The Fox Adventure

Andrew and I got to Colorado Springs airport on December 22nd at 12:30 PM and we finally flew back to Anchorage on December 24th and landed at 10 PM.

72 hours ago:

Steph, Andrew, and I got to the Colorado Springs airport at 12:30 for her 2:30 flight to Dallas. We quickly learn her flight was delayed, and her flight from Dallas to Cleveland was canceled. Andrew and I both felt incredibly guilty. Would she miss Christmas because of our infertility? She rebooked a flight for December 23rd and booked a hotel. We both ended up leaving Colorado Springs around 4:30 PM. Spoiler alert: she changed her flight on December 23rd to fly into Pittsburg in the early hours of Christmas Eve. Phew.

We had a very short layover in Denver, so we were relieved when our flight to Anchorage was delayed an hour. We didn’t have to run through the airport and we could get a bite to eat. Then it kept getting delayed. The United announcer stated a plane from London was sitting empty in our terminal waiting (2 hours!) for customs to clear it. The unfortunate people on the plane from Cancun (our plane) were sitting on the terminix waiting to unload. They finally had to tow the empty London plane so the people from Cancun could unload. Our flight crew showed up, and we felt like we were in the clear. Then they announced they were waiting on one more flight attendant. At this point, the original departure time of 6:00 PM was pushed back to 11:30 PM.

While we were waiting, Spencer and Paige Davis ran into us. They used to live in Alaska and went to our church. They were traveling back to spend time with Paige’s family for Christmas. In fact, her family was praying the flight was delayed so they could make the flight.

At 11:54 PM, they canceled our flight. They cited the weather as the excuse, therefore no vouchers were given. Then they directed us to United’s customer service. There was no number to call or automatic booking of the next available flight. When we got to customer service, the line was over 400 yards (no joking). We looked at each other, questioning if we get in line. What other option did we have? Andrew called their customer service number and started to wait on hold. Both Spencer and I tried their texting service. The crappy part about them canceling right before midnight was we couldn’t prepare. All the stores and restaurants close at midnight. Thanks, United.

Fast forward: a lot of small talk with people around us, searching on our phones for alternative routes, and unbelief at United’s customer service. Andrew waited on the phone with customer service for almost four hours, and they ultimately told him he needed to talk to a customer service agent. The customer service center closed at 3:30 AM and reopened at 6:00 AM. We all tried to catch some shut-eye. We entered the line shortly after midnight and got to the front at 8:15 AM! Yes, that’s over EIGHT hours of waiting.

We waited all that time to be told the earliest they could get us home was Christmas Day night. They offered to put us on standby for the Christmas Eve flight, but there were already around 15 people on the list. Denver only has one flight a day that goes to Anchorage. 😖 During our eight-hour wait, we joked about how we could rent a car and drive to Seattle (they have many more flights going to Anchorage within a day.) We found cheapish tickets with Alaskan Airlines that left on Christmas Eve at 7:00 PM. The four of us booked them just in case. Our hope was United could get us to Seattle; they could not.

We decided to rent a car and start the 20+ hour drive. We left the Alamo parking lot at 10:00 AM on December 23rd. Andrew and Spencer traded off driving multiple times. We went up sunny Colorado and drove the length of Wyoming, with some intense wind storms. When we got to Utah, the boys realized the mountain pass we needed in Seattle was closed. We rerouted to drive up through Portland to get to Seattle. However, Oregon apparently has strict all-wheel drive or tire chains on certain mountain passes. So at 8 PM, we stopped at an Autozone to purchase tire chains. Armed with those, we continued into the night. The boys were real champs. We hit Utah and had lots of snow and slick roads. At one point, Andrew imagined deer on the side and a rabbit on the road. 😳 Boy, were they exhausted.

Within 70 miles of entering Oregon there was a sign for AWD or chains. So at 4:00 AM on Christmas Eve we put chains on all tires. The roads were so icy, we were happy we had them but it slowed us drastically down. Later that morning, during a bathroom break we met a truck driver who advised us to go up through Bend and Salem. We were then graced by the most beautiful sunrise, about four hours outside Bend. The rest of Oregon gave us lots and lots of rain. We did drive through some beautiful landscapes, but at this point we had been on the road for 24 hours and ready to be in Seattle.

We enter Washington to warmer weather but heavy rain. There was light at the end of the tunnel. We made it to the rental car drop off at 10:30 AM. Just a little over 28 hours in the car. Check-in at Seattle airport was insane, there were so so many people. Luckily, we were able to bi-pass all of it because we didn’t have checked luggage (it’s still in Denver!) When we reached the gate, we had a plane and a flight crew. Surely, this would be it. We would make it home on Christmas Eve. Then 10 minutes before boarding there was a maintenance delay. ☠️ However, it only delayed us 30 minutes.

After three days of traveling we are going home. I’m not sure if I’m more excited to see my dog, shower, or sleep in a bed.

A massive shout out to Kimber and Sean Gilbert. They picked up Elyas from the borders on the 22nd, so he would be home when we got in that night. Then they returned to the house to feed and let him out that night and the following day. They even grocery-shopped for us, so we had food on Christmas morning. Sophie Harder was another MVP. Very last minute; she stayed at our home on the 23rd with Elyas. The Gilberts stayed with us many times over three years when they came back to visit. So I had complete confidence that Kimber could walk through everything with Sophie. One of the many joys of community!

Thank you to everyone who prayed or reached out about connections in Seattle if we got stuck.

It takes a village.

xx katie