And people wonder why I don’t like traveling to Cleveland…

It never fails. The Southwest gates tucked at the end of the terminal, crammed with people, and nearly every flight delayed with all prior flights full to the point of not even having a chance with standby. This is where I spent 6 1/2 hours of my day yesterday.

I showed up early in hopes of getting standby which didn’t happen. Fine, not a problem. I can occupy myself for a couple hours. Then my 5:15 flight gets delayed until 5:50. The next thing I hear about the flight is around 6:20, telling us it will be in at about 6:30 with a 6:50 departure. 7:00 rolls around and I’m just getting on the plane. Nice two-hour delay, there.

Now normally, a flight from Cleveland to Chicago takes about 45-50 minutes. This one took 2 hours due to inclement weather right in-between Cleveland and Chicago which meant we had to fly thorough Michigan and circle for an extra 30-45 minutes. The worst part of it was… I had pounded down the peanuts they give you in anticipation of being able to coat my mouth with a delicious beverage. Due to the fact that they didn’t start serving until well into the flight, they weren’t able to serve everybody.

Tired, haggard, and dying for a drink, at least I was able to climb into a black stretch limo and enjoy the ride home until I could properly pass out on my couch with all my clothes on and my contacts in.