I'm back in Boulder, but I wasn't convinced that this would happen. When I woke up this morning, I don't know exactly what the temperature was, but it was something like -24 (with additional windchill). That, as you might know, is really fucking cold. So cold that vehicles that had been left outside were in danger of not starting. Luckily, [censored] had put his car in my mom's spot in the garage yesterday, so it started (unlike [censored]'s other car, which was outside and totally incapacitated).
And, while I was enjoying a leisurely morning of getting ready, finishing packing, making sure my mom's TV/Roku/Chromecast/Sling were playing well with each other and the wifi, and eating breakfast, I got a text with an airport scouting report - Drewbaby was supposed to leave Iowa last night, but his flight last night was canceled (non-weather), and so he was on a 6am flight this morning. But, that flight didn't leave at 6am because all of the deicers were broken *and* none of the refueling trucks would start.
So, I was half-convinced that I would be stranded in Iowa. But I finished packing, said my goodbyes to my parents, and then hitched a ride with [censored], since he was headed north (albeit several hours earlier than he probably would have gone if I hadn't coerced him into giving me a ride). We had an uneventful ride, although it was still super cold - but luckily [censored] has heated seats, and I was barely in the cold long enough to be affected.
And, surprisingly, everything worked out okay - [censored] dropped me at the curb, and while there were a lot more people than usual milling around the airport, I had no issues at check-in or security. I had time for a quick, somewhat sad salad, and then they actually boarded almost on time, and we took off only ten minutes late. We somehow jumped the queue on a lot of other delayed flights (although Drewbaby had already made it out), but I'm guessing they flew in from Denver with enough fuel to get themselves back (Drewbaby reported that some of the flights that took off earlier in the morning were making stops in Cedar Rapids and other nearby cities to refuel, but we didn't have to do that).
So, I got to Denver with no issues, retrieved my bag, and found the bus to Boulder. I was lucky to get a seat - the bus was totally full, and I was surprised that they let people stand in the center aisle - it's 30mi of freeway from the airport to the first stop, and that's a long time to stand in a moving vehicle. Also, the bus was so heavy with all our bags and all the people that the last two people to board (so, standing nearest the driver) had to get off before we could leave so that the driver could get the bus to lift up from its parked/accessible position, which it apparently couldn't do with the weight of two extra people (?!!). But, as I said, I had a seat, so I read/napped the whole way, and no one died, so it all worked out.
Then I walked home (slightly too far from the bus station with a heavy suitcase, but it was only 12min and I didn't want to wait for a lyft), called my parents, unpacked, did a couple of loads of laundry, read, and watched a couple of episodes of Top Chef. And now I should sleep, since work starts again tomorrow and I'm not ready to confront reality...but I'll survive. Goodnight!
And, while I was enjoying a leisurely morning of getting ready, finishing packing, making sure my mom's TV/Roku/Chromecast/Sling were playing well with each other and the wifi, and eating breakfast, I got a text with an airport scouting report - Drewbaby was supposed to leave Iowa last night, but his flight last night was canceled (non-weather), and so he was on a 6am flight this morning. But, that flight didn't leave at 6am because all of the deicers were broken *and* none of the refueling trucks would start.
So, I was half-convinced that I would be stranded in Iowa. But I finished packing, said my goodbyes to my parents, and then hitched a ride with [censored], since he was headed north (albeit several hours earlier than he probably would have gone if I hadn't coerced him into giving me a ride). We had an uneventful ride, although it was still super cold - but luckily [censored] has heated seats, and I was barely in the cold long enough to be affected.
And, surprisingly, everything worked out okay - [censored] dropped me at the curb, and while there were a lot more people than usual milling around the airport, I had no issues at check-in or security. I had time for a quick, somewhat sad salad, and then they actually boarded almost on time, and we took off only ten minutes late. We somehow jumped the queue on a lot of other delayed flights (although Drewbaby had already made it out), but I'm guessing they flew in from Denver with enough fuel to get themselves back (Drewbaby reported that some of the flights that took off earlier in the morning were making stops in Cedar Rapids and other nearby cities to refuel, but we didn't have to do that).
So, I got to Denver with no issues, retrieved my bag, and found the bus to Boulder. I was lucky to get a seat - the bus was totally full, and I was surprised that they let people stand in the center aisle - it's 30mi of freeway from the airport to the first stop, and that's a long time to stand in a moving vehicle. Also, the bus was so heavy with all our bags and all the people that the last two people to board (so, standing nearest the driver) had to get off before we could leave so that the driver could get the bus to lift up from its parked/accessible position, which it apparently couldn't do with the weight of two extra people (?!!). But, as I said, I had a seat, so I read/napped the whole way, and no one died, so it all worked out.
Then I walked home (slightly too far from the bus station with a heavy suitcase, but it was only 12min and I didn't want to wait for a lyft), called my parents, unpacked, did a couple of loads of laundry, read, and watched a couple of episodes of Top Chef. And now I should sleep, since work starts again tomorrow and I'm not ready to confront reality...but I'll survive. Goodnight!
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