I was sitting in my seat, trying hard to fight back tears, when the pilot came on with this announcement. I promised you an update, but I didn't promise it would be a good update.
And it wasn't.
He said that the Atlanta airport had now been
CLOSED and that he would be taking us back to the airport. The weather in Atlanta was bad and they had NO idea when or IF the airport would re-open. The businessman next to me was checking the weather on his Blackberry and turned to me to show me the radar for the Atlanta area. It doesn't look good he says....then he looks up at me to see those tears I had been trying to hold back running down my face!
The poor guy....he quickly tried to backpedal and make me feel better. Jeff explained that we were trying to get to Orlando to make a ship by 3 pm and he assured me that we would make it by then. I don't think he realized how FRAGILE I was when he shared the weather report with me!
As the plane was headed back to the gate, there was a little girl a few rows behind me having a TOTAL meltdown. She was crying and wailing. I don't want to go back...I HATE this vacation! Believe me little girl...I'm right there with ya!
Jeff did his best to reassure me, but I was really upset. I knew we didn't have much time to work with and you never know when a weather delay will end. When we got back into the airport, of course everyone was scrambling to find a way to get where they were going in a timely fashion. We got in line to see if there was another flight to Orlando that we could get on. Remember that grandmother I was talking about? She was in front of us and it was obvious that she was trying to get to the same ship that we were! She asked about a different flight and the representative told her that they were making accommodations for some other passengers at the moment, but that we could come back in a few minutes and ask again. So...rather than wait for the same answer...Jeff and I sat down and tried to do some research on our own.
We got out our iPods...and thanks to a free 5 minutes of wireless service...began to search flight options. Unfortunately there was
NOTHING leaving Rochester for Orlando that would get us to the ship on time. Just then, we overheard the grandmother talking to the lady at the desk again. It turns out that they had a direct flight leaving for Tampa at 8:00 that had seats available. It was scheduled to arrive in Tampa at 10:40. Jeff quickly looked up how far the drive was from Tampa to Orlando.....2 hours and 15 minutes. Not bad.
He then found the phone number for Thrifty car rental in Tampa. We had our car for AFTER the cruise reserved through them so we knew they had an office in Port Canaveral. He asked about reserving a car for today...no problem....for $110. FINE....reserve it! I'd rather pay an extra $110 in order to make the ship. With all the groundwork laid, we got in line to get our tickets switched to the Tampa flight. It was now about 7:15....we should have left over an hour ago.
While we were in line to change our tickets....don't you know our original Atlanta flight begins to reboard!
NOW WHAT? 
Do we stick with Tampa or take a chance on Atlanta?
We are supposed to make a connection in Atlanta that we may or may not have missed at this point. And will the airport STAY open??
When we got to the front of the line, we asked the representative and she said that it was likely that Atlanta would be open and closed off and on most of the day. At this point, we may make our connection, but the airport may close again before that flight could leave. She advised us to avoid Atlanta if at all possible. OK...decision made. As all of our original plane-mates boarded the Atlanta flight, we moved over to the next gate to wait for the plane to Tampa.
I need to give a nod to Airtran here. The nice representative at the desk assured us that our luggage would make it from one flight to the next. Both planes were getting ready to leave and we were concerned about timing. She said she would see to it. Jeff says, you're not going to do it yourself are you? Her response, most likely! And sure enough, we watched out the window as she went under the plane to the baggage area, got our luggage personally (we had written descriptions for her), and wheeled our bags to the waiting Tampa flight at the next gate! Kudos to Alanna from Airtran...she's my hero!
At this point I am stressed but feeling better. Given the choice, I would much rather take things into my own hands than to sit at the mercy of nature and hope for the best. Now we were planning to arrive in Tampa at 10:40. That give us 4 hours to make a 2 hour drive. If all goes according to the
NEW plan, we should get to the ship on time.
As we are calling my mom to let her know of our little situation, Jeff gets to talking to the grandmother and finds out that they are indeed going on the same cruise as we are. She had pre-paid for a rental car in Orlando and asked if we would be willing to drop her off at MCO to pick it up. I expressed concern over the time issue and realized that she thought we had until 4:30 to get on the ship. I told her that we needed to be on by 3 due to government regulations. (See....a little research goes a long way!) So, she agreed to forfeit her car and we agree to upgrade to a minivan, split the cost, and ride together. It's a win-win.
At about 7:40, we begin to board the plane for Tampa. Again...we are finally on our way! Now we are under a time crunch and feeling the stress, but at least we are headed to Florida!
Up next....Welcome to Tampa!
Connie
I was getting a knot in my stomach just listening to all the weather drama. I think you made the best decision to go to Tampa. Everytime there is a connecting flight there is more potential for problems. Take me to Tampa over Atlanta any old day.
How did I miss this TR??!! What a wonderful get away for you and your hubby. Looking forward to reading all about your trip..even though it looks like a rough start 
