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<p>And you already know you have less control over him than the weather. Sad but true.</p>
<p>Well, mine still has to get out of Cleveland on Monday to come home. But I won’t start worrying about that until she arrives safely in Cleveland. Tonight. After midnight.</p>
<p>Complaints about the Philadelphia airport remind me of a story…</p>
<p>Over the summer my HS senior sister’s friend was supposed to be joining my sister and our parents down in Florida for a week at our condo, so her mom brought her to Detroit Metro and sent her on her way to Ft Myers. But her flight was canceled, and for some reason the girl refused to call her mother, and the only other flight to Ft. Myers was one with a layover in Philadelphia. </p>
<p>She took that flight and got to the Philadelphia airport, and then missed her connection. Her mom had given her $5 upon arriving at DTW and that was all she had on her. So the airport staff gave her a voucher for a hotel and pointed her to a bus stop to catch a shuttle to the hotel. So she got on a shuttle, and after riding around town for what seemed like forever, the driver said, “you, off” even though she was nowhere near the hotel.</p>
<p>So then this 17 year old wisp of a girl is wandering around a neighborhood in Philadelphia by herself at 1am, and she sees a guy walking past her with a gun sticking out of his pants.</p>
<p>Finally she has the good sense to walk into a fire station and ask for directions to the hotel. The firemen point her in the direction of the nearest hotel (which is still several blocks away), and offer to give her a ride.</p>
<p>Thinking of the man she saw with a gun, she gladly accepts and gets driven to the hotel IN THE FIRE TRUCK.</p>
<p>Then, upon arriving at the hotel, the employee at the desk had told her that she couldn’t have a room because she was underage. Once she burst into tears he asked her to explain what was going on, and he gave her the room.</p>
<p>She made her flight to Ft Myers the next morning and she never told her mother a word of any of this.</p>
<p>Now it is a big joke in my family whenever anyone has a delayed flight or anything “… at least you’re not in Philadelphia!”</p>
<p>(ETA: OH, and Philadelphia lost her luggage!)</p>
<p>Finally home near Chicago.</p>
<p>curm - You should take thumper up on her offer … she lives in a REALLY beautiful area! As for “spending a year in the wilderness” I experienced that in Texas … two summer months in San Angelo. (I know I know, it would have been a culturally superior experience if I’d stuck around for the Rattlesnake Round Up.)</p>
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<p>Ohh. A big city girl, I see. lol. Lot’s of good meat goats out near San Angelo. And you can’t beat a good meat goat. 
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<p>Kid just landed in Cleveland. The “seemingly non-random boy” was there to collect her.</p>
<p>Thanks, all. It was a stress reliever. As I always say, I’ll stop worrying about her someday…and that day will be about 3 days after I take my dirt nap. ;)</p>
<p>My D never minds her layovers in Philly since they have free wi-fi. Can’t wait to hear her comments on her flight next Wednesday. Hartford to Atlanta, via FT. LAUDERDALE! Ugh, I guess a few extra, unneccessary frequent flyer miles wont hurt.</p>
<p>Curmudgeon,</p>
<p>You are truly hilarious.</p>
<p>-Kristin</p>
<p>Lordy–look at all the old-timers on this thread! LOL</p>
<p>Speaking of frozen tundra, did anyone see the news item saying that Fairbanks, Alaska is the fastest growing small city in the U.S.? About 100,000 people are finding today’s HIGH of -35 somehow bearable. (!?!)
(I have a kid flying in from Anchorage–where it a balmy -1–tomorrow. Opportunity to get stuck in Minneapolis with a 30 minute connection. . .)</p>
<p>Curm, Are there still direct flights from Hartford to Cleveland on Continental? DH flies through TX too on business…from Hartford. Something to consider.</p>
<p>Complain all you want about the Philly airport,but it isn’t terrible by any means…I think Newark is worse.</p>
<p>Agree^. Son is flying out of Newark next month and I’m not looking forward to dropping him off. PHL just seems more straightforward as far as signage, dropping off, picking up and parking. Weatherwise, and the chance of being stranded, they’re about the same.</p>
<p>Well, the only airport I ever had to spend the night on a cot on the course because of ice was DFW. Not high on my list of favorite airports. Never been stuck in Philly - but I also try not to fly through it :)</p>
<p>This past Feb, I was stranded for 3 days at the Phila Airport. Luckily I had made a reservation at the airport hotel when my first flight was cancelled.</p>
<p>Yes, PHL is lousy, although much better than it used to be. The worst part from the natives’ point of view is that it’s a USelessAir hub, so we find ourselves on that terrible airline much more than we’d like. </p>
<p>Glad to hear the Mudgette is safe in Cleveland. Well, safely landed, anyway. ;)</p>
<p>Oh, joy. That’s just great. lol. 3 days. I was already mapquest-ing airport hotels after flight one was canceled.</p>
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Y’all are just full of cheery thoughts for me this morning, aren’t ya? Well, thankfully my brain fritzs whenever I start to think about her romantic life. Thankfully, the screen just goes blank. ;)</p>
<p>Can’t be faulting Philly airport for your “3 day stay” in february, it was a BLIZZARD of 36" of snow!!! Sheez, you make it seem like you were stranded for 3 days for no reason…FWIW, i got out the 1st day after the snowstorm closings to Grand Cayman…Would have been disappointing to miss 3 days of vacation ;)</p>
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<p>We wouldn’t want you to stop being curmudgeonly, now would we?</p>