Trains, Planes and Automobiles

Here's an update for those of you following the adventure:

The Kid called on Thursday and informed me that ALL flights out of KC were cancelled.  The mother of one of her friends managed to find a motel room and invited them all to stay there.

According to The Kid, it's close to a mall and a Barnes & Nobel, so she's got a free continental breakfast, cheap food at the food court, and a room -- which is all good because she got booked on a Sunday flight.

She will be arriving at PDX on Sunday evening.  Timing sucks, though.

Our options included:

1) Me driving to Portland on Sunday after services, spending the night with the girls in the hotel, and then driving home on Monday.  Only problem with this plan is that if the weather is a problem again, I might not be able to get across one of the passes, thereby leaving me stranded and unable to be at church on Monday evening.  Not a problem for most people, but most people also sort of expect the priest to be in attendance on Christmas Eve.

2) Leaving her in Portland until after Christmas and picking her up when things slow down and weather gets better.  Neither Mrs. Ref or The Kid liked that option.

3) Contact all of my priest friends and asking them to do a chain-deliver of her down the I-5 corridor.  Probably not realistic.  Although, the thought of The Kid in multiple priest cars is sort of amusing.

4) Put her on a Greyhound heading south.  Problem:  $137 and seven hours, with the possibility of still not getting across the pass.

5) Fly her from PDX to our regional airport.  Problem:  $432 (for two) -- ouch.  Benefits:  We don't have to drive to Portland AND I found a flight back that puts her in the airport on the same day and a few hours before her flight back to KC.

We chose option 5.  We're out a few hundred bucks, but things should work out much better in the end.

Oh . . . and we've put "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" next up on our Netflix list  and we'll watch that with the girls when they get in.

Merry Christmas