Total and complete insanity!

That's what we have. Total and complete insanity. I HATE winter weather!!! (Ok, usually I love it - but when I'm trying to travel - I HATE, HATE, HATE it!) Here is how our story goes.

We are still in Utah. We were supposed to leave yesterday as many of you may know. I had purchased a ticket to fly to Portland on Sunday morning and Eric was going to be flying standby. We called over a month ago to put his name on the standby list and it looked great - the flight was wide opened. We checked on Saturday morning - flight getting more full, but still seats available. But late Saturday night, we stopped packing to check on his flight again and found, to our dismay, that the flight was entirely booked. Wow. That was fast. After checking on other flights and seeing them full or close to it, we decided to buy him an actual ticket to guarantee that he would make the flight. $500 later (vs. the $200 it would have cost if we had just started out buying him a ticket...) he had a flight for Monday morning and would be returning on the same flight as me. Okay, we're good, we thought.

Sunday morning, I woke up to finish packing and decided to check the flights again. I called the airline and the southwest employee took our flight information to look up our flights. He came back on the line after a few minutes and said,

"Well, first off, you're not going anywhere today. The Portland Airport is completely shut down."

What? Apparently the major storm they've been having all week that was supposed to be over isn't over.

"Second off, let me transfer you to another flight on Monday. We'll honor your orignial ticket price, so you should be good to go. Here let me do that really fast - there's only one more seat left on the flight."

Thanks Mr. Southwest man! Phew - glad I called early! So, again, we think we're good. Eric's flight was at 9:55 am on Monday (he was taking Elena) and my flight was at 3:40 pm on Monday, so I was going to drop him off and then head up again later.

This morning, we wake up at 5:30 to finish some more packing and to make sure that we get to the airport super early because all the flights are booked and lines are probably going to be crazy. Plus, who knows how the roads will be be - they're forecasted to be good, but you never know - it is Utah, after all. We walk out the door to find about half an inch of snow covering the car and the roads. Not too bad. It's pretty wet snow and its not snowing anymore. We hit the roads and they are just perfect going up to the airport. Finally, it seems we are going to make it to Oregon. The only damper on our good morning is that on the radio we keep hearing about a big storm that is blowing in right now. High winds, lots of snow, etc. Then we get into the airport and hear everyone around us talking about the same big storm. What?? When did that change? Last we knew, the weather was supposed to be alright.

So, we cross our fingers and hope that this big storm doesn't come in right away or else comes and goes quickly. We get Eric checked in and I leave. That's about the end of the good news. As I'm heading out to the car to leave, I get a text from my sister saying that her flight has been delayed because the conditions weren't good enough to land in Portland. Then, I hear on the radio that there are supposed to be high winds, snow, and rain in the morning here and then the big storm is coming in the afternoon. Great - that's about it for my flight. Then as I'm driving back home, the weather is getting progressively worse - first a light drizzle, then light snow flurries, turning into and all out white out by the time I get around Point of the Mountain. Then, Eric calls me and tells me that they just made an announcement at the airport saying that if you are flying to Portland that you will make it to Boise, but there is a good chance that your flight will either be delayed or canceled going into Boise and that they will get you on to another flight, but that the next flight isn't available until Christmas day. Then, Eric calls me a few minutes later to say that both his and my sister's flights have been officially canceled. At this point, I am hyperventilating because I have been driving in the snow (it was the kind of blowing snow that makes you feel like you aren't moving anywhere), but I've almost made it safely home.

So, now here we sit. We don't know if my flight is going to be cancelled or not. Its too early to tell. As of right now, its just delayed. So, we're debating what to do.... try a 24 hour+ drive through California and up to Oregon? Look for flights into Eugene (closer to the cabin)? Give up? Have me fly (if my flight is still a go) and Eric and my sister drive? And oh yeah, there's the little problem of Eric, Elena, and my sister being stuck at the airport right now. Because the roads are too dicey to go and get them.

I HATE WINTER WEATHER!!!