Last Thursday night, I bought a car. We had decided to try buying from ebay because we thought we could get a great deal and figured the risks were minimal with all the protections ebay offers. We did get a great deal (so far we think it's a great deal anyway) and were able to buy this nice 2005 Toyota Corolla for 30% less than blue book value.
The tricky part is that the car is in Florida so we had to either pay to have the car shipped here or go there to pick it up. Since it's winter and since winter in Florida is pretty nice and since I have some time off for holiday break and since driving it back is much cheaper than shipping it, I decided to take a quick trip down there to pick it up. We decided to let Adam come with me to keep me company.
So here was the grand plan:
- Greg and Adam would fly to Tampa, Florida this morning (Dec 31).
- The guy from the car place would meet us at the airport and deliver the car.
- Then Adam and I would head to Busch Gardens (a big amusement park) and spend the afternoon and evening. They are staying open until 1 am to celebrate the New Year so we planned to ring in the New Year on a roller coaster.
- Tuesday morning we'd go to the beach and then go back to Busch Gardens for some more fun (the tickets are good for two days entry to the park).
- Tuesday afternoon we'd start back and finish the drive on Wednesday evening in time for Adam to get back to school on Thursday.
Grand plan? You bet! We were so excited!!
So here's how things worked out last night...
- 10:30 pm - everything packed ... off to bed
- 11:15 pm - phone rings ... Tammy answers to an automated computer telling her our 6 am flight out of Moline was canceled due to heavy freezing fog.
- 11:15 - 12:45 pm - Greg on the phone talking to computers trying to get on another flight to Chicago or make other arrangements to get there for our connecting flight. After more than 1 hour of frustrating calls, he finally gets connected with a human. "Hello, this is Shirley" she says with a very thick Indian accent. I explain the situation to Shirley. "Okay, sir, we've rebooked you on a flight out of Chicago at 9:30 in the morning." "I don't need to be rebooked out of Chicago, I need to be rebooked out of Moline". "Oh, you need to fly back from Tampa to Moline tomorrow?" "No, I need to get from Moline to Chicago." "I'm sorry sir, there are no available flights from Tampa to Moline tomorrow." After several more attempts to explain it, I finally groan and say "Should I just go to the airport and talk to someone there?" "Oh, yes, sir, that would be the very best." So I go back to bed with nothing resolved. I decided to get up early and go to the airport and talk to someone there. I thought maybe they would give me a rental car to drive to Chicago or something for our connection.
- 1:20 am - phone rings again ... Tammy answers again (she's quicker out of bed than I am). "Hi, this is ... from United Airlines. Can I talk to Gregory?" It wasn't Shirley, some other agent with United. This one knows what she's talking about. She tells me that she's rebooked us on another airline leaving Moline at 5:55 pm today arriving in Tampa at 11:30 pm. "11:30!! It's New Years Eve. We have plans for tonight." "I'm sorry sir, that's the only flight I can get you on." After a few more minutes of futile discussion, I finally agree. By the way, they wouldn't give me a car to take to Chicago since it was a "weather related" cancellation. Back to bed.
- 2:10 am - Harry Connick Jr starts singing "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" from our downstairs stereo at full volume. Ben likes to play with the controls on the stereo and had managed to turn on the alarm clock somehow. I crawl back out of bed again and trudge downstairs to turn off the stereo.
- 3:05 am - Jacob wakes up to eat. Tammy falls asleep feeding him, but finally gets back to bed at 4:15 am.
- 4:45 am - Ben runs into our room and climbs up on the bed. "Ben, why don't you go lie down in the chair?" He often comes into our room in the early morning and sleeps on our chair. "But I can just sleep here in the middle. I'm going to jump." Leap. Crash. He smashes between Tammy and I. We just roll over and try to sleep.
- 5:30 am - "POPS! POPS! We're late!!! We missed our plane!!" Adam runs into the room in a panic. We should have been boarding our flight by now.
- 6:00 am - All the kids are up and so am I.
So, after a nearly sleepless night, here's the new grand plan:
- IF we can get out of Moline, we'll fly to Tampa arriving just before midnight.
- We'll ring in the New Year in the luggage area at TPA. Then we'll catch a cab to our hotel.
- At 9:00 New Years day our car guy is going to pick us up at the hotel. Hopefully it won't take long to get the car and then we'll still TRY to get to Busch Gardens for some fun before hitting the road to drive home.
Not such a grand plan anymore, but we'll still try to make the best of it. Right now, I should be in 80 degree Florida weather getting my new car. Instead, I'm at home looking out the window watching the snow fall. I wonder how the snow will affect our afternoon flight?
3 comments:
Sounds like a fun night you had! There are always complications when you have a perfect plan aren't there? I hope your flight goes out tonight at least! What a mess.
When we bought our van we had complications after the purchase that seemed to take forever to resolve. It looks like a great car, so hopefully it will all be worth it!
Yikes! Sorry that your fun little trip hasn't worked out quite as well as you hoped. I hope you guys get out tonight and are able to have some fun tomorrow at the park. Enjoy the warm weather!
When you are basking in the sun with your number one son you will forget about the crisis...I hope. HOpefully all will go well from here. Let us know when you are home safely.
Post a Comment