So, what was supposedly a very simple, straightforward morning couldn't be more confusing and rushed. It all started after I checked out of my hotel. Unlike what I had previously thought, breakfast started at 6:30 am, not 6:00 am. You wouldn't think this would be that much of a big deal, except that I needed time to walk to the Disneyland Hotel for the shuttle to LAX I was taking to pick me up at 7:00 am. So, I waited in the lobby for 15 minutes, so I could grab something to take on the road with me. I did my best to get there as fast as my legs would carry me, but as 6:45, then 7:00 approached, I knew I was not going to catch the 7:00 bus. At that point, there was nothing I could do but wait for the 8:00 am bus and go from there. :)
Now, I forgot about LA traffic, so the ride from Anaheim to the airport took a bit longer than what I had expected. When we finally arrived at the airport it was 9:30. My flight was scheduled to take off at 9:35. That's a scary place to be in, and I hadn't even gone through security... (Understanding I was quickly running out of time, while I was on the bus, I made the decision to sign up for Clear to expedite the security process. That was definitely out of my budget, but it is actually really cool to be able to skip those long lines.) Slightly panicking on the inside, I very stupidly decided to get off the bus at Terminal 1. Little did I know that Terminal 1 isn't anywhere near Terminal 7. I continued to proceed through security for Southwest before I soon realized this was not where I was supposed to be. Great. My only option was to go back outside. I walked to Terminal 2, then I was able to go to the information desk for directions. I was so lost, but from there I was directed to get on the airport shuttle (Line A) to get to Terminal 7. I was still really late, but at least I was back on track and finally heading in the right direction.
It was around this time I got the update that my flight had been delayed until 10:10, which gave me enough time to at least make it to the correct terminal. Before I went through security for the second time that morning, I checked my flight status, and found out that it had been delayed again, which was honestly so relieving. I was finally in good time. I believe I got to my gate around 10:40/10:45, so I was finally able to breathe at that point. My flight continued to be delayed until 12:00 pm due to maintenance on the plane, but while there may have been many upset customers that day, I had no room to complain. I should not have been able to make my flight in more than one instance that day, but thankfully I did. AND, while delayed flights can be very frustrating, it was for everyone's safety that they had to work on the plane before it took flight. Not to mention, due to the delay, they gave us all access to watch movies and tv during the flight, so that was nice. Also, stroopwaffles. Although stressful, I learned a lot from this experience.
