Good Cancellations?

2011-02-04 17:30:24.000 – Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer

The Pacific Northwest

As Ryan alluded to in yesterday’s comment, my week off travelling was as unexpected as his. After making it down the mountain last shift, I drove to Conway to do some laundry before heading down to Dover to catch the C&J bus to Boston for an early departure the next morning. Well, I decided to get a bite to eat first and this worked in my favor because as I was just beginning the drive, I discovered my flight had been cancelled. I turned around and went to join Becca at Wayne’s house, set to watching The Simpson’s movie, and fell asleep by the wood stove. As my flight was rescheduled for Friday morning, I headed to Boston anyway and was able to hang out with last winter’s intern, Nick, who I hadn’t seen since he left. I finally made it out Friday afternoon to Portland, Oregon to visit an intern from two winters ago, Ali. Never having been to the Pacific Northwest before, I was quite excited. It is as beautiful as I’d imagined and more so, with lush forests, dramatic waterfalls, steep gorges, and a spectacular coastline. Oh…and a lot of really great brews! I was planning to leave early Tuesday to return by Tuesday evening in time to get back to the valley and get a bit of sleep, but I found out Monday that flight was cancelled. I was rescheduled for a flight a bit later in the afternoon, but in a few hours received word that flight was cancelled. I was rescheduled for a flight departing at 6:10 AM Tuesday morning instead, meaning a very early drive to the airport. I quickly fell asleep on the plane, landed in Denver, checked my flight to see what gate to head to, and found that the second leg from Denver to Boston had been cancelled. Fortunately, I remembered a friend from college lived somewhere in Colorado so I gave Ellie a ring and sure enough, she was in Boulder. An hour or so bus ride later and I was in Boulder, hanging out with a great friend I don’t see nearly enough of. After a wonderful night in Boulder, I headed back on the bus to try my luck again at getting back. I succeeded this time and landed a bit after 10PM. While a luggage belt-jam was being dealt with, I decided to find out where to catch the C&J bus back to my car in Dover. As should have been expected by this point, I learned that many bus services, including theirs, had cancelled service for the day. I eventually grabbed my backpack, chatted with a guy from Algeria outside for a bit, brushed my teeth and lay down to get a few hours of sleep before the 5:10AM bus to Dover. Sleep did not come quickly as nighttime is a convenient time to clean the floors, but I did get enough to be rested for a safe drive from Dover back to work. I made it to the base of the mountain and the waiting snow tractor and crew at 9:30, ready to observe some weather!

Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer