The time at my mom and dad’s house went too quickly. Before I knew it, it was time to leave. I enjoyed spending time with my Parents – they are amazing people. And tt was great seeing my family and hanging out with everyone. I got to spend some time time with my nephew, Spencer. He’s off to the University of Arkansas this year. All the nieces and nephews grew up too fast. He and I had a good time just hanging out.
My dad and Spencer dropped me at the Little Rock airport in plenty of time to catch that 7:10pm flight to Phoenix (through Dallas). As it turns out, everything was delayed again. My flight with American was not going to leave Little Rock until closer to 8:30pm which would mean I was going to miss my connection into Phoenix. I called American on the phone and, as seems to be the attitude these days, no one was that anxious to help me out. They told me that I was definitely going to miss my connection (duh!) and that they could get me into Phoenix the next morning at 8:30am. WHAT?!?! I had them book the flight but didn’t give up on the chance of getting there that night.
The Gate Agent was frantic – dealing with 3 delayed flights into Dallas and trying to board 2 other flights while rerouting passengers, handling bag changes, etc. He is the first employee of American Airlines I actually saw working this week. Anyway, as my turn came to be rerouted, he was able to get me on a flight departing right then to Dallas. It had already boarded (it was the 6:10pm flight that was leaving at 8:10pm) but the doors were not closed. He arranged for them to pull my luggage, gave me a boarding pass, and I was on the plane. My connection in Dallas was at 9:25pm – it’s a fast 45 minute flight so there still was some hope.
When we landed in Dallas, we sat on the tarmac for 40 minutes waiting for a gate. The longer we sat, the more I realized I was not going to make this connection. At 10pm, we finally pulled into a gate so we could get off the plane. We landed at the furthest end of the B Terminal and I had to get to the last gate on the A Terminal for my connection. I decided to sprint and take a chance that the Phoenix flight was also delayed. I’m glad I did. I was the LAST passenger to get on the plane! I finally arrived in Phoenix around 11pm. Andre was there to pick me up, waiting patiently. I was just ready to get some sleep!