 2.
bus from New York to Toronto? unpleasant , but sometimes you are just really done with airports.
Knit on, with confidence, through all crisis – EZ. Changing terminals at LG airport is always a crisis – me. Knit on.
I am just now seeing roads after the big ice-in here in the DFW area (Texas of course, met you here a couple of years ago). I haven’t left the house since last Thursday afternoon. The only thing I can say to your crazy trip is thank goodness you have yarn. I can tolerate a lot of things if I have yarn. That is why I over pack on yarn and don’t worry about too many clothes.
🙁 I’m so sorry! I guess now we know where the instinct to pack Enough Yarn, and then Just a Little Extra Yarn, and then Well Really It’s Three Times As Much As I Need Yarn comes in handy. I’m glad you have enough yarn.
My flying rules are the same as liz. Sometimes it’s worth it to have as few connections as possible.
Hope you make it home soon.
As a born and raised New Englander with a 4 year stint in DC (much traveling to and fro for holidays) trust me when I say this ALWAYS book nonstop flights if passing through a snow zone in winter. Anytime I have booked flights with stops in DC, Baltimore, Newark or NYC I have had the same experience as you. No such problems with direct flights. I even got stuck in Raleigh, NC once due to thunderstorms!
I know you’ve probably gotten a dozen offers already, from sympathetic knitters in Queens, Brooklyn etc. I’ll add another. I live in Rego Park (Queens, NY), not quite spitting distance from LGA and JFK, but pretty close. I have a stash of yarn looking for a home, because I’m too busy to knit it, and a sofa that’s pretty comfortable. I would be glad to come pick you up for a bite of food, get you some new yarn/needles, or offer a place to stay. Certainly free, certainly gladly. I always have similar experiences flying from Dallas back to New York, that somehow end with me sobbing at some poor woman in Charlotte or Arlington.
Dude, sucks about the weather. LGA is also the worst airport in NYC. If you run out of yarn, I can run up to LGA really quick to pass along emergency yarn. Good luck, godspeed.
For future reference, try the crying at a Southern airport terminal. If only you’d known at Raleigh you could have cried there (even better if you can burble with a southern accent) and had a direct first class ticket home.
TRAVELER’S TIP – WHEN YOU ARE TOLD BY THE AIRLINES that you have to go all over to catch a flight at another place, say YOU NEED A WHEEL CHAIR AND A PORTER. They will get you one and someone else does the work. Or ask about a shuttle vehicle. DO SOME THING. I have legitimate reasons to ask for mobility help, but having to run from one end of the airport to the other, in my humble opinion, is legitimate. Tell them you twisted your ankle getting off or on a plane if you feel the need to have a reason.
What I am saying, is put the burden of getting from Point A to Point Z in a hurry on them. THEY GENERALLY ARE VERY ACCOMMODATING IN HELPING THE HANDICAPPED AND THE VERY LATE. If all else fails, say I can’t get there in that amount of allotted time. Can you help me? ASK ASK ASK
OMG you’re in my neck of the woods – so to speak considering it would still take awhile for me to get to LaGuardia to bring you yarn in this snowy traffic from New Jersey -but still, it’s way closer than Canada! I’m sorry to hear about all the delays & I know you want to be home – but but but – can we just look at the silver lining for one second? How cozy it is to be knitting during the snowfall? And thank the good forces in the universe this did NOT happen on your way to Raleigh. 🙂 Love ya!
I’m with Edie – the Blog can always help you. I know you’re shy and probably resist asking for help from strangers, but we all feel like you’re our sister and best friend. If you come thru the San Francisco area, you have a guest room at my house (and a cat or two to keep you warm)!
Next time I book the expensive direct flight to Raleigh and my husband complains about the cost, I’ll read him this column. Can’t imagine how tired and discouraged you were last night. Hope things get better from now for the run-up to Christmas.
Well. We could have been trapped at LGA together, dammit, except I was able to get out just before the snow started. I would have dragged my feet if I knew…we’re going to have to communicate better, eh?
Gah. That utterly blows. This is one instance where packing all that extra yarn (in case you suddenly become 4x faster than normal) comes in handy. So sorry about the flight delays and problems! We sure did love your visit here though!
Oh my, I hope it all gets sorted soon and you’re back home with your folks. Thank Goodness for knitting!
I’m with you…I prefer to KNOW there’s no possible way I’m getting out of there rather than the endless trying and hoping. It took 2 days because of 2 cancelled flights and eventually 2 plane tickets to get me out of Portland, Maine this summer b/c of weather–yup, in the summer–combined with mechanical issues. I was so very glad to have a lace shawl keeping me company.
The trip was for business and afterward my employer told me to not spare expense in traveling for work. He pointed out that my time was more valuable than the extra cost of a direct flight (or in my case, a second ticket) to get me home. Something to think about.
I am sorry, my dear. Is it the same snow so prettily falling outside my window here in Boston? (Well, not exactly the same snow…. Those would be some highly motivated flakes.) I hope you will be home soon, for a nice hot bath and a warm drink and then some holiday-related activities. ‘Twas ever thus, hm?
People make fun of me for bringing my craft bag wherever I go. In that bag contains my sanity, the only reason more people aren’t harmed if I have to wait. In it is usually 2-3 knitting projects, a book, headphones, and my i-phone charger. There I can be perfectly entertained for hours.
Good luck getting home!
hooray for all the new yorkers (new jerseyans) who want to be put on the bail steph out if necessary list! Add me to the JFK list – i am 10 minutes from JFK in Valley Stream. I have cats, dogs, yarn, beer and transport. You need to keep a list of all of us in all these places for emergencies! and then use us! we would all love to help! best wishes to getting home soon. happy holidays!
There are a lot of US cities that don’t cope with snow very well, and you’re going through two of them. Sorry its going badly for you. Good luck.
That does suck. Too bad! However – and at the risk of sounding like a particularly annoying Dutch Uncle – maybe the Universe has brought you this interesting experience to allow you to ponder the value of your own time. The cheapest route isn’t necessarily the one that costs the least.
Horrible, horrible, horrible. I sat here and moaned all through the story… So glad you still have yarn, but one skein doesn’t sound like enough. Seriously, allow one of your happy minions to bring you more yarn if it comes to that!
This post makes me very fearful of the ridiculously intricate timing my brothers have set up for their Christmas visit here. Picturing them in airports and on slippery highways while my dear mother (who prefers them to me, sadly) sits here glaring at me…
I fervently hope that you are home in the arms of your family and not even letting go of them to read these comments.
I agree with the comments about booking the most direct flight when flying during the winter months. My former boss would also have me to book through “southern” hubs rather than flying north for the same reason (though with this round of snow, you would have still been stuck in Dallas!)
On a lighter note, the local news crew was doing a broadcast from a local airport and how they were coping with the travel delays…and they kept coming back to this one woman who was sitting there and knitting as she patiently waited for the airline to get her to her destination. She was the only one on the broadcast who didn’t look frazzled!
Knit on! And I hope you are reading this from home…
Oh, Stephanie, I’m so sorry to hear about your awful flight. I hate flying through Chicago and will do anything to avoid it, so I really feel your exhausted pain being stuck there.
Maybe you could treat yourself to a nice slice of Chicago pizza and a beer? There’s got to be someplace in the airport where you could get that . . .
I think CJ at 11:45 is on the right track. There SHOULD be knitting shops in the major airports, at least. Quick, free “learn to knit” lessons could be offered for free. There are always delays or stop overs that people have to endure, so a knitting shop in a place like LaGuardia would automatically have a captive audience. Think of how many people who would never otherwise consider it, could learn to knit, or at the least be exposed to the craft! And those who already knit would likely stop by to increase their stash as well.
Oh dear. I hope you have enough yarn with you to get through this ordeal. . .
What a nightmare! Please listen right away to Nick Lowe’s new Quality Street LP. The song “Christmas at the Airport” might cheer you up.
I’m so sorry. The weather the past few days has really messed things up on the East Coast – both air travel and land travel.
I LOVE the idea of knitting shops in airports.
“Bless your heart!”
Never, never fly into or out of LGA again, if you can possibly help it. Even Newark is better. Of course, MacArthur on Long Island is the best of all – you might get stuck but there’s a very cool yarn shop only five minutes outside the airport.
feeling very sad for you. this totally sucks! hoping you are home very, very soon.
Bless your heart! (Meant to be used as an expression of sympathy.) I hope you make it home quickly and safely!
I am SO SORRY for your snow travel woes. Or rather, having to deal with cities that fold under the threat of a few flakes. If you had taken the train from Raleigh you probably would have made it home faster, and had lovely cups of coffee (well, coffee anyway) and loads of uninterrupted knitting time. Except – I just helped someone book two different escape routes from NYC because of the slushy mess happening there. I’m so glad that you didn’t have to try and sleep in an airport waiting area
LaGuardia. Enough said.
Please tell us this is the last flight until sometime after Christmas! And I see that many people have popped up with the same spirit — there are knitters SO close to every airport you’ll ever be in (unless, perhaps, you make it to Tahiti. . .). If you EVER get stuck without yarn, just send out the Yarn Harlot beacon. . .
I am so sorry. I know, not helpful. But that is all I got. I would hug you and give you beer and fresh food and warm bedding if I could. Oh, and a hot bath too.
Oh, bless your heart! 😉 (You are so right about that, it made me laugh out loud. But this time, it’s not an insult. Good luck getting home.)
So sorry – what a nightmare. During the holidays knitters can’t afford any time issues – we have too much to do! I hope you are home soon.
I would’ve rented a car after the 5:30 – it’s maybe 8-9 hours to Toronto. I’m a control freak. I’d rather KNOW I’m getting home – I can stop when I want – crash in a hotel if I want – but I’m not at any one’s mercy!
BTW – how do people get through nightmare scenarios like yours without knitting?
“Arriving in Washington, …..so there was a million people there from a million cancelled flights and the lady at the airline just about laughed at me when I asked when I was going to fly to New York.”
Insert “Bless your Heart”
Good Lord I hope you get home today and don’t have to leave again for a month! Safe travels.
What Barbara at 11:16 said. For our sake, even if not for your own, because the cumulative effect of that kind of stress will undermine your health and limit your contributions. Compared to that, we’d much rather pay more!
Well, bless your heart (and I mean that sincerely and in the nicest Southern way possible). I’m sorry you had such trouble getting home through all this weather the country is having, but I’m glad you enjoy coming down south. As we say down here: “Y’all come back, y’hear?”
Oh dear, travel trouble is miserable isn’t it. I’m rather miserly myself when booking tickets and I’ve had my share of disasters. I completely agree about the difficulty of hope in such situations. I have my fingers crossed that your wool supply (aka sanity-preserver) holds out until you are safely home.
WHEN oh WHEN will yarn shops in airports be as common as coffee shops? I’m terribly concerned you’re going to run out of yarn.
I’m so sorry – I was happy to see your new post and scrolled down to see your “Gifts for Knitters” and was disappointed that they weren’t there…… THEN I went back up and read your post and now feel beyond guilty! Safe travels,
My deepest sympathies. My husband and I were in the Washington area and due to fly home to Maine late Sunday but we switched to an earlier flight to avoid the coming storm. I think anyone who has ever flown can feel your pain. Keep knitting,keep smiling, stay hopeful…..oh hell,never mind–go ahead and be crabby if you want. You’ve earned it!
That is really awful. Well and truly awful. As bad as it is, thank you for coming to North Carolina. That sock class was fab. I hope you enjoy the yarn. ~ Gerschubie
Sorry for all your troubles! I hope you have enough yarn or are making knee socks because the speed at which you knit worries me that you will run out of knitting and then watch out!!!! LOL
30 hours in transit. How many felonies-0averted-by-knitting does that translate to? Safe travels, since speedy has long since passed.
Dear Stephanie,
If the spirits of flying do not work for you today and you need to stay in nyc I can give you a bed or sofa. Good luck with your travels. Been there, got the t-shirt, etc.
Oh my goodness, that is *terrible*. I am so sorry. It almost seems like at this point it would be better to fly back to Raleigh and get a direct flight home from there…
Or (and this might be a truly terrible thought) I wonder if there are enough knitters with cars between New York and Toronto to ferry you home in shifts, or legs, if you know what I mean. It’s like 500 miles, if there were 4 knitters for the first 400 miles, maybe Joe would come pick you up for the last 100…sorry, just trying to think out of the box.
Good luck, and I reeeeaally hope you don’t run out of yarn.
Oh you poor thing. hugs hugs and more hugs.
Don’t think I could have kept it together as long as you did.
Did they at least feed you?
At least you can now add all this knitting time into your spreadsheet and maybe catch up on your daily knitting time.
I really hope that by now you are either on a plane that will get you directly to Toronto or you’re already home. If not, have you considered renting a car & driving? Yes, it is a long drive and you wouldn’t be able to knit, but at least you would be in control of it and moving forward. And you’re probably out of yarn by now anyway. Good luck!
If you do not get out of LGA by this evening, I am about 1 1/2 miles from LGA, and can pick you up and put you up tonight, or bring you to someone you know in the area, or bring more yarn to you, whatever you like. Send email with details of where to pick you up and I will swing by there (Blue Nissan Rogue).
Well, if you ever get delayed in Hamburg, Germany, know that there is a smallish untidy apartment with three delightful and rather noisy kids in it happy to accomodate you.
Dear Stephanie,
As a New Englander who now lives in the south, I totally LOL’d at the Bless You Heart. I knew exactly what you meant. I am so sorry that the weather is messing with your sanity. I am happy that you have knitting and this will keep you sane while you wait for your flight. In fact, I hope that you are home as I respond to your blog.
Peace,
Michele
So sorry. We fly out of Chicago (ORD) for trips and after one horrible experience 30 years ago we have two rules. (1)never fly anywhere during winter if it can be avoided and (2) never use connecting flights if it can be avoided. We try to book way in advance to get the cheapest one way fare. I liked one suggestion above (did not read them all), spread the cost to your attendees.
I HATE LaGuardia!! I’ve never heard ‘no’ more in any other place. HATE!!
So sorry to hear you are stuck in NY… if I had a car I would drive over some yarn to you, but because of the snow my husband took my car to work today! (I’d also bring you some food because I am sure the vegetarian options at the airport are limited at best!)
And now you know why direct flights cost more. 🙂
Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Living on an island doesn’t give you choices like direct flights, so I guess I’m a bit jaded.
Oh, you poor dear. (yes, I am in the south,if not a true southerner, they don’t consider Florida ‘South’ enough or something like that…) While I only have read the comments I can see on my page right now, I suggest you modify Carol @ 3:28’s rule #2 to “Never use connecting flights during the winter if it can be avoided!!”
Oh Stephanie! Wow! I can’t say anything else but ‘WOW!’ What a crappy situation. Bless your heart and I mean that in a very sincerely sympathetic way. The weather is why my family doesn’t see me during the two best holidays of the year.
Makes me think of the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Steve Martin and John Candy. I wish there was someone to come rescue you.
Hang in there. (again, WOW)
how extraordinarily generous janet kelly was to post her phone number on the blog. generous and brave. i hope you saw it in time to use it.
for future reference, anytime you need to go from dc to new york or to newark nj, try the train. in fact, i think there is one from dc to toronto. i have always found the train to be a much pleasanter way to travel and almost as fast. i’d join those offering you house room and access to stash, but i’m too far away from new york to be eligible for that honor. i hope the rest of your trip is uneventful, or only good things happening.
LaGuardia has resulted in an unplanned overnight stay for me 100% of the time.
If you were still in Washington, you could have had my guest room. We have beer. And yarn. And wine. And a fire in the fireplace. And snowed in teenagers who are charming enough to say hello but then disappear before they get too obnoxious. (Hey, that sounds pretty good actually. I think I’ll go home early.)
Tou never have to be stranded in NYC again if you call me. I’m arlenellen on Ravelry and will email you privately if you give me the info. Welcome home, anyway.
Good luck, my dear!!
I hope this day goes better. <3
Winter has arrived – you can always keep knitting!
Katie =^..^=
There is nothing more frustrating to me than air travel these days. I’m so sorry for all your delays, but at least you have your knitting. I feel sorry for all the people who only have their phones to keep them entertained. Eventually the batteries will die but if you run out of yarn, you can always rip out and start again.
This is an EPICALLY bad trip. This is Planes, Trains and Automobiles style bad. Poor Yarn Harlot!
Oh this sounds like a nightmare. I would have cried way sooner. Good luck in getting home. You are brave. 🙂
Oh, Stephanie, I feel your pain. 🙁 Substitute my name for yours, Vancouver for Toronto and Nashville for Raleigh, and you have about summed up my experience, with an airline that shall remain nameless. Thank goodness for sock yarn. Hope you are home safe by now.
oh my poor you! Lay overs should be like this: you get to the airport check in and find out how long till your next flight, then a shuttle picks you up and takes you to the nearest and best yarn and notions shop. Shopping done the shuttle gets you back in plenty of time for your flight! fairy tale maybe, but its sounds so good!
This might sound nuts, but I’m pretty sure the knitting community is large enough that someone would have taken you in and you could have skipped the whole hotel rigmarole. We are living in Arlington, VA, a mere two-minute drive from Reagan National Airport (DCA) and twenty minutes from Dulles (IAD), so you are free to stay with us if you get stuck here within the next year. (In August we are moving to Montenegro, so if you start doing knitting tours in Europe, we can help you out there.)
Popping back in to ask:
Could you get on a train?!
All through your story I kept thinking to myself, “but at least she travels with knitting!” I don’t know how non-knitters can cope with delays like this. At least we know how to calm ourselves.
Poor Stephanie! You could have rented a car and driven back by now, except that they keep dangling “the possibility of getting home” in front of you, so you don’t want to bail on air travel. A train, a car, a pair of roller skates, all might have gotten you home sooner than a plane.
Keep on knitting, my friend. Knitting = sanity.
Just think you can have all the flowers and the beaches for the next three months while you’re here in the southern hemisphere. No snow for Christmas though! Perhaps consider coming south to New Zealand?
Hang in there … the weather will come right.
I’m sure you’ve seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It’s a family fave here, but doesn’t sound so funny in real life!
Ugh, I generally don’t mind delays as long as I can get booked back in the same day, it is unexpected hotel stays that make my sour.
At least it gives you a chance at hitting that 3.7hr/day knitting average?
This is why you always pack way more yarn than you think you’ll need! Wishing you speedy and safe travels from here on in. At least it’s not Christmas Eve.
US Air and Delta have both been awful to my sister and I lately… but I wondered, did they not give you an option to fly straight to Toronto from Washington instead of the unnecessary stop in NYC?
Good luck! Your experience sounds similar to our attempts at travelling by air in the States during the winter. Our last attempt went from a two hour flight to a two day trip. We realized at one point we could drive faster than fly and tried to rent a car or book a train and laughed that we felt we were living the movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”! Anyway, that was it for us for travel in the U.S. in the winter–no more. Easier said than done though if you’re travelling for business!
You should have just come to our house, we’re 30 minutes from Dulles and Reagan. Sorry, we’re weird about snow because we don’t get it often.
There are times when knitting isn’t enough.
This is why I hate traveling in the winter. I don’t think there’s enough knitting in the world…
Back to the power of the Blog..Which airline has such crappy cusomer service?
Many of us travel, no one needs this sort of crap.
What happens when we tell them “No thanks, you aren’t worth it?”
Wave at me if we pass in the Toronto airport – I have a connection there on Wednesday (maybe)between 6 and 8 pm. HOPEFULLY by that time you will be at home and getting ready for your own bed.
I’m so sorry. Its one thing to miss a plane because you were late by hours but so much more painful when you were late by minutes the end result being, of course, that you’re late by…..days.
Airport delays are awful, but you could use the time to Christmas knit, people watch and make new friends.
If you ever get stuck in Providence at the airport feel free to call me and I’ll feed you and give you a warm bed. And I promise I’m not a nut, just a fan (and live about 10 minutes from the airport). I’m glad you’re finally home!
So, Steph, you have to ask yourself whether saving money by taking routes that make you change planes is offset by the hassles of changing planes and having many more opportunities for flight delays.
I don’t do as much traveling as you, but there has been only one time that the savings offset the (blessedly few) hassles. That was saving $75 by flying to London via Amsterdam — during a fare war on the nonstop flights! The one “hassle” was a four-hour layover with no food to be found without going through Dutch customs. Otherwise, I’d rather fly nonstop whenever possible.
Glad you have yarn and hope you get home soon!
So… it suddenly hits me as I’m reading of your airport desperation (which unfortunately you have had to encounter more than once given your job’s travel requirements)… why don’t they have yarn shops in airports??
ARGH! so sorry to hear you are having a nightmare of a trip, so pleased to hear you have your knitting with you, and my fingers will remain crossed from you until I hear you are home (not ACTUALLY crossed, because I need to knit too)
I just read this post. I hope you are safely home. Rest up.
As a former Southerner, I can vouch for the fact that “Bless your heart” is NEVER good. At best, it’s an indicator that someone feels a little sorry for you. Hearing your terrifying travel saga, I want to say “bless your heart” the way that Northerners mean it – although since I’m in Minnesota these days, it could still be slightly sinister.
You poor thing! Just hang in there and try to stay calm. Knit, have some beer and try not to cry. (This happened to me on my way home from Ireland to Minnesota. ) I forgot to have the beer and went right to tears!
If it were not for yarn, needles and beer..I am just not certain where the world would be right now.
Breath, knit and stay calm. You will be at your front door soon.
As for 90 vs 30..that is all Murphy’s Law. Every ever lovin bit of it!!
I am from the southern part of the the USA and yes, they are charmers. But just don’t piss them off. You may not live to regret it!
bjr
hang in there!
Amtrak Maple Leaf train leaves Penn Station at 7:15 am tomorrow, arrives Toronto 4:37 pm. $122 US, no business seats left – but you’d be warm and dry and have something resembling food plus 9 hrs of sleep or knitting…
I sure hope that you’ve gotten home by now. Remember, you can always aim for Rochester or Buffalo. We’re only about 10 mins. from Rochester airport and have Screech.
Definitely you need to plan on taking the train from D.C. to New York if you ever find yourself stuck in D.C. again. You can even take the Acela, which gets you there in 3 hours and runs regularly. And one thing D.C. airports do have is good connections to the subway; all you have to do is get to the Metro, go to Union Station, and you’ll be on a train before you know it. I know it’s too late to help you now, and it wouldn’t help you with your current predicament, but it’s definitely worth remembering for future reference.
I hope your yarn holds out and that you get home quickly! If not, please take one of the kind Blog offers of hospitality. You’re like family to all of us!
O…M…G. I sincerely hope the lesson of this voyage is ALWAYS fly direct! Welcome back 🙂
You should have tweeted that you were at the airport and one of your New York fans would have gone over and picked you up for a good meal and a hot bath. You do know you have fans all over the country, don’t you?
Oh Stephanie … I know. And how. I once slept (well, spent the night, there wasn’t much sleep involved) at O’hate – I mean O’hare (was that auto correct or Freudian?) in Chicago … Click your heels together ans repeat after me: there’s no place like home … there’s no place like home …
Good heavens! And this is exactly why there needs to be a knit shop with a knit lounge in every airport. Hope you are home now and dry and warm.
The New York bloggers will rescue you if this happens again. Frankly, I am really surprised you got out of US South alive and with any sanity left. The south is code word for large insane asylum.
I read two bright sides. That all made for an excellent story, the more drama the better. And you’ve got plenty of time for knitting. But I also wish you all the best and easy breezy travels for a great long while to come. You have paid your dues and then some. May the force be with you.
Got your old book ” Kitting Rules” book today. One of the few I haven’t read. Stared and finished and loved all of it! I hope you know how special you are and how much we wish we could get you home. Thanks for all the joy your writing brings us. Can’t wait to see what you knit!
Getting home will be the best moment ever, and you will have knocked off at least one pair of Christmas socks… you can do it!
We could start (‘start’?? ‘continue’, more like!) a cult that hangs out at airports — instead of HareKrishnas handing out flowers, we could be the Knittin’Krishnas handing out skeins of sock yarn, patterns and needles, while chanting ‘Knit one, purl one … lace and cables… Knitting Saves Us … cast on, cast on!!’.
Or, there could be ‘Yarn-Associated Rescue Necessary’ teams, kind of like the St. John’s Ambulance first-aid folks. When the alert goes out over the PA system [‘Yarn Emergency Code Red!! Terminal 2, Concourse Level B, Sector B27!!] the YARNies come tearing over in their fully-equipped rescue carts to deliver emergency packs of basic supplies: one or two skeins of reasonable, mid-range sock yarn, needles and a pattern [‘You’re doing fine, sir/ma’am – just try to breath – any allergies? No? Would you like wool or cotton? You OK with DPNs? Rainbow or a nice neutral? Just hold this skein while your heart-rate slows a little…’]
So the hat and winter scarves you packed? They were for your RETURN trip. 🙂
At least you’re in a large area so if you need a yarn delivery put the call out!!
November and December are miserable to fly East Coast. Travel agent friend recommended to fly to the midwest where weather is usually not an issue and then fly UP to our East Coast destination. The airports always want the incoming flights to clear out the lobby campers. Always seemed odd to go that route because it sometimes added an hour or two to travel time but we always got there when other flights we would’ve normally taken were endlessly delayed. And it usually vost less to do the roundabout trip. Just think of it as more knitting time.
I hope you’re out of La Gaurdia by now, and on your way home. Good luck!
I feel your pain. I agree that while cheap is often best, so is sanity, and I book only one layover if at all possible. The screw-up factor jumps too much with multiple layovers (imho).
I hope you are home now, or at least surrounded by NY knitters who are buying you drinks and keeping your spirits up.
Sounds like it wasn’t worth the money you saved (which worked out to how much per hour, after you added in any extras like food and drink and pay phones and so on?). Maybe cost-efficiency has to be balanced by time-efficiency? Do yourself a favour. Even getting all that Christmas knitting done can’t be worth the aggro and the exhaustion.
Poor you! I really approve of the suggestion of compiling an emergency list of friendly blog members near every airport you’re ever likely to use, who can swoop in and rescue you from similar disasters. I would happily be on the list for London, though there is the disadvantage that it takes about an hour from Heathrow to get to us. Any volunteers to compile the list????
Is there a train????? This all sounds dreadful!
OMFG I hate North American flights! (not just because of the airlines but also the shear complexity of the flight timings and interconnected dependancies) this trip sounds like a NIGHTMARE. I hope you don’t have to fly again this Dec-Jan! You’ll need a good long breather. The pointless unnecessary unhelpfulness is just cruel in your kind of dose! That is so spectacularly badly psuedo helpful that I can’t really believe individuals could be so negligent – or alternatively that they could be so badly understaffed! 🙁 this is I suppose why you being back up projects – the only thing going right is something you *have* controlled! I hope its all over as absolutely soon as possible!
Oh Dear heart
Maybe someone already said this, but if you had Tweeted that you were stuck in LaGuardia, hungry, tired, and in need of a room you would have been taken care of by NYC knitters. I’ll bet some of them would even have driven you home. Maybe you did Tweet. IDK. I’m not a Tweeter.
Anyway – hope you don’t have to go anywhere for a while.
That all just sounds horrible.
I think I would have tried the train after all that.
Maybe next time a direct flight home?
My sons were coming in from Washington State to the Albany airport and Albany was fogged in. The plane circled for awhile, hoping for clearing, it didn’t happen. They turned around and wound up in Washington DC for the night. They were 15, had no cash on them, and no way to figure anything out. I had to call the airline and very forcefully explain the situation to them and that they were going to feed and house my kids at THEIR expense for the evening and make sure they got the first flight back in the morning. That was awhile ago. But it still amazes me that the airline didn’t want to do anything for them until I demanded that they do something. They were 15 for pete’s sake!
Hope that you get home safely!
You are a much nicer person than I am. There would have been a bit more than a tear or two leave an opening in my face had I gone that long without eating properly, or been that tired. I think you deserve a medal. Or at least enough yarn to make it home sane. Fingers crossed that the next plane is yours and non-stop home.
I’m so sorry to hear about your terrible flight experience. I refuse to fly through La Guardia as I had a similar terrible experience with delayed flights, rebooking, terminal switching, a panicked push through security and a run (I don’t run in public) to the gate to see if I had missed the flight. Discovering that I had time (thanks for that strange look, gate lady!) I sat down and promptly started crying (another thing I prefer not to do in public). I’ve never wanted to give a place the finger so badly.
I hope you had a sound night’s sleep and did not wake up overwhelmed with your to-do list. Thank you for including The Blog – and posting the Instagram so we could sleep, too!
I don’t do Instagram. Did that post mean that Stephanie is home?
Aww. My sympathy. I am reminded of many awful trips to my inlaws, who had nothing in the house to eat. Ever since that one especially awful trip (delays plus a woman dying of a heart attack on one flight and delaying passengers leaving the plane! and no food at any time for the duration of 12 hours and 3 flights) I try to welcome travelers with food first, with a stiff drink, then a clean bed and hot shower, as things seem so much more bearable in the morning. U.S. air travel has become a nightmare marathon. Don’t ask about the time I lived for 24 hours on a 1-lb. bag of dried apricots…they saved my life. Nor do I apologize for weeping even tho I am a grownup. Even grownups have limits.
Given the number of times that you have blogged about being delayed in airports, I have to ask this question…Is the money that you save by booking economy flights really worth the amount of aggravation and time lost?
Have you considered taking a train from NYC to Toronto? At this rate it would be faster.
Pro Tip at which i have a 100% success rate…
You can say you need to get home all you want.
They will tell you everything is “impossible.”
But if you then barf into a trash can in front of them, suddenly, boom, you are on the next flight out (that was not available), on a different airline (that they couldn’t book you on anyway because you bought your ticket with frequent flyer miles), to a different local airport (they aren’t allowed to change your airport destination), and nevermind that your luggage is already on a different airplane slated to go to the other airport… they will deliver it to your house for you for free (which they aren’t capable of doing). They’ll even let you call your family on their phone to let them know to get you at the other airport (even though you can’t use their phone) The lady will even give you a voucher for lunch at the airport during the delay (even though she doesn’t have any vouchers).
You would have thought that my barf was a poison gas that was going to sicken everyone at the airport due to the speed at which they made sure to get me out of there after it happened.
I think if they were just HONEST about what could and could not actuall be done… well… people wouldn’t get as upset. Based on my experiences, I ALWAYS think that more is possible, and I usually get mad about it, and then I get my way. I hate hate hate having to put on my angry hat, but the airlines essentially reward that behiaviour and it’s a viscious cycle.
flying with a stomach bug SUCKS.
I have those little purple flowers in my yard! Pansies are a great little winter flower in southern climates but they have to be replaced when it gets hot in May.
I hope you’ve made it home, and have warm tea and hugs from family to make things better.
>Lesley at December 11, 2013 10:46 AM. I’m not on instagram, either. Go to the blog page – right hand column – TWEETS box – YarnHarlot has posted pithy comments and sometimes includes links to pictures. The last picture is a Welcome to Canada sign – comments from other readers assumed YH made it home (or would be there shortly).
Read this last night and been praying all day that you find your way home. What a pain! I hope by now you are safe and sound and having some recovery Screech.
I used to travel almost weekly between Atlanta and Toronto for work. My rule was once snow was possible, if I had to go I booked non-stop flights. Connections, or flying through Buffalo because it’s cheaper, really don’t work when you lose days (not hours) to travel delays. You are obvioulsy in demand and the reality is you live in Toronto where there’s winter. Add the cost to the fees you charge. You’re worth it.
Deep empathy on the flights. Had a similar one only I was accompanied by two adults and 18 teenagers. Talk about bonkers!!
Just had to let you know I just read Knitting Rules. It was my introduction to your writing. I couldn’t put it down. I laughed out so loudly my son came to see if I was all right. My stash is hidden as well as possible. We have seven cats so leaving anything with yarn laying around is asking for big trouble.
Glad to hear you’re home safely, at long last. I would join the others who have urged you to value your time as a professional and book direct flights whenever possible, building this into your fee. And if the frugal part of your brain balks at this, the environmentally responsible part can remind it that one flight creates fewer emissions than two or three.
Oh man, I hope you’re home now!
I just hope you had LOTS of yarn with all necessary patterns, needles, etc.
I’ve been stuck in LGA in the winter too. Bless their hearts, winter takes them by surprise every year doesn’t it?
I hope you finally got home. If you encounter this type of situation again, you might do well to look into train schedules. They run, even in inclement weather. ( I work for a railroad !)
I hope you’re home by now.
At least you had your knitting. Can you imagine how the Muggles felt?
Oh, what an awful time you had. I’m so glad you got to see the lovely flowers and meet all the knitters you went there to see before all of this happened to you. You deserve a break like a nice lie down and someone to massage your back. Next time it will be better, I promise!
That sounds hideous. I am so sorry your trip back was so bad!
Okay, so I thought my weather-related detour to & then “overnight” (if 3 hours in a run down hotel room counts as “overnight”) in Las Vegas this past summer was bad … but I got home the next day. Here’s hoping you did too!
That is a pretty respectable travel nightmare story.
Your flight woes reminded me of trying to fly to Saint John New Brunswick from Toronto for Christmas WAAAAY back in the day (getting close to 40 yrs ago). Air Canada flew me out of Toronto knowing that my connecting flight out of Mtrl had been cancelled due to heavy snow. At Midnight, they finaly gave me a hotel voucher. By the time I got there, then set the alarm for 5 am, I think I got about 3 hrs of sleep.
I assumed the airline was working on a first on the waiting list, first out basis, so I wanted to be in the airport when the first flight left for any of Saint John, Fredericton, or Moncton. All day, I raced from departure gate to departure gate hoping for a standby seat. At one gate, I watched the President of a large Maritime University absolutely lose it to a gate attendant.
Finally, at 6 that night, with no more chance of a flight, I went back to downtown Montreal, and bought a train ticket, sat up all night, and arrived finally at noon on the 3rd day of travel.
I didn’t knit in those days. Fortunately, I was young and considered it all an adventure (and that trains still ran in those days).
I do hope you have arrived home by now. Winter travel is such a crap shoot.
I can’t believe that tiny storm in Washington delayed you so long. And yet I can. We just moved to the Washington DC area from the mountain of Northern Utah. We’ve had piles of snow for years, but my kids had their first “snow days” with school cancelled this week. Wow! Hope you get home and get to stay there for the holidays.
Well that blows! (Pun intended!)
NEVER connect flights in LGA! They delay for a drizzle! UGH!
Can you imagine what a non-knitter would do in your situation? As much as it sucks being in the kind of pickle you were in, at least you had your knitting. Phew, what a mess, poor thing…
Something similar to this happened to me in October. Hugs!
Oh no, that’s why I don’t fly during this time of year. The weather usually messes things up. I hope that you won’t have to wait too long, and I wish you a safe, uneventful journey home. (Hopefully you have PLENTY of yarn to keep you happy & busy!)
Well it sounds like you didn’t go completely bonkers and aim your pointy knitting needles at the counter people in a threatening manner. Because the airlines counter people can be downright smug and irritating sometimes. So I think you deserve a gold star.
You have the patience of a saint. Your connection/ terminal story makes me think you were at Laguardia. Fly direct , Stephanie. You deserve it.
Holy Cow Batman! Are you home yet?????!!!!
My son has been travelling between RDU and LaGuardia for the past two years and the flights are ALWAYS delayed, cancelled, etc. We feel your pain!
I hope you’re home safe and snug now!
While I commend and understand your efforts to be cheap – er, cost effective – there is such a thing as too many connections.
One piece of advice I learned the hard way – when you think you’ve missed your connection – go straight to the supposed gate. Often, if you’ve been delayed, so have they. Example – We once listened to the airline telling us we’d missed our connection from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, so we took the voucher and spent the night in Minneapolis and continued the next morning. But our luggage made the original flight.
Hope you are home by now – its sounds horrific! Just one little bit of advice – TAKE THE TRAIN. Though that can be bad too – was once stuck outside a major station, for four hours, due to ‘snow on the line’ – in Britain, in December – gee! what a surprise! No heating, either. Yuk. Whichever – if travelling in winter – take extra knitting!
Are you home yet? Mommas around the world are worried!
My MIL is from Texas. You’re right about the “Bless your heart” thing.
Reminds me why I hate to travel. Dare I ask where Canadians keep their flowers?
Well, bless your heart (in the best possible way). I do hope you’re home by now, and I pray that your week turned around for the better from the time you wrote this post. I’m so sorry you had to deal with this but thankful it’s your last trip of the year.
(And you’re right about the way Southerners criticize and that sometimes “Bless your heart” is not good. I’ve heard at least one comedian riff on that very thing, and all of us Southerners laugh because it’s so true. Bless our hearts.)
As a transplanted Vermonter who has lived in the DC area for 30 years, I can say one thing for sure. We are all safer when things close for a snow or ice storm. NOBODY here knows how to drive in bad weather. Rain makes people’s IQ drop by 50 points. Snow takes the IA down about 100. Unless you grew up somewhere cold and learned to drive in the snow, STAY HOME. The Baltimore-Washington Parkway IS NOT the Indianapolis speedway, no matter when.
I forgot to say that I hope you are home safely and having a nice cup of tea and a relaxing bath.
Ugh! I have had travels like that for work and the knitting was all that kept me sane. I was also pumping at the time so I had to huddle in a bathroom in Tennessee at one point while there were tornadoes outside and drape a coat over myself to pump because who would put outlets near where one could have some privacy? All this to say, I feel your pain but it could be worse…you could have no yarn, though at that point I might consider knitting my hair just for sanity’s sake. Good luck!
Damn, that sounds like it sucks. I wish I had any advice or condolences for you, but I’ve only maybe four times. Omaha to London, UK and back, then Omaha to Phoenix and back. So even a little hard to offer a spare room (or over-affectionate snuggling cat.)
Ouch. That’s just awful. I think that there are some things that, as long as you have the money, are worth paying for. Maybe flying straight through is one of them.
Stephanie, I have always admired your writing, and now I admire you too. What a gift you have for putting it all into words. Meantime, don’t forget what EZ said about fine wool providing lots of knitting time.
Hi, Stephanie. I know you’re really busy getting ready for Christmas (and trying to get home!), so I want to send you a copy of my cat book. You can either add it to your stash of gifts or keep it for yourself. It’s my first book, so I wanted to share it with you since I have several of your books.
This story is the stuff of Harlot legend! Thank YOU for experiencing it all and writing such a vivid blog, bringing it to life.
Years of writing enable you to write perfect phrases like, “a deepening frown” and “a longish walk outside in the dark”. (For some reason the latter really, really resonated with me.) Must be something I’ve blocked out… Frankfurt airport? 1986? Hmm…
Thank you for sharing the highs and lows of your life. Beautifully described.
Oh, and I AM sorry your trip home sucked to such an extreme. Luckily you are a savvy traveller who doesn’t panic. I’d have lost my mind!
Sigh. A good trip, with flowers growing out of ground in December, and you thought you wouldn’t have to pay for it :-)?
The reason they put you on the tarmac to knit out your delay, instead of in the airport where you could have more fun, is statistics. If the plane closes its doors and moves more than a foot, on time, then that flight is reported to be on time. Even if you didn’t actually take off for another 5 hours. Good for the airlines, so who cares about you, eh? But just count yourself lucky that thousands of hapless non-travelers spent something like 12-15h trapped on the Washington tarmac a few years back, that’s why they legally can’t keep you there more than a few hours now.
Really, pay for the direct flights! If you consider the extra cost per hour, it’s peanuts.
Steph: In every city on the planet, there is at least one, possibly hundreds if knitter who would be ecstatic to pick you up at the airport, take you hipbone, feed you dinner, and give you a wonderful bed to sleep in, before returning you safely to the airport. If you are every stuck at at either DFW or Love Field in Dallas, call me.
Needless to say: hipbone should read home. Where does the autocorrect get these words.
Oh, poor you. I think I would have snapped a long time before you ever did. Good thing you had enough knitting with you. I still have fond memories of a pair of lace and cable socks that kapt me sane on Stockholm airport whent the 9-something flight home morphed into the 17-something same.
Oh, poor you. I think I would have snapped a long time before you ever did. Good thing you had enough knitting with you. I still have fond memories of a pair of lace and cable socks that kept me sane on Stockholm airport when the 9-something flight home morphed into the 17-something same.
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Hi Stephanie; these flight stories always sadden me. I have 3 words: Take the train. Of course all advice is easy in hindsight. Cheers
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