Inga Ice Storm Adventures @ HOU

My flight was scheduled after 5pm, but I got to the airport at 1pm in hopes of getting on the earlier 3:30pm flight since I knew the storm would affect flights.  Unfortunately after waiting over an hour, I find out I didn’t come early enough since the airport is closing due to weather and almost all the remaining flights are cancelled.  Are you sure I can’t get on that flight to Costa Rica that is still miraculously flying out 2 hours after the 3pm flight I was supposed to be on?!  Ok, I am re-booked on the first flight out at 5:55am.

What should I do – go back home, try to get a hotel, or stay at the airport?

I witnessed multiple accidents, including one the opposite direction that blocked all lanes, and my Lyft driver had a few minor skids on the way to the airport. The icy road conditions are predicted to only get worse through the night and early morning and the news playing at the gate is pleading with people not go out on the roads if they can avoid it – there’s a long list of accidents they are talking about.  I hear people around me failing to get an airport hotel since they are fully booked, so I opt to spend the night in Houston Hobby airport instead of risking going home and coming back to the airport.

Given how much I travel and how many times I’ve missed a flight or had a flight cancelled due to weather, even I am surprised how I’ve never had to spend a night at an airport before.  This will be a first.

So what does one do when at the airport for about 16 hours?

After waiting in line to get booked on another flight, and with free Wi-Fi, do work for several hours of course.  Glance out the window and look in wonder at the tiny snowflakes – wow, it’s actually snowing in Houston!  Stomach rumbling is a sign it’s time to grab some food.  Some places have closed, but the infamous Chick-fil-A is open and since I’m not in the mood for Pappas, nuggets with buffalo sauce please….yeah I definitely like McDonald’s nuggets with hot mustard sauce way better. (I still don’t get why Texans are so crazy for Chick-fil-A.)  Hmmm, Dunkin’ Donuts is open – might as well walk to the other terminal since I  haven’t had a Dunkaccino in a long time! (I actually walked the entire terminal 3 times since I had time to kill and might as well get steps in!) I wonder what an almond joy hot chocolate tastes like.  I may have to try that one next time.

Wait, listen, there’s an announcement, all luggage for cancelled flights will only be available for the next half hour before they will be pulled back to be placed on the first flight out to your final destination the next morning.  Ok, time to head to baggage claim to grab some items to make my night a little more comfortable.  As I walk over, I’m thinking how glad I am to have some very specific items in my checked luggage.

But before I go into that, I always make sure I have the essentials with me on my carry-on.  I’ve been stranded enough times to learn that lesson the hard way, so take note travel novices.  Medications-check. Electronics and all plugs/cables/battery packs for them-check.  Neck pillow-check.  Toiletries (glasses/contacts, facial products, toothbrush, etc.) Headphones – check. Normally, I have at least one outfit with me, but I decided to check all my clothes in this time because I’ve been having some back pain and didn’t want a heavier load as carry-on.

Back to baggage claim, time to play “Where’s Minion?” (My luggage looks like a minion – really!)  Can I just say it’s times like this that I especially LOVE my luggage?!  (There are other reasons I love it though.) In the sea of luggage, mine was the ONLY yellow luggage and took me only about one minute of scanning the mass of mostly black, blue and red bags to spot it.  

Here’s what my Away Luggage – Minion Limited Edition looks like up close.

I always have a picture of my luggage on my phone in the event it might get lost so I can show it to the airlines personnel. (Luckily I’ve never had to use them yet!) As I was grabbing my luggage there were 2 people describing their luggage to agents in attempts to locate their lost luggage.

So here’s what I grabbed from my luggage: 1) a collapsible duffel bag (I was debating a very compact one or my fancy Henri Bendel bag, but opted for my new BetaBrand Weekender Bag – I’ll explain why this was the perfect choice further shortly), 2) a fur throw blanket that I was getting rid of as part of my attempt to start minimizing that a friend asked to have ( I am bringing it to her on this trip), 3) C-Rest neck pillow/massager (I always travel with this thing) 4) a change of clothes (specifically BetaBrand’s Combo Travel Hoodie) and 5) toothpaste (I ran out of travel toothpaste but had a full size one in my bag).

Now since the toothpaste is full size, I can’t bring it back with me thru security to the gate area where I plan to spend the night so here’s what I did:  I squeezed a small amount on the side of the bristles (not the top like normal, and snapped my toothbrush cover on it.  This way, no worry about a sticky mess in my toiletry bag and it shouldn’t totally dry up. 

The Combo Travel Hoodie is a long sleeved cotton/poly/spandex shirt with a detachable hood that can be worn as a scarf.  The detachable hood/scarf will act as my eye mask since I can’t sleep with bright lights.

The Trtl Pillow – Scientifically Proven Super Soft Neck Support Travel Pillow – Machine Washable Grey, which I had on my carry-on, has a curved plastic frame and should work well as my pillow for the night, but I’ve never used it as such before so I was concerned sleeping in an airport chair or even the floor is going to wreck havoc on my neck.  The C-Rest is gonna alleviate that for sure.

My weekender bag is going to be my mattress because it completely unzips flat.  The thought of laying on an airport gate floor is disgusting,  but I’d rather lay than sit in an uncomfortable chair all night long, so this will be my protective layer for at least most of my body.

So here’s my “bed” for the night with my collapsible travel water bottle filled, Beats Solo headphones to block out the regular constant announcements and other people around me (there are quite a few of us spending the night):

You’ll see a travel size deep sleep pillow spray by thisworks that I got with a travel kit, which I sprayed on the pillow.  It’s a lovely blend of essential oils that I hope I’ll be able to recreate on my own someday with my arsenal of essential oils I have at home.

It’s past midnight, so time for me to try to get a few hours of sleep! GNite!