Adversity Turned Adventure

My cousin Wayne and his wife Lucy travel frequently both within the U.S. and abroad. They share interesting stories, relating experiences they have had while visiting many locations throughout the world. However, some stories reveal that simply getting to their destinations has also been adventurous at times.

When traveling, especially when it involves air travel during the holidays, it is best to be prepared in case things do not go as planned. Although temporary setbacks can be frustrating, it is best to live by the motto that Lucy told me she and Wayne vowed to remember during a trip out of the country. It goes something like this: “Attitude is the biggest difference between adversity and adventure.”

Earl and I decided a while back to close out 2009 with at trip to visit Wayne and Lucy at their home near San Francisco. After celebrating Christmas a few days early here at home, we prepared to depart from Tulsa at 8 a.m. Christmas Day and return late New Year’s Eve.

Due to the forecast of incoming winter weather, Earl wisely recommended that we travel to Tulsa on Christmas Eve instead of taking chances that road conditions might interfere with our drive to the airport early the nextmorning. By mid afternoon on the 24th, we were packed up and headed west. Within 40 or 50 miles of Tulsa, the soft rain that had fallen on us for most of the drive turned into tiny bits of pelting ice. Traffic eventually slowed to a crawl, and we saw a few cars that had slid off the road.

With relief, we finally arrived at our hotel. It was snowing hard by then and the howling wind created blizzardlike conditions. Feeling good that we were now closer to the airport, we settled in for a cozy night’s sleep and waited for our 5 a.m. wake-up call.

Shortly after the call came, so did a voice message from the airline. Our flight had been canceled and we had been rebooked for departure at 3:30 p.m. the following day. From our second story room, we had a clear view of the hotel parking lot. Those attempting to leave were finding themselves stuck in snow drifts instead. We weren’t going any place. We were spending Christmas Day at the Holiday Inn and would have to make the best of it.

We were grateful our room included a continental breakfast, and last night’s leftover pizza later became our lunch. By the end of the day we were feeling a little cabin feverish and managed to get out of the parking lot and find one restaurant open. Waffle Hut was our source for Christmas dinner.

The next afternoon we arrived at the airport early with anticipation that our luck had changed. We boarded our flight and prepared for take off to Dallas where we would catch our connecting flight to San Francisco. It soon became obvious that there was some sort of delay. The captain announced there was a mechanical problem resulting in the engines failing to start. Not to worry, they would utilize an auxiliary air source to start the enginesand we would soon be on our way. Long story short, that did not work either and the minutes ticked away as we waited on the tarmac. Finally, after borrowing an air machine from another airline, we heard the roar of the engines and our plane took flight.

I would like to say that it was smooth sailing from there, but the delays in Tulsa caused us to miss our connecting flight in Dallas. Without much optimism, the desk attendant added our names to the rather long standby list for a flight scheduled to leave three hours later. Again we waited, wondering if we would end our two day ordeal in San Francisco or instead be spending an unplanned night in Dallas.

When our names were called, confirming we would have seats on the next flight out, we were more than excited. When our luggage somehow arrived in San Francisco at the same time we did, we felt as though we had received our own little Christmas miracle.

Wayne and Lucy picked us up at the airport and did everything possible to see that our trip from that point forward went as smoothly as clockwork. God smiled on us and even the predicted Bay Area rain and fog mostly stayed away. We were able to extend our stay by a day and a half to make up for the time lost on the front end of ourtravels, and we returned home without a hitch.

Back at home I have thought about the motto that Lucy quoted. I plan to do my best throughout the New Year to have the kind of attitude that turns would-be adversity into adventure. I will also remember mottos such as “all is well that ends well” and “there’s no place like home.” And next time I fly, I will remember to “speak softly and carry a good book.”