1. On Saturday, I gird my loins (how do you do that, anyway?) for a trip from Rochester, NY to College Station, TX. More precisely, a trip from Rochester, NY-->NYC, NY-->Houston, TX-->College Station, TX.
2. The airport is not snowed in.
3. Our boarding is only slightly delayed.
4. And then, we are informed that our plane is kaput. Of course, we can wait around for the next plane to LaGuardia, which will arrive in about 3 hours; alas, that does nothing for me and most of my fellow passengers, as we have all seen our connections go kaflooey.
5. We wait in lines.
6. Apparently, college students have booked everything for their February breaks, or something. Why do all these college students have February breaks?
7. We continue waiting in lines. The poor gate attendants have the unpleasant duty of informing passenger after passenger that there are, in fact, no seats on any planes to anywhere.
8. One young woman berates an increasingly tense attendant, despite being told repeatedly that there are, you know, no seats. The young woman makes a decision, then changes her mind after the attendant punches in all the necessary information. The attendant is displeased. Meanwhile, one guy decides to use non-family-friendly language, which displeases the attendant even further (there are young kids nearby).
9. I am ushered over to another line, where I am told that "young lady, you're not going to College Station tonight." I knew that. I did not, however, know that I was a young lady--forty-one is no longer especially youthful--but I decide to go with the flow.
10. I camp out at one of the airport hotels.
11. Take two! Now it's Rochester, NY-->Detroit, Mi-->Dallas, TX-->College Station, TX.
12. Ack, the dreaded middle seat.
13. Help, no layovers at all between Rochester and Dallas. Starvation is imminent!
14. I finally scarf down some dubious 'que in Dallas.
15. Hooray, College Station! One good thing comes out of the delay: a free room upgrade.