Jason [Does Not] Get Around

As much as I travel, I really don’t have too many problems usually, however, there are those days I just can’t control.

Finishing up a trip in Austin, Texas with a number of my coworkers from the Portland office, we ended up being stranded due to flash flooding from some terrible weather around the Austin airport.

I went to bed Thursday night enjoying some good weather in the later evening, but woke up to threats of flooding and tornadoes around the city.  I had originally been scheduled for a 3:35pm flight on American, but that ended up not happening.  My coworkers, except for one on United, and myself ended up all having our flights canceled and had to fly out the following day.

I ended up getting to the Austin airport around 1:30pm hoping that I would be able to get my flight home after all, but like I said, that just wasn’t happening.  We were among hundreds stranded in the Austin airport trying to figure out what we were going to do to get home.  So many people were freaking out about the fact that nobody was able to get home.  Myself, I really wasn’t too worried about it.  Yeah, I had to miss some plans back at home, but at least I was going to get home eventually.  Also, since I was on a work trip, my extra night of food and meals were all covered by my company – thanks GE Aviation.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t control the weather and I probably never will, but it won’t stop me for hoping that I will gain these abilities.  I fly as a pilot back home in Portland, and I attempt to do many things around the Portland area that are weather dependent that the ability would be so helpful, but I still can’t.  Weather happens and though it doesn’t help, at least I can get on a flight the following day and get back home to rainy Portland where I can still live a happy life.  I think about those who have had it way worse than I have to where peoples homes have been destroyed or they themselves have been inured because of tsunamis and floods.  I’ve never gone through something so harmful, and I hopefully never will.

We all made it out of Austin on Saturday and though it wasn’t the most ideal, it at least gave me some excellent time with some awesome friends I have in the Austin area.  Thanks to Maria and Jake for putting me up and having a great time hanging out together!

All I can say is that delays in travel happen and sometimes it is just out of our control.  Just keep smiling and be glad to know that it could be much worse.  Keep calm and travel on!