Snow Day!

We had exactly six days off for Christmas break before we were due back in Sioux City, Iowa (airport code: SUX) at 11pm on Sunday. What Barney and friends never considered was that New York's sixth largest blizzard in history was due just a few hours earlier. So, my four o'clock flight out of JFK was cancelled early Sunday morning. Tragically, I used some of this unexpected free time to watch "Eat Pray Love" with Chris. The book wasn't bad, but the movie was. We used the rest of the afternoon to do some shopping for apartment stuff and swing downtown for John's Pizza, the finest pizza I've yet to eat in the city.

My flight was rescheduled for the next day at 4pm, but when I went to check in that night when we got home, it had been cancelled and rescheduled for Wednesday. All New York airports were closed and Delta actually refused to answer their phone. They had a prerecorded voice message explaining, "Due to severe weather circumstances, we are unable to answer our phones." What? Were their hands too cold? Aren't they based in Atlanta? However, I was able to enjoy a second unexpected day off frolicking in the snow, buying new winter gloves and seeing "The Importance of Being Earnest," on Broadway at a "snow discount!" New York = Best City Ever.

Until...I tried to catch a flight the next day, which I had booked and rerouted to our next location on tour, having missed the two shows in Iowa. My flight was initially scheduled for 4pm, then delayed to 5pm. I opted to take the subway to JFK, lest the flight be cancelled, I would not have wasted the cab fare. Oh, I should have wasted the cab fare. The subway part was fine; however, it only took me to the Sutphin station in Queens where I was then supposed to take a bus to an air tran to the airport. The bus and air tran apparently were not working, but this fact was not made public and there continued to be a very long line of confused people. When a bus finally did arrive, madness ensued a la the lifeboat scene in Titanic, but luckily, I got myself on the bus in a tight squeeze of French tourists. The bus did not, however, take us quite to the air tran. It stopped inexplicably somewhere along the highway and we could only gather that we had to get on another bus. Another lifeboat-like scenario ensued, bribes to random drivers on the road were made and refused, and after what seemed like hours I got to the airport, about twenty minutes before my further delayed flight was scheduled to depart. I was rushed through security and ran to the gate just as my name was being called. They hurried me onto the plane, and three hours later the plane took off.

I landed in LaCrosse, Wisconsin around 11pm, but it felt like 3am. I have a strict "no wheels in the snow" policy regarding my suitcase (it's still our first year together), which means I'd been lifting thirty pounds in one hand for a good chunk of the day. My right arm is still pretty shot today. Anyway, I had planned to take a cab to the hotel my company manager booked, but alas, there were none to be found. A very young-looking boy driving the hotel shuttle for the Radisson (not my hotel) was nice enough to take me. I shared the ride with the pilots and stewardess from my plane, which was kind of cool, too.

The company bus picked me up this morning in LaCrosse on the way to Wisconsin Dells, a funky waterpark resort town in the Upper Midwest. It's pretty sunny and warm out, despite the mounds of snow everywhere, so I went for a run past all the cheesy themed hotels. There's one with a fake Colisseum in front, others have huge snow-covered slides and rollercoasters, and there are lots of billboards boasting to be the original home of the Ducks. Unfortunately, a lot of the attractions seem to be closed for the season, but our hotel has an indoor pool that I look forward to sitting in later.

Two shows tomorrow, and then a day off for New Years!