Some of you know this whole story, but for those I haven't seen or talked to...I got to Logan Airport the Monday before Christmas, the day after the beautiful snowstorm, all ready to fly home to California and be home. Unfortunately, my plane was delayed an hour out of Boston. Because of this delay, I missed my connecting flight in Atlanta, GA since my layover was only a half hour. So, I flew to Atlanta and had the pleasure of staying there for the night. I decided to go to a hotel to get out of the crazy airport and be able to take a shower and sleep in a bed and take a breather from all the craziness of the Christmas travel. AirTran was the airline I was flying with and they only have two flights a day from Atlanta to San Francisco. So, I was trying to fly standby the next morning, but that flight was already overbooked. So, I hung around the Atlanta airport all day until I took my flight at 9:00 that night. I saw some interesting things, people, and wrote a few posts. :) So, if you were wondering why I posted five blogs in one day, I had some extra time on my hands.
A little bit about my time in the Atlanta airport now....
1. It's a rather large airport. It's been some time, but I believe I kept on hearing that it is the busiest airport in the world. That sounds a bit extreme, so maybe it's the busiest airport in the nation....but, I'm not entirely sure. Because it's so big, there is a train that runs to each terminal and the baggage claim. I walked from my terminal to baggage claim and beyond to catch the shuttle to the hotel. I did not pick my bag up, since it went on to SFO without me, but I had to go by baggage claim to get the shuttle.
2. There were many military people going through the airport as I sat there the whole day. It was the most military people I have seen in the course of one day ever.
3. They have these trash cans that will sometimes make a noise when someone throws something away. It makes it very entertaining to see people's reactions when the unexpected noise surprises them...kind of reminded me of candid camera. I think the noise may have something to do with recycling since you throw everything into one bin and apparently it separates the garbage and recycling on its own.
4. Some people miss their planes because they don't pay attention. Seriously...pay attention when you're at the airport and make sure you're at the correct gate more than two minutes before you're supposed to take off. Especially if you've been at the airport for two hours, waiting for your flight. If you haven't boarded and nothing has been said about your flight, double check for a gate change or something so you can get on the plane you're supposed to get on. But, if for some reason that does happen, don't blame it on the airline...it was your fault for not checking the gate a half hour ago. Yes, I witnessed that happen with this couple who were going to San Francisco, so I was around them at the airport all day, since they missed their flight.
5. I did make a friend, who is going to school in Georgia and is from Sacramento area. She got to the airport super early and we kind of hung out throughout the day. She was knitting a hat for herself and was almost done by the time we landed in San Francisco. About an hour before we were to board, I asked her what seat she was in and you can imagine my surprise when she told me she was in the seat right next to me! Once we boarded, we kept waiting for the third person in our row, but nobody ever came. So, I moved over and gave ourselves some extra room, which was really nice, since I think it was maybe the only empty seat on the plane. Also, the people who had missed their flight that morning were sitting in the row behind us. We just couldn't be split up! :)
Once we took off, it was a smooth flight and I arrived in San Francisco only 24 hours later than I had planned on. I think it was worth it for the snowstorm. :) Thankfully I didn't get stuck anywhere for too, too long and I was home for Christmas. My first experience of traveling with snow to consider...overall, it wasn't too bad.
Here are some pictures:
Sunset from my bedroom window.
A view out my window of the snow after the storm.
The branch outside my window.
My first hotel room all to myself. A king size bed just for me!
