Let’s face it, sometimes you have to fly. If you are going halfway across the country, you need to fly. We have the time to drive, but maybe not the energy. Plus, if you don’t fly, you miss out on the soft drink and pretzels.
The Virginia State Golf Association set up a four-day golf trip to Kohler, Wisconsin which included playing Whistling Straits. The first golf round was in the afternoon, so, if you’re brave you could fly in in the morning. I was brave and got a Southwest flight to Milwaukee and a rental car for the one-hour drive. That gave me plenty of time, if nothing went wrong.
Well, Southwest cancelled the Thursday flight on Wednesday afternoon. They said they looked forward to assisting me on my next flight. I checked Reagan National, but there was nothing that would get me there on time. Then I found a United flight out of Dulles to Chicago with a connecting flight to Milwaukee. Only problem was I had to get up at 3:30 AM. But it got me to Milwaukee. The rental car was waiting for me, and I figured out how to start it, but I couldn’t find a lever to put the car in gear. After what seemed to be a lot longer than it was, I found a drive button where you would expect to find the heating and air condition controls. I made it to the golf course with enough time to warm up.
We are not going to talk about my golf performance during those four days. I will mention that the courses were fantastic (and treacherous), and I met some great Virginians in our group. I am definitely glad that I went.
The last two days, the courses were right along Lake Michigan. We had beautiful Fall weather until the last two holes on the last day. We were playing the Irish course at Whistling Straits when the sky went dark, and the wind and rain started coming in sideways. That resulted in me driving to the Milwaukee airport in wet pants.
After three attempts, we landed in Chicago. Something about a problem on the runway. At least that’s what our pilot told us. Because of me having to change flights (and needing a later flight because I played that morning), our flight was to depart at 9:30 PM and we would land a little after midnight.
You know, they never tell you what has gone wrong. They just announce a delay. Departure time was now 10:30. At 10:30 they announced that our plane was being towed to our gate! It never made it. The second tow also failed. I would like to tell you why, but by then I was searching for a soft cushion.
At 11:30, they announced that a flight was coming in from San Diego to our gate and after the passengers got off and the plane was cleaned, it would be ours. Here it was, almost midnight and we were gleeful. We had a plane that didn’t have to be towed! Our San Diego plane landed at Dulles at 3:30 AM and I was home by 4:15 AM. As I walked in my door, I had the crazy thought that if I lost my luggage, I wouldn’t have to unpack it. How stupid! But that’s what happens at 4:15 in the morning.