Stories from my 14-month study abroad in Buenos Aires, my 16-month post-college move to Miami, and my get-me-the-hell-out-of-Miami move to Denver

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Long Journey to Miami

Who knew the final leg of my journey, Chicago to Miami, would be the most strenuous?!? Having a 7pm flight, I decided to spend the morning adjusting my packing load, trying to get the perfect balance between my two bags and backpack. Spirit Airlines is very stingy on their baggage weights, so even a pound over can get you an over-weight fine.

So, with both bags packed and a fresh haircut, I head off to pick up my brother-in-law from his college, and then our plan is to head to O'Hare to get me to the airport about two hours early.

Well, wouldn't you know it, it's snowing when I leave my sister's house. And not just flurries, but real, heavy snow. No surprise there. The ride into downtown was surprisingly quick, but after picking up my brother-in-law, the drive from downtown to O'Hare, usually only 20 minutes, took us over an hour and a half! At no time were we ever traveling more than 10 miles per hour! Luckily, the snow also delayed my flight, so the longer than normal drive didn't affect me catching my flight.

Flash forward, we finally board the airplane at 7pm, and it takes us a good 30 minutes before we're actually flying. We arrive in Fort Lauderdale around 11:10pm, and now I'm worried. I didn't want to keep my new roommate up all night waiting for me to arrive. Hopefully I'll catch the first shared-ride taxi to downtown.

Wrong! I miss the taxi-van by a matter of seconds picking up my luggage, and I'm forced to wait nearly an hour for the next one. So, finally, at 11:55pm, I get into the taxi-van, and we head for Miami.

45 minutes later, stressed out and tired, I arrived at my new apartment and met my roommate, J, and her boyfriend, C. We exchange hellos, say we'll talk in the morning, and I crash for the night.

No comments: