To say we had an adventure at the MOPS Convention is definitely an understatement.
On the way home from our trip on Sunday, Erin, Mechelle and I were trying to come up with a good blog title that would fit our story. Erin was convinced that it should be "What time is it?" I'll tell you what time it is, it is time for Erin to get a watch! (just kidding Erin...you know that I love you!) So, instead I thought I would just start from the beginning and share our story with you.
So, here goes nothing.....
Thursday Morning at 6:45am: We left from Mechelle's house to begin our journey to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport to catch our 11:30am flight to Houston, TX in hopes of connecting to Dallas, TX. Arriving at our hotel around 4:40pm giving us plenty of time to get settled in and registered for the Convention.
Everything was going according to plan. We made a couple of stops here and there and finally we reached Interstate 40, just twenty minutes away from our destination.
Or so we thought.
As soon as we approached the ramp, it was bumper to bumper traffic due to a wreck a few miles up the road. We made several phone calls hoping that someone could give us an alternate route, but no such luck. Then we pulled out the "trusty" GPS that Mechelle borrowed from a friend.
This is where the "ADVENTURE" began......
10:15am: By this time we began to worry....and praying....a lot! We were going a record speed of about 5 miles per hour. We just knew that we were going to miss our flight. All sorts of thoughts were running through our minds. "How do we get to the airport once we reach our exit? Would we get another flight to Dallas? If so, when would we actually arrive? Are we going to miss the first General Session of the Convention?" Of course the impossible question entered our minds, "Could we actually make our original flight?"
11:15am: We finally passed the wreck on the road and was basically hauling @!# to our exit. We were heavily depending on the GPS at this point to get us to the airport with ease. To our surprise, we felt like we were stuck in a hamster wheel going around in circles. Where was this machine taking us? We finally decided to go back to the main road and look for signs for the airport. After taking a couple of wrong turns, we finally found the airport parking garage and the race had begun!
11:40am: We finally made it to the Continental Check-In counter just to be told that our flight left the ground 10 minutes prior to our arrival. Imagine our frustration and disappointment. Then the Agent told us that the next flight left at 12:45p to Newark then a connecting flight to Dallas at 4:10p arriving at 7:10p.
We kept asking her, "Are you sure there isn't anything else?" "Nope", was her response.
After $150.00 later for our flight change, we decided to take the time to eat lunch and browse in a couple of book stores because we knew it was going to be a long day. By the time we reached our gate, we noticed that our flight was delayed.
(Why couldn't our original flight have been delayed??)This is the beginning of the never ending question of the day. "Kristie, what time is it now?" Apparently, I was the only person who wore a watch that day.
Once we boarded, the pilot come on the intercom to notify everyone that we could not take off as scheduled. It would be another hour. So, we just sat on the plane.
We just knew we were going to miss our connecting flight.
3:45pm: We finally arrived in Newark. We arrived to our gate to find out that our flight was delayed for an hour and a half!!!
What?? You have got to be kidding me?
"Kristie, what time is it now?"
We were nearing the boarding process and the flight was consistently being delayed every ten minutes for the next 30 minutes or so.
(Once again....why couldn't our original flight have been delayed?")"Big Ben, (a.k.a., Kristie) What time is it now?"
9:45pm: We finally arrived to Dallas, TX. Erin and Mechelle retrieved there luggage from baggage claim, but mine was no where to be found. Moments later, a friendly voice came over the speaker to say that the luggage belt was jammed. It would be a few minutes until I could get my luggage.
Finally, I spotted my luggage with a huge sigh of relief.
We found our way to the Super Shuttle to be transported to the Gaylord Texan Hotel where the Convention was being held.
10:45pm: We
finally leave the airport. Not before our shuttle driver decides to circle the airport several times picking up passengers.
Ironically, we were laughing on the way to the hotel about how funny it would be if they didn't have a room for us. Knowing it couldn't be possible considering we made our reservations several weeks in advance.
We finally arrived at the hotel. We couldn't wait to get to our room and go to sleep. Putting this day behind us and enjoying the rest of our stay.
To our surprise, a stoic red head behind the counter told us they do not have anymore rooms available and we would have to stay at another hotel near by.
This was the straw that broke the camels back. Erin started crying, Mechelle was so mad that she couldn't speak, and I was in shock. We were told that we would be deposited one nights stay and they would pay for our room at the Hilton for the night.
That wasn't good enough for us. "You don't understand, we couldn't help that our flights were delayed. You need to find us a room in the Gaylord. We are here for a Convention. We possibly can not stay in another hotel.
Let me see your Manager!"
It didn't work.....They simply over booked. Their excuse was several current guest had extended their stay for another 24 hours. They would try their best to get us a room the following day.
"Big Ben, what time is it?"
(Again....why couldn't our original flight have been delayed?)11:00pm: Registration was closed for the day. We missed the first General Session.
The Gaylord Texan SUV took us to the Hilton Hotel. We were ready to go home immediately and simply forget about the Convention all together.
This is something that would only happen in the movies. Everything that could possibly go wrong without physically being hurt, went wrong!
Saturday, 7:45am: The Gaylord Texan SUV picked us up from the Hilton Hotel to take us back to the Gaylord Texan so we could register for Convention and start our day. By this time we decided that we were going to make the best of the situation because our weekend couldn't get any worse. On the way to the Gaylord, Erin received a phone call stating that the Gaylord found us a room. We were ecstatic!! We headed back to the Hilton to get our luggage so we could claim our room at the Gaylord Texan!
I think the driver felt sorry for us. He then preceded to give us a tour of Dallas, TX on our way to the hotel. We were very grateful, but once again we were being "delayed" because we really needed to register for the Convention that began at 9am.
Regardless of the situation, today was looking up!
Once we arrived it took us until around 5pm to actually get in our room because it was still being "cleaned". The Gaylord staff knew us very well at this point. Good or bad, we did get a free breakfast from the buffet out of it. (by the way, the breakfast buffet was to die for)
The rest of our stay was wonderful!! Couldn't have asked for a better view from our balcony. The workshops were inspiring and educational. Erin and Mechelle loved the shopping from the MOPS Shop. I was just thrilled to collect all the free stuff that was being handed out. I left the shopping to the pros.
Sunday, 8:40am: The Super Shuttle picked us up to take us back to the airport. Both flights from Dallas and Houston were on time and everything was going according to plan.
Or so we thought.
We approached the parking garage. We couldn't remember where Mechelle parked the car. Thankfully, we finally found it and started to make our way home. We were determined to have a pleasant ride home because it couldn't get any worse...right?
So far so good.
We decided to take a 5 minute bathroom break. We all got back in the car and the battery was dead!! We quickly found someone to jump us off and thankfully the car immediately started. Making a mental note to not turn the ignition off until we were safely home.
Just to be on the safe side, we thought maybe we should get the "trusty" GPS out again.
The GPS took us a completely different route from our original directions. After two cemetery's, a dirt road, a one lane bridge and what seemed like 15 thousand and one turns later in complete darkness, we finally made it to Roanoke, VA.
9:15pm: We pulled up in my drive way where I was welcomed home by my two beautiful daughters and my loving husband.
Home Sweet Home!
Next years Convention is going to be held in Nashville, TN at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Hope to see you there!
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