We're Not In Denver Any More

Our recent 'vacation' to Boston and New York was memorable indeed. Just not in the way I generally prefer. After logging hundreds of flights and perhaps a half million miles in my lifetime, I've never been faced with as many airport closures, redirects and stranded passengers. I've only been through Denver once before and I don't remember it being such a harrowing experience. But let me give you an idea of the events of those days.

Flight 1: Phoenix to Denver - This is generally an hour and a half flight, however on approach we learned that there were tornadoes touching down on the runway. The airport was shut down and all planes were put in holding patterns. We circled for over an hour and since the airport was still closed and fuel was running low, we were diverted to Colorado Springs 20 minutes away. There were already 10 planes on the tarmac and the refueling truck took over 2 hours to reach us. New FAA regulations penalize airlines $25,000 per passenger if a plane is on the tarmac for over 3 hours. Obviously no airline is going to pay, so they have their tricks. With minutes remaining they announced that passengers bound for Colorado Springs could deplane. Once the doors opened, they restarted the clock. So after 5 hours on the ground at Colorado Springs, we get in line to return to Denver. We managed to land after 9 PM, but lightning strikes meant that the ramp could not be deployed. Another half an hour and only feet from the gate. Once we got into the terminal, we then stood in the customer service line for another 2 hours until we made plans to take a 6 AM flight from Denver to Las Vegas and then to Newark, NJ. We booked a hotel, which turned out to be the nicest one in the whole trip, for a few hours of rest.

Flight 2: Denver to Las Vegas - Relatively uneventful, but now we're further away from our destination.

Flight 3: Las Vegas to Newark - This flight was 5 hours, but put us only 20 min from our hotel in Times Square. We would manage to lose only a half day, since the original plan was to drive from Boston. Half an hour from Newark, the pilot announces that thunderstorms over the New York area have closed all regional airports and we begin another holding pattern. As fuel dips, we learn that we are headed to an air force base to refuel. Our hopes of making anywhere soon are suddenly revived when the tower clears us to make an attempt. The pilot manages to ram the plane onto the runway and we all share a sense of relief to be free of airline travel for a few days.

Flight 4: Boston to Newark - I was originally scheduled to fly from Boston to Houston on Memorial Day, however the stress of our previous days was too much for my little boy and he was still running a temperature, throwing up anything more than a couple bites and generally not happy. He slept all day, cried, didn't eat and just wanted to be held. So I missed my flight to stay with him another day. I managed to book another flight for $150 change fee and a $47 Continental credit, yay! My flight from Boston to Newark was pretty good, had an empty seat next to me.

Flight 5: Newark to Phoenix: Four hours and forty-one minutes with a window seat and British youths sitting next to me. I watched the entire nation drift by. From deciduous forests to river deltas to farms to plain to foothills to mountains to desert plateaus and finally over the Mogollon Rim to Phoenix. It's a wonderful land. Can't wait to try it again.