Let's start off with detour number 1: Getting to the airport.
My dad and I went out for breakfast this morning at one of my favorite breakfast places, We got up extra early so that I would have plenty of time to get to the airport and get checked in. We picked up my suitcase at my aunt's house and she hopped in the car to come with us. ETA arrival at the airport, 15-20 minutes. Well, that ended up not being the case at all! There was an accident on the highway that we needed to take to get to the airport, so we had to take some back routes. What should have taken 15 minutes took closer to an hour. I was so lucky that I was with some people who knew the city well enough to know that there were back routes to take! Got to the airport, got checked in, got to my gate. No big deal.
Now, for detour number 2: Unexpected landing in Chicago.
So we had just gotten settled on our flight to Newark, when the flight attendant made an announcement asking if there was any medical personel on board. I knew someting was going on. Because of this medical emergency, we had to make a detour to Chicago O'hare airport. Now I figured this would be a quick stop, and we'd be back up in the air and I would have no problem making my connecting flight in Newark. Oh how wrong I was. Because the pilot had to land quickly (they tried explaining to us exactly what happened), we had to de-plane and ended up sitting in the Chicago airport for two hours! Once we got up in the air, I figured I would have maybe a half an hour to try and catch my next flight.
As if those two "detours" weren't enough...here's number 3: Sprinting through the airport to try and catch my next flight.
When we got close to Newark, I asked the flight attendant the questions I was going to need to know the answers to in order to get to my next gate. What terminal are we landing at? How long to get my cabin checked bag? Where's the shuttle to get to the terminal I need to be in? She was fairly helpful, but didn't seem to be all that concerned with me missing my flight, because she told me that they would just get me on the next flight...so not what I wanted to have to deal with. When we landed, I waited by the area to get my gate checked bag, and that took forever! When my bag finally came, I started running! Now those of you who know me know that I don't run-I'm sure it was quite the site to see. I ran to the shuttle and got on. Once we got to the right terminal, thank goodness our gate wasn't too far. I ran up to the gate right as they were doing final boarding calls! Whew that was a close one! Oh did I mention that I REALLY had to use the bathroom this entire time?!
The flight to Oslo was pretty uneventful compared to how the rest of my day had been. I forgot how much international flights differ from domestic flights! I was so happy that the fed us dinner, as I had not eaten anything since breakfast at 7 this morning! They had a great selection of new release movies that we could choose from, and my sister would be proud as I chose to watch Dolphin Tale 2!
When I got to Oslo is when detour number 4 decided to appear: I arrived, but my checked bag did not.
Because I was arriving on an international flight, I had to get my checked luggage, go through customs, and recheck my bag. So I waited at the baggage carousel, and as the bags started to come, there were many, but none of them mine. I waited until the carousel stopped turning, then I went to the arrival counter to file a claim. The tell me that I should get it sometime tomorrow, and I sure hope so! While I have clothes in my carry-on that will get me through the next day or two, I'm gonna need the rest of my clothes in my luggage if I have any hope of making it through the next five months!
I'm hoping the rest of my day goes smoother, and that I arrive in Harstad on time. I have about three more hours to spend here in the Oslo airport before my flight, so I think now that I've had some time to rest and regroup, I'm gonna walk around and explore a little bit. I'm hoping that if I can avoid sleeping too much today, it will help me avoid jet lag as I would sleep well tonight! (Just an FYI as I'm writing this, it is 4:24am Central time, but 11:24am here in Oslo!)
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