In 20 years of frequent business travel, yesterday was the most chaotic I have ever encountered. Documenting it here because (a) I think it's worth sharing, but also (b) it's worth remembering.
On Tuesday morning, I flew to Minnesota to meet with my team, plus to visit a few of our key customers in the Minneapolis area. Upon arriving to Minnesota, I received a text from Hertz communicating the parking spot of my rental...really convenient. Headed out to Hertz, went to the spot, saw my name on the digital sign above the car, jumped in the car and drove off...in a minivan (I ordered a mid-size). The agent at the gate matched my drivers license with the contract, and off I went.
Yesterday (Wednesday afternoon), I had a 4:30pm flight scheduled from Minneapolis to Chicago. I arrived at the airport at 3:30, and returned the car. The charge for 1 day...$300. Upon pushing back, the check-out agent with the handheld reader showed me my contract. The car was meant for someone named Todd...but not Caponi. That Todd individual rented the car for a week...not me. I was one day. My rental was cancelled...as they thought I didn't show up. And, I clearly screwed this Todd Nugent guy, who likely ended up driving around in a small car he didn't order. Anyway, 30 minutes of working on that issue with the agent, we came to a resolution.
At this point, thunderstorms were covering the Chicago area...and had been sporadically during the day. My flight was delayed until 6:30pm. I went into the United Club, had a lukewarm Coors Light, and banged out 2 hours worth of work. By this time...the flight was delayed until 7:30pm, then 8:30pm.
At almost 9pm, we finally took off. This is where the fun kicks in...
After flying peacefully for 30 minutes, we clearly started circling. Circling for 30 minutes...then 45 minutes. The pilot communicated a number of times during this hold pattern and the ground stop at O'Hare...and then finally delivered to us the bad news: The plane only had 60 minutes of hold fuel, and we were almost out. We had to divert to Madison, Wisconsin.
We landed in Madison at 10:23pm...along with probably 15-20 other planes....filled with 100-200 passengers each. We then managed to sit on the tarmac for over an hour...finally arriving in the terminal around 11:30pm. Small airport, all services already closed, gate agents all gone for the night, rental car agencies closed, cab drivers all in bed for the night, and hotels which were already sold out due to a number of local events....suddenly dealing with 1000-2000 people with no place to go. And, when calling United, the automated system cheerfully proclaimed "wait time to speak to an agent is currently 60 minutes"...on my dying cell phone.
Walking up and down the terminal trying to determine my strategy, I ran into the flight team (pilot, co-pilot, attendants).
"Any chance we get out tonight?" I asked.
"Nope. We're past our allowable flight time for the day. As a matter of fact, I was within 5 minutes of that provision when we left Minnesota." the pilot responded.
That reality led to a swell of chaos. People scurrying for comfortable chairs in the terminals with which to spend the night. People frantically calling local hotels, to find they were all sold out at this point. Families with small children with no options.
After sitting for about an hour, thinking through strategies & calling hotels myself, I figured my only option was to try to get to my lake-house about 85 miles away. Could I talk a taxi driver into taking me there? After a couple of calls, I found an agency willing to hook that up...and at a cost less than a typical hotel night.
I ran outside to meet this taxi...needlessly. Waiting out for about 30 minutes, a driver named JP drove up in a rickety taxi. He battled with the sliding side door for 5 minutes, finally coaxing it open. He had to be pushing 300-400 pounds, but was absolutely delightful. To the crowd gathering waiting for taxis, he announced that he was there to take people all the way to Chicago...and that his boss called him repeatedly as he slept the night away, coaxing him to come in to drive people to Chicago. There were no takers. However, I told him I was waiting for someone from that same cab company to take me to Genoa City / Powers Lake.
He accepted the challenge...and while I told him I thought someone else was coming for me, he demanded that I get in.
So, I piled in...along with 4 other people who managed to find local hotels, only challenged by the transportation to get there. We started touring the town before starting our jaunt to Genoa City.
At this point, misery loves company. We're all talking about the chaos from the day. One individual in the van told us all how lucky he was to get a room, understanding that every other room but one in town was booked. That one? $900 for the night at the Ritz Carlton.
JP, the taxi driver, then said, "$900??? For $750 I'll let you sleep at my house. I'll put on clean sheets. You can even sleep with my wife if you want to." Slap-happy, stomach hurting laughter at that point.
After making the local stops for the 4 local stayers in downtown Madison, the journey to Genoa City / Powers Lake began...at approximately 1:30am.
JP started tearing out of town...windows rolled down, rickety taxi making all kinds of crazy noises, into the boonies of Wisconsin. JP explained how he had wished he was able to capture a Chicago trip...his Mom lives there, and he could crash on the couch for the morning then drive back.
By 2:30am, we were surrounded by thunderstorms, pouring rain, not a single other car on the road, in the pitch black of Wisconsin. JP's GPS kept falling off his dashboard, and I held tight as he meandered across the lane markers going 85 mph while trying to put it back on. I finally told me to just leave it on the floor, and I'd navigate the rest of the way.
Finally arrived in Genoa City / Powers Lake around 3am...and am understandably miserable today. My wife & kids will be here shortly to pick me up...2:15pm on Thursday, after I missed the customer event I was supposed to attend in downtown Chicago this morning.
Definitely a memorable experience...miserable to most, but I came to enjoy the adventure once my ability to control it kicked into gear.
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