Sometimes, the best vacations are the ones you never planned. I discovered this to be true in February of ’07. After months of carefully planning a “dream family vacation” to Disney World, the big day for our trip finally arrived. It was the first time for my young boys, ages 4, 4, 10, and 12, to fly. All of our previous trips had been made by car. But, this time, my husband and I reasoned that driving to Florida from Indiana was just too long of a trip to take with four children – particularly the young twins.
”...the 145 foot waterfall at the end was a unique site to behold.” |
So, despite the fact that my 10 year old was deathly afraid of flying, we loaded onto the plane and arrived safely in Disney. Of course, we had a wonderful time at Disney, but our vacation seemed to have taken an unexpected turn for the worse when we arrived at the airport for our return trip home.
When we walked into the airport, we quickly saw a huge line that had formed throughout the airport. Ignorant to the
terrible weather that had been taking place back home while we were away, we proceeded to head to our gate. Trouble free and uninhibited by our luggage because the Disney resort had allowed us to check in the luggage first thing in the morning so we could enjoy our last few hours in Florida, we happily went through inspection – only to enter a gate that was virtually empty. Checking the flight board, we quickly learned that our flight had been canceled.
Undaunted, I pulled out my laptop to learn more of the situation and discovered that all flights to and from O’Hare, the airport to which we were flying, had been grounded. That long line we had so gleefully passed? Those were other travelers looking to get a new ride home? And,
what about our luggage? There was no one at the gate to tell us where that could be found.
As I got into line to learn more of our situation, my husband set about to find our luggage. Once found, he began to devise a new plan. Being the anxious person that he is, he couldn’t stand the thought of waiting around for a new flight. In addition, he was certain that
flight would just be canceled as well. “Do you know how hard it will be to find six available seats for our huge family?” he asked.
My husband decided it would just be best for us to rent a van and drive home. That way, he would feel more under control. Though I was reluctant, I caved. Certain he would turn into the vacation Nazi and force us to drive the 28 hours straight through, I was not looking forward to the trip before us.
Somehow, magically, my husband said he wasn’t going to try to push our family through. Rather, he would drive a couple hours that night and then split the trip up over the next two days. What followed were perhaps two of the most memorable vacation days our family has experienced.
