Trapped

Did I say I loved Chicago?  It must be because I don't usually travel through the mass of humanity that we keep penned up in O'Hare.  I arrived nearly four hours prior to my flight.  I have books so that isn't a hardship.  I actually managed to kill two hours in line waiting for a table in a restaurant.  I spent another hour drinking margaritas, eating a really good burger and chatting with other travelers.  Then they cancelled my flight.  No warming, no delay, no fall back plan, no hotel.  Just a vague direction towards the Closed Customer Service desk.  I spent a full hour on hold waiting for our corporate travel agent's emergency service.  During that hour I managed to misplace my book (with only 5-6 chapters left to go) and find a self serve customer service kiosk.

I was able to find that my replacement flight doesn't leave for 24 hours but I can stand by for a 6 AM flight or a 5 PM flight.  I also found the number for the local emergency hotle hookup people.  It was while I was holding for them that Am Ex finally picked up.  It turns out that Am Ex got me the same room for a whole lot less.

I made a bunch of new friends while waiting for the poorly marked shuttle bus.  The were people on my bus that spent 6 hours sitting on the runway befoe being retuned to the terminal.  There flight out isn't until Friday.  There were people aiming for Calgary, San Diego, Denver, Philly, Atlanta, Toronto and Dallas all with canceled flights on just my bus.

In the morning I plan to catch the 5AM shuttle bus and hope to make the 6AM flight.  If that doesn't work I'll come back to the hotel for a shower and then take the train in to the city.  My next flight possibility isn't until early evening.