Delayed Travel, But Back In Florida - (Ruskin, Florida)

We were packed and the alarm was set for 5:00 a.m. But, as usual, anytime we have an alarm set, we wake up long before the annoying thing goes off.

It was no problem being down in the hotel lobby waiting for our cab which was supposed to arrive at 5:30. Our flight was at 7:30, but with the snow and cold, we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport 13 miles away.

The cab was late. The hotel called to confirm they at least had us scheduled. The excuse was all the snow. Seriously? Even we knew to allow extra time to get anywhere - that's why we wanted to leave at 5:30. We knew what normally is a 20-minute ride would take longer.

Fortunately, the cab was only 15 minutes late, and our driver didn't have to rush to get us to the airport. It took 30 minutes to get there, but we had allowed enough time that there was no need to panic.

Ordinarily, flying Delta means we go through Atlanta, but on this occasion, to keep costs down, we had to fly through Minneapolis. De-icing the wings of the plane took awhile and we got to Minneapolis about 20 minutes late. Several people flying to Mexico were in danger of missing their flights.

We had plenty of time to make our connection at 10:00 (Central Time) although it was a long walk to our terminal and gate. Well, as it turned out, there was no rush at all. While it was cold and snowy in Michigan, it was frigid in Minnesota with a temperature of minus-15 and a wind chill of minus-33 when we arrived.

Just as they were getting ready to board, the gate attendant announced that there was a 30-minute "maintenance advisory". We all knew that 30 minutes would turn into much longer.

Apparently, the water pipes on the plane froze and one may have broken. They did a decent job of keeping us updated, and they put out a snack cart for all the stranded flyers to get something to eat and drink (although there was no shortage of food or drink in the very nice mall-like airport).

Finally, they just drained the water from the plane and decided to fix the pipes later. That meant no running water in the bathrooms, and no water to fix coffee or tea, but at least we were on our way - about two and a half hours later than scheduled. Of course, rather than the 2:00 arrival time, now we were going to be arriving just in time for Tampa rush hour.

Linda slept on this flight more than any other flight she's ever been on. I slept a little bit as well, but mostly read. On this trip to Michigan and back, I completed a book and got a quarter way through another one. Now that we could keep our Kindles on from boarding to de-planing, that allowed us to get a couple extra chapters read.

Back in Tampa, with the temperatures hovering around 70, I was now sweating in my turtle neck, heavy shirt, and wool socks. Plus the bulk of my winter coat, with no room to stuff it in a bag, was getting on my last nerve. :)

We took the shuttle to the parking garage where our Jeep was safe and sound. We were on the road right at 5:00 and managed to just squeeze through Tampa before the worst of the rush hour.

We were back at our rig at E.G. Simmons Regional Park a little before 6:00, and shortly after that we had everything unpacked and the luggage stowed away. We're getting good at just knocking out that unpleasant chore in a matter of minutes. We also stuffed our winter coats in space bags and Linda sucked the air out of the bags with the vacuum cleaner. I happily found a space for them in a compartment where they should remain undisturbed for a long time.

It was a long day, and we didn't feel like doing much of anything, so we just sat back and relaxed. It was so good to be back in our comfy recliners with our comfy bed waiting for us.

But it was even better to know that we'll be back in our shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops tomorrow. :)