I made it home after a wonderful conference in Phoenix where I got to spend time with some of my favorite people — writers! Including our own Robin Lee Hatcher. The Faith, Hope, & Love Christian Writers Conference was my favorite conference of the year, for sure. But I think my book characters plotted some revenge on me for all the obstacles I throw in their paths, because getting to the conference was a crazy adventure.
I flew from Abilene to Dallas with no issues, but a monsoon hit Phoenix on Friday and all air traffic was grounded. After several hours of delays, they finally cancelled my flight and sent all of us to Customer Service to re-book. When I finally made it through the line, my ticket agent told me that the earliest she could get me from Dallas to Phoenix was 5:30 on Saturday evening. I would miss nearly all of the conference! Including the session I was supposed to teach at 3:00. Thankfully, I’m an avid watcher of The Amazing Race and knew to eavesdrop on other passengers. The gentleman next to me was also desperate to get to Phoenix and his agent had found him a flight to Yuma that night. I immediately asked for the same option. After a few minutes, my agent found me a seat on the 9:10 to Yuma. (Sounds like a movie, right?) So after 10 hours in the Dallas airport, I made plans to spend the night in the Yuma airport and hoped to catch an early flight to Phoenix from there. I went so far as to buy a travel pillow and a toothbrush and toothpaste, since I planned to rough it, and all my personal items were in my checked bag.
Fast forward to Yuma, and I come to discover that it is a very small airport. No worries . . . I’ll just find a corner somewhere to curl up. Only they close after the last flight. They kicked me outside! Very apologetically, of course.
Now, I could have found a hotel and called an Uber, but I still wanted to make sure I could get on an early flight. And the man said the property was safe and well lit, and I could use one of the outside benches if I wanted. I’m also terribly cheap by nature, and it bothered me that I was paying for a hotel in Phoenix that I wasn’t using that night, and I didn’t want to pay for another hotel in Yuma for the same night. So . . . I took the outdoor bench option. It helped that the man from the customer service line was on a bench, too with his son. He was only there for about 2 hours until his wife came to pick him up, but it helped. After another 2 hours, the airport opened at 3:00 am and I was able to move back inside.
As you can imagine, I got basically no sleep. I dozed a little bit, but my over-fifty body didn’t work well on the hard metal bench. I did feel a bit like an intrepid heroine, though. Overcoming obstacles with grit and determination. Or maybe foolishness. Not sure which was more dominant. Anyway, I survived. I even got a seat on the 7:00 am flight out of Yuma and made it to the conference in time to freshen up and jump in after missing only one session. WooHoo! I even managed to reunite with my long lost luggage, which was a HUGE blessing. Never have I been happier to see a hair brush. Ha!
I made it through the day running on adrenaline. Taught my session, introduced others, and smiled through it all with true joy because God had taken care of me, and life was good. Then I slept 10 hours before leading worship Sunday morning.
I felt good after a full night’s sleep!
God is good, even if his weather timing was a mite inconvenient.
Have you ever experienced dramatic obstacles when traveling?
I came home from the conference with lots of book goodies, and I’d love to share with you. One person who leaves a comment on today’s post will receive these great new books. (US addresses only.) Winner will be posted in the comments on Friday.
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What an “interesting” time you had getting to your destination! When I recommend your books to people, I tell them how much fun they are; even when you are writing about harrowing trips, you manage to instill humor! Thank you, Karen.
This makes me grin, Colleen. Thank you for the sunny encouragement. I do love to laugh about things whenever possible – even crazy airport misadventures. 🙂
One of the more recent times of travel obstacles was getting stuck in an Atlanta Airport concourse for several extra hours past my regular layover with my 6 month old. My husband wasn’t traveling with us this time, so it was just us girls stuck in a small concourse, and one of us only wanted to be held and not use the nice stroller the other was lugging around with all of the other things. We’ve been on a few more “adventures” together since then, and we’re good travel buddies now 🙂
I love your descriptions, Jenny! Traveling with an infant brings its own obstacles even without the extra trouble imposed by the airport. I’m glad the two of you are now experienced travel buddies. 🙂
What an adventure! So glad you were able to make the conference. The Lord surly watched out for you.
Yes, He did. So thankful for His provision during my adventure.
So sorry for all you went through. I am wheelchair bound, and the one time I was in AZ, the Phoenix airport security took so long checking the airport wheelchair I was in for bombs, that my husband and I were stranded in the airport. Our baggage and my own wheelchair made it on the flight home without us. They do stay open all night, but everything shuts down. I stayed in the airport chair while my husband tried to sleep on the damp carpet (they clean it nightly). God got SouthWest airplanes to take mercy on us and get us 2 spots that weren’t available to get us back home the next morning. And, could I please be entered in your giveway?
Oh, my. That’s a crazy story, Becky. Sounds like a rought night. So glad you and your hubby made it through. And yes, you are entered in the drawing. 🙂
I’ve had some crazy weather-reroutes and adventures but yours takes the cake because I’ve never had to make use of an outdoor bench overnight! Glad you made it safely and kept your sense of humor!
Thanks, Kathleen. One of the ladies I spoke with at the conference said that sometimes she looks at things like this with pride because at our age, it’s nice to know we can still survive an all-nighter. Ha! I had to agree. 🙂
Sorry for all the inconveniences you had to endure.
Thanks, Sharon. If nothing else, it makes for a good story. 🙂
Oh my, what an adventure! Glad you made it safely. God always takes care of His children. We are so loved.
Amen, Anita! I felt rather at peace about the whole thing even while it was happening. I knew God would work it all out.
That was quite an adventure! Glad you made it safely to the Conference!
Me, too. Thanks, Luann. 🙂
Wow what an adventure.
I can’t say I’m eager to repeat it, but I survived and thrived with God’s help. He’s so good.
wow what an adventure. I would love to read some authors i haven’t read.
You are entered in the drawing, Dianna!
Spent the night in LaGuardia Airport after numerous delays due to weather including sitting on tarmac waiting for clearance to take off only to return to the gate because flight crew ran out of ‘approved flight time’. They wouldn’t let us stay at the gate despite already passing through security, so we all camped out in the closed food court.
Oh, my. What a long night!
We just arrived last week from a two week trip abroad. I don’t really enjoy traveling, so I feel for you! Specially since you were traveling alone. I’m glad you made it on time! 🙂
Me, too, Katherine. I missed Friday and one session on Saturday morning, but I made it for all the rest and was able to enjoy my time while there. I hope you had a wonderful time abroad!
Wow! Is some part of this going to make it in one of your books, maybe not with air travel, but any kind of travel is open to possible misadventures? I have several flights scheduled in the next few months, I would be happy to not have anything like your recent experience!
We writers store away experiences like this as fodder for future stories, for sure. I don’t know when or how, but I imagine there will be hints of it come up in some future book. 🙂 I pray that your travel runs smoothly, Linda.
Glad you made it! That was an adventure! Last January I was headed to Birmingham from the Pacific Northwest for a conference. I was leading one session and co-leading 2 others. Left Pasco at o dark thirty, watched the sun come up from the plane window as we arrived in San Francisco. Had breakfast at the airport. Flew to Denver in time for a late lunch/early dinner. Then a huge ice storm shut down Birmingham and everywhere between me and there. The earliest I could arrive was Sunday afternoon (everything started on the previous Friday) and then I would miss all of my sessions and have to turn around early the next morning and go home. Plus that entailed sleeping in airports until I could fly out. Sigh. I did the loop and returned home to Pasco at o dark thirty that same night!
How disappointing! That’s the worst. I gladly endured the crazies knowing I would eventually get there. I’m sorry you missed your event.
I read this on your Posse post, and held my breath when you said you had to wait outside on a bench! So glad God gave you protection throughout.
My air challenge was the first time I EVER flew. I married a Marine who was going through The Basic School (officer training) in August when I was 20. He received orders to Vietnam in March. I was expecting our son, who was born in May. My husband called in December, saying he was being sent to Okinawa for R&R, and to please come and bring the baby. I was living in Richmond, VA. with my parents. My mother drove me to D.C. to get a passport in one day. Two days later my parents put me on a flight to Chicago. There, I received help from people who took pity on me pushing a large cart with my luggage and baby to make my connection to Seattle. From Seattle, I flew to Anchorage, and then to Okinawa, where my husband met my plane. I was blessed to have help all along the way. I had been nursing my son, so his pediatrician put him on formula and sent me off with pre-packaged bottles. I think it was Enfamil. We had a wonderful visit, staying in my husband’s room and taking our meals at the Officer’s Club. My son was blond, and each time we arrived at the club, the Japanese waitresses fought over who was going have “golden boy”, who is now 59. When I think about this now, I can’t believe I did it, but I was young and in love. Sorry this is so long.
What a great story, Betty! I love that. Thank you for sharing. Such sweet memories. 🙂
Ouf, that was a rough flight and trip! Glad you arrived safely and got to be part of the conference.
Me, too. 🙂 It all worked out and ended up being one of my best conferences.
I almost missed my flight home from CA to MS. Ran through the airport with my shoes in my hand! Didn’t know where my luggage would turn up. As it happens, the plane waited for me and my 2 daughters and my sister-in-law! whew! We made it! And after worrying all the way home as to where our luggage would turn up….it made it onto our flight!
Hooray! I love it when the impossible becomes possible. 🙂
You were definitely the brave and hardy heroine of this story, Karen! Way to persevere!
Thanks, Becky. I’m sure some elements will find their way into a story someday. 🙂
Yes, I think I have recently experienced a dramatic obstacles when traveling. Over labor day weekend, I had plans to take my son on a college tour in another state. God had other plans. Once we reached our destination, I came very ill and eventually went to the ER that was closest to our Airbnb. I was rushed into emergency surgery. The surgeon who just happened to be on call (by God’s divine providence) was an expert surgeon for exactly the special surgery I needed. Only God could have orchestrated that! So happy to hear that you made it to the conference and that you were able to run on no sleep and even teach your session!
Oh my goodness, Brooke! How scary! But how wonderful that God provided exactly what you needed. I pray your recovery is going well.
So glad you made it, Karen! I once had to spend the night in Denver, missed my connection to Spokane, but was rewarded with a first class seat to Montana the next day!
Ooo – Almost worth it to fly first class. 🙂
Well, Karen, that sounds like a stressful time! It’s similar to a trip I took two years ago when my daughter asked me to fly with her and her toddler and baby in order to move to Arizona from Ohio. After having to deplane and switch to another plane twice and then having a plane delayed for hours only to be told we wouldn’t leave until morning, it took TWENTY-FOUR hours to get to Tucson! My poor daughter had a meltdown as well as the grandkids. We were glad that I went with her!
Yikes! Stress always seems to magnify when there are young kids to care for in the midst of trouble. So thankful you were there to help share your daughter’s load. That sounds horrible!
We have a winner! Congratulations to Amy M. New books are heading your way. 🙂
Amy – I sent you an email with instructions on how to claim your prize.