Up, Up And Away ... Maybe

The idea began months ago when our son learned that President Bush would be attending the annual Safari Club convention in Reno, Nevada. Because he is an officer of the international organization, Craig would be one of the hosts who would be with the former president during the convention. Craig and Kisha would be there in Reno the entire week but their two children normally stay with us because of school. However, since this would be a special event, they planned to have the kids fly out on Thursday to spend a few days with them while the former president was there. Both Taylor and Zach have traveled by air quite often so they weren't concerned about flying there without their parents. So Thursday morning they left home at 8 in the morning to travel to Baltimore for a 12:25 flight to Reno, changing planes in Phoenix. Then the fun started. About noon they were told that their flight was cancelled due to heavy winds in Phoenix. Southwest then rebooked them for a 4:30 flight changing planes in Las Vegas. Then that flight was delayed an hour and a half and finally cancelled. After standing in line for an hour, they were next booked on a flight changing planes in Chicago, leaving at 9:35 … the next morning. That left them with three options – cancel and get a ride home, sleep overnight in the terminal, or find a hotel room. Unfortunately, Zachary is two months short of 18 and no hotel would allow us to book a room for him. And Southwest could have cared less about these two minor kids with no place to stay. So Dianne and I jumped in the car at 7 that night, drove to Baltimore, picked up the kids and checked into a hotel. But since I had an early morning appointment on Friday and because they were calling for ice overnight, we couldn't stay with them. So we left them alone in "my hotel room" and drove back home to Millersville. Friday morning they got the hotel shuttle and headed back to the airport. Their 9:35 flight was on time and went well and they landed in Chicago. Their second flight took off as scheduled at 11:45 and all seemed well. But a few minutes after take-off the plane developed mechanical difficulties and had to return to Chicago. They were told that they would probably need to be booked on another flight which meant they might not get to Reno until Saturday or they might even get stranded in another city – with little money and the inability to get a room overnight. Craig and I made some frantic calls to Southwest and after quite a wait we finally found that they were going to either fix the mechanical problem and use the same plane or else use another plane. Finally they did take off again and landed in Reno at 6:05 our time, just 34 hours after their adventure began. Actually, calculating the distance between Reno and Lancaster, as the crow flies, and averaging 60 mph, they could have driven that distance in 38 hours. But then they wouldn't have been able to get a few hours sleep "illegally" in a Baltimore hotel. But God was good and protected them through this process. We had many folks praying for them. And during their wait in Baltimore on Thursday they actually saw Tara Wise, our pastor's daughter, who was working there. Taylor said that it was so nice to talk to somebody they knew during a time of frustration and uncertainty. I think that was a special blessing and comfort that God provided for them. And another special answer to prayer was that their luggage actually showed up so they had clothing to wear to the banquets. Maybe in a later blog I can share how their time in Reno went for them. I do pity those who must fly regularly. Now they face the whole process again in reverse, trying to return home just 44 hours after they arrived, but this time with their parents.