Planes, Automobiles and ..... Snow?

I was going to call this post Home Alone 2 as Jo Ann left San Miguel on Wednesday to visit her parents and to prepare the move of our furniture down here to San Miguel.  However Jo Ann has encountered another of those lovely trips that the airlines do not want to have published.

She was scheduled to leave the Leon airport at 7:10 so off she goes at 3:45a to reach the airport in order to comply with the "rules and regulations" of the airlines.  After checking in and going to the gate all she sees is a dark airplane (well at least the plane is at the gate).  At 7a there is still no signs of life on the airplane so she calls me and I check the web which shows that the flight is still scheduled to leave at 7:10 without delay.  Around 7:40 the airline's web site finally shows that the flight is delayed but she should still make it in time to catch her connection.

At 8:15 Jo Ann goes to ask the lone ticket agent what is happening with the flight and she is told that there is a major fire at the DFW airport,.  I then checked the web and I can't find any notice of this "major" fire, so I relay the news that this comment is quite suspect.  Around 9a Jo Ann calls again to say that they are boarding so she may still make here connection.  Alas after boarding they had to deplane as they were told that there was mechanical problems.

So finally around 10a they are boarded and take off.  Of course, Jo Ann misses her 11a connecting flight from DFW but is able to catch the 1:10p flight to MSP. 

When she arrives in Minneapolis, it is snowing and the temperature is 32, this is October 11, not December.   To top off this flight from h*ll the airline lost her luggage and told her that they had no idea where it was located, I am sure glad they have the high tech systems to track luggage.

Her cousin Matt was there to pick her up and they made the five hour drive in blowing snow and windy conditions.  Gratefully they made it safely, but there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground. 

Yesterday it continued to snow with the high of only 34.  I just got off the phone with her this morning and at 7:30 there is close to seven inches of snow on the ground and the temperature is 22 with a 15 degree wind chill.  I did not have the heart to tell her that it was 65 and sunny down here, she will probably read this and scream.

Last night the airline called to say that they had found her luggage and hoped to get it to her on Friday, however, if not it would not arrive until Monday as FedEx does not deliver on Saturday where we have our house in Northern Minnesota.

Jo Ann is in great spirits considering this trip but as someone who use to travel and average of 200,000 air miles a year in my professional career, I am just amazed by how the level in the airline industry has continued to decline.  No wonder no one wants to fly any more.