Travel in a Bomb Cyclone

Happy New Year to you! I hope your year is off to a beautiful start. I was blessed to be in a winter wonderland to commence 2018...

  

We had a great time in Canada with family. We're presently in transit back to warm weather and I'm killing time on a hard seat at the airport...

It's been four years since we've travelled to see our families during the winter season. Four years ago we were delayed returning home by several days due to the so-called Polar Vortex; this year we've managed to visit during a Bomb Cyclone. We're experiencing another nightmare adventure returning home. 

We left Ottawa yesterday, but were fortunate to board the only flight to Toronto that was only delayed and not canceled. After boarding our delayed flight, we sat on the airplane for nearly two hours while a mechanical issue was resolved. Once we arrived in Toronto, we waited on the jet way some more while the majority of the continent sorted out airport delays and terminal backlog. Of course this also meant we'd missed our flight to Los Angeles. We joined the lines of weary travelers inside, and were eventually informed we'd need to spend the night; there would be no direct flights to L.A. for a group of six passengers for another two days. 

This scenario has happened to us in some way or another many times. We don't get too frazzled, but it's mighty inconvenient. No luggage, no winter coats (all were borrowed for our stay and left in Ottawa), only a dinky courtesy bag containing laundry detergent, gooey deodorant, a razor, toothbrush and paste, and a comb. I would have traded mascara for the detergent. We waited outside the terminal for the hotel shuttle during a January cold snap, and I don't remember ever feeling so cold in my life.

It's not the airlines fault the weather is so bitter. By midnight, we were thankful for our club sandwiches and burgers, and to cozy down in comfy hotel beds till seven am. We slept as long as possible... no need to get up for anything except for a quick comb through my hair and a brushing of my teeth. I wondered if giving up my usual hair and makeup routine might be a good idea and time saver, but I've felt hideous all day. Glimpses in the airport bathrooms have confirmed it's not just a feeling...

Rather than staying two nights in Toronto, Jon was able to work out a better option. We traveled to Phoenix (after another two hour delay on the tarmac), landed in San Fran during the sunset golden hour, and we're currently holed up in the airport waiting for a flight to LAX. Then it will be a shuttle to the hotel where we will retrieve our car and travel home. Hopefully it won't be too much past midnight when we get back... Jon is preaching in the morning! Also, I'm hoping we'll be reunited with our luggage.

So it goes. Real life.

~Katherine