Secrets of the Shopping Mall (at EWR)

Does anybody remember reading the book "Secrets of the Shopping Mall" when they were in Junior High? I've been traveling since Sunday (Texarkana, TX/AR) and spent most of yesterday stuck in Newark, and it felt a bit like that.

And that wasn't even the part of the trip I was concerned about. I only had 40 minutes to make a connection to Newark in Houston - and their shuttle system consists of busses (that look like NYC busses) that actually drive on the tarmac to the various terminals (the little puddle jumpers come into one terminal, and bigger planes leave out of another). But that wasn't the problem. I made that connection with time to spare.

Landing at Newark, it was cloudy and a bit bumpy, but nothing unusual. I had a little over an hour and a half between flights (and really, Newark to Hartford is driveable, except for the driving through NYC part, which I will get to later). I grab something to eat, check out the gift shops for something to bring to C (I promised) and sit near the gate to ensure I don't miss my flight. I'm exhausted, achy from sitting so long in planes, and just want. to. be. home.

First they push the departure time back from 2:55 to 3:55 - something about having a plane and a first officer, but no flight attendant or pilot. Coming in from Albany, haven't left yet, ok, understandable. As we get closer to 3:55, it changes to 5. Alllllright, in for a penny, in for a pound. My bosses are emailing/calling to tell me to rent a car (because I emailed wanting sympathy, not solutions. I wasn't about to rent a car because by the time my luggage was located, I rented the car and got on the road I would be in rush hour NYC traffic. Probably quicker to take the plane).

And then, it happens. The flight is cancelled. Use the phones near gate 102 to re-book. The next flight to Hartford? 8:40. PM. ARGH!! I start crying. Crying is theraputic. I'm so tired, I just want to be home, and it keeps getting further and further away. Another reason not to drive, too. So I now have approximately 4 hours before the next flight. There's a lot of shopping in the airport, so I take advantage.

It was interesting watching the mix of travelers change - from business people/ vacationers to the people taking the international flights as the evening wore on. If I had my passport, I would have been tempted to hop on one of those international flights: Rome, Dublin, Sao Paolo (Brasil), Berlin, etc. At least the people were going somewhere!

Let's just say 8:40 turned into closer to a 10 pm departure. I didn't get home until after midnight. I am "working from home" today. Hopefully there'll be a nap somewhere today (oh yeah right, who am I kidding. Too much that could be done with a day home in the middle of the week. The curse of being a woman!)....