Time for Plan B

January 18, 2023

Our bags were packed. The original plan had us driving three hours to Son #3's house where we would spend the night (and have time with our two grandsons!) The next morning he would drop us off at the airport for our 9:35 am flight on his way to work nearby. Perfect.

Missing from the photo were our two backpacks.
The two duffle bags were just overnight bags to use at our son's house.

But January in Minnesota means the weather always gets the final say in any plans. Just as a precaution, I had booked a night in a Minneapolis airport hotel so we could be close if needed. If not, then it would be cancelled. 

As the time got closer to our trip, the "S Word" started coming up in the weather reports. Eventually the forecast was changed to a winter storm "watch" and finally a winter storm "warning" with precipitation starting the evening before our flight. Our son recently moved to an acreage which means he would have to deal with all of the snow removal on his lane just to leave his property and then we had about an hour to drive on snowy roads to get to MSP from there. That was risky given the timing of the storm.

Time for Plan B. Son #2 lives relatively close to Son #3, but closer to Minneapolis. We left home around 10:30 am and headed to his house instead. The snow hadn't begun yet, but the day was gray and foggy with temps right at the freezing mark which was causing an icy glaze on the roads. After seeing several cars in the ditch, we slowed down and took our time driving.

Taken on our drive to Minneapolis. Hard to tell but this is actually a color photo.
For much of the winter I feel like we live in a black & white world!

It was decided that we would keep the hotel reservation for the night. I called the hotel to inquire about signing up for the airport shuttle the next morning and was told we couldn't get on the list until we checked in. The shuttle was on a "first come, first serve" basis and the 7 am time that I wanted could be filled up. (The shuttle only ran at the top of each hour.) I really didn't want to get up earlier to make the 6 am shuttle...that would mean a lengthy wait at the airport and that we would miss the hotel breakfast hours.

Our son was home when we arrived but he couldn't drive us to the hotel until our grandkids and his wife got home from school (she is a teacher.) He had prepared an early dinner for us all with the fixin's for a do-it-yourself chef salad and pizzas. 

As soon as we ate we left to go to our Bloomington hotel. At the tail end of rush hour, the traffic was heavy for most of the 45 minute drive. Our son dropped us off and the check in was quick. The friendly gal at the front desk was able to get us signed up for the 7 am shuttle (yay!!) which should get us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. The snow was scheduled to start sometime after midnight and then continue to fall during the morning rush hour. 

The Minnesota weather map looked like a colorful patchwork quilt.

I felt better being within a few miles of the airport, but would that be good enough? Will the hotel shuttle still operate? Will we have to rely on an Uber? Will Uber drivers even work in the snow? Will the flight be delayed? Cancelled? So many questions were filling my brain as we attempted to sleep.