Weather Delays, Lost Time and 12 hours of Stress

Today I boarded the 12:05pm Delta #1948 flight from DTW to LGA. Having to run several errands this morning related to my Italian work visa and packing, I made it through security after two tries and headed to the gate. I was one of the last people to board, but I made it. Sweating, with my heart pounding, I sent a text to my friend in DC that I am going to visit and confirmed my presence on the flight. After ten minutes of sitting, the pilot informs us that there will be a 30 minute delay due to the weather and related air traffic backups. I had a mini panic attack because I had booked a 3:30pm bus to DC, but a 30 minute delay still gave me a one hour window for a 20 minute drive. So I sat patiently, waiting.

After 20 minutes, we were informed that there would be another 45 minute delay, a delay which was sure to cause me to miss my bus. Apparently the storm was sitting over LGA causing them to shut down the airport. I immediately panicked, headed to speak to a flight attendant who told me to speak to the people at the gate. I grabbed my suitcase, deplaned and headed to the gate agent to tell them my situation in hopes of coming up with a solution. You see I booked a ticket to LGA on Delta and a separate ticket with a bus company to DC. As far as the gate agent was concerned Delta could do nothing for me. He offered me what seemed like a great alternative in a “shuttle” flight between NYC and DC which was USD44. So he pointed me in the direction of the red phones, and though annoyed, I went to call and book a flight.

Just as things were looking up, I was brought back to reality, the flight he quoted is a price that they have for a few seats, the current price of the flight was USD 417!!! I immediately hung up the phone and headed back to the counter. The red coated gentlemen who previously helped me, and had not been very kind, was helping another customer, so I spoke to another lady at the counter. She told me she would try to get me on a flight to DC. I walked away to call the bus company and when I came back, she informed me that the guy in the red coat was not having it. So my dreams were crushed, again.

In tears, I left the counter to call the bus company again. They said I could use my ticket for standby on a bus but all of the buses for the day were full. O_o. They were kind enough to refund my ticket given the situation. So the tears began to flow again and I began to think of more options, the majority of which involved me trying to get the Delta people to have some sympathy. I tried. They had none.

My next best bet was to take Amtrak. I could have tried other bus companies but at the point I wanted this day of traveling to end as soon as possible. As I was looking up tickets on Amtrak, we were called to reboard the plane, around 2:15pm (also known as nearly 45 minutes after I should’ve landed in NYC). Once on the plane the staff apologized and we were meant to be on our way. I asked two of the attendants when we should get to NYC and they said to be on the safe side, 4:00pm. So the 4:45pm Acela would be perfect. Shortly after that, they asked us to turn off our electronics, which meant I couldn’t book the 4:45pm express train. We sat on the plane for nearly 45 minutes because the ground staff that were supposed to push back the plane were apparently no where to be found. Once we finally pushed back, taxied and took off it was 3:15pm meaning that we would not land until around 4:30pm. There goes the 4:45 train.

When we were about one hour into the trip, the pilot made an announcement that we had to circle because there was a 20 minute delay. This is the point at which I started thinking either God hates me or I’m not supposed to be going to DC. I couldn’t quite decipher which it was.

We finally touched down and made it to the gate around 5:10pm. I headed straight off of the plane to Delta customer service, hoping again to find someone with a semblance of empathy to compensate for my loyalty to their company and my crappy situation. I was just met with a bunch of sorrys and offers to purchase a $417 ticket, though they did offer a $50 voucher, only after I asked for some help with the cost, to which I just walked away, in tears, again. Afraid to book anything, I decided to head outside and hop in a cab and try to get to Grand Central Station and book an Amtrak ticket on the way.

I got outside and the taxi queue had over 100 people in it. Then suddenly I saw a shuttle to the city. For a mere $12.50, I could get to Grand Central in about 20-30 minutes. Awesome right?! Once I confirmed, they said the bus was leaving at 5:30 which was in two minutes! PERFECT! As soon as I handed my bag over to be loaded, I was told the shuttle was full and the other wouldn’t be leaving until 6:00pm.

My heart dropped. I thought I could get on a 6:25pm train but those hopes were dashed. So I waited. I asked if they thought I would make it to a 6:45 train and was told with no traffic, yes. I decided to go with the 7pm to be safe. When I tried to pay for my ticket my debit card was declined, but I thought nothing of it. It is a foreign card and sometimes it gets declined. I paid with an American card to speed up the process. Once on the bus I began the booking process for the train. My card was declined. Here I was racing against the clock and my card was declined and I didn’t have enough money in my American account. My friend kindly agreed to book my ticket and I attempted to log-on to my account to see what was wrong. Of course I could find no answers, only that there was something wrong with the website. I tried to call London to sort it out, but my Skype wasn’t working well and I wasn’t going to call over the network. So here I was with minimal funds.

Shortly after leaving the airport I realized that I was going to Penn Station and not Grand Central. Penn Station was the last stop O_O. When I asked the driver if I could make a 7pm train, he said he would try his best. We left Grand Central and still had 30 minutes, which seemed very reasonable so I wasn’t worried. Once we left Port Authority with 13 minutes left, I became extremely nervous. I brought my bag from the back onto the bus to help me with the running once we got there. I was sitting in the front row of the bus and knowing NYC the way I do, I was mortified when he missed the turn. Once he realized it, I heard him chastise himself. Because every other avenue runs north, we had to drive all the way to 5th to go south and Penn Station is on 7th. It was at this point I sat back calmly, realizing this wasn’t going to happen. When I asked “Isn’t it on 7th?” he held his hand up and said, “I got you.”. No sir, you don’t!!! Once we were close to Penn Station, I saw I had about four minutes and the driver made up a lie about the detour. I put my tip money back in my purse.

Once we stopped I jumped up and off the bus, ran across 7th, down the stars and into the Amtrak area of the station. My eyes darted around the place trying to find a track number. I found it but then couldn’t find the track. I asked an employee and he pointed me straight to it. At this point it was 6:59pm. I got to the escalator which was moving up. I was instantly confused and turning in circles. The same kind man that helped me, came over and told me I missed it. I cried. Again. I went to the counter to change my ticket. I could barely speak because I was crying too much. It was uncontrollable at that point. One more slap in the face. If only he took the right turn. I was moved to a 7:40pm train which was not express and
would get me in 10:16pm making it nearly 12 hours since I left my house this morning.

The face of disappointment, finally on the train to Baltimore

Once I calmed down, I realized that it was 7pm and I had not eaten a meal. You see, I woke up at 6:30 and started my day without food. All the running around made me neglect my belly, though I did throw back a cup of orange juice before leaving and grabbed a bag of pasta salad my mom prepared for me before she left. She always packs food for my travels. While I snacked on that all day it wasn’t enough to sustain me and a headache ensued. My friend suggested getting something at the train station, but I hate fast food (except Chipotle). And with the headache, I didn’t want to put any sodium in my body. So I bought a bottle of Smart water and a Snickers and waited. I called my best friend from college who I was visiting in DC as well and as he always does, he was able to calm me down.

I boarded the train in better spirits and was on my way to Baltimore, arriving after two and half hours. So 3 hours late, $130 and stress beyond belief, I reached my destination.