And here's the nitty gritty because I have a poor memory and as crazy as the day was, I may forget some details if I don't write it down:
We flew Alaska Airlines home so our return trip from Portland to San Diego meant a short layover in Seattle. That flight was uneventful and we were up and back down on the ground before we knew it. The layover was short but enough time for us to grab some dinner before heading to the gate. On our way to the gate, I left my backpack behind in the womens' restroom. Oops #1.
When we got to the gate, I realized my backpack was missing and ran back to retrieve it. While I was scrambling around the airport looking for my nonexistent, never-to-be-seen-again backpack, the family learned we were at the wrong gate and our plane was leaving in a few minutes. Oops #2.
They started making their way to the shuttle that would zoom them across the tarmac to the correct gate where the plane was waiting but then realized I didn't have my cell phone (I had left it with them to charge) so they could not notify me of the change. We missed that plane. Oops #3.
Unbeknownst to us, San Diego was experiencing very dense fog and was diverting all planes to LAX. (Days later, we learned that SD is one of those airports where the pilots can't rely on the control tower but actually have to see to land the plane so there must be reasonable visibility.) We were told that the plane we had missed was flying to LAX where they would be bussing everyone from there to SD. Looked like it might be a blessing in disguise since the airline then booked us first class seats on the next flight. However, it had been a long day and we were all so tired.
When it was time to board our flight, the airline told us there was a 95% chance we would not be landing in SD because the fog hadn't lifted. We were also told that any hotel accommodations, rental cars or any other expenses incurred from getting out of LA and to our SD destination would be all on us. It was New Year's Eve, afterall, and they had no idea what our situation would be as far as rental cars, hotel rooms, etc. They gave us the option of boarding the plane with this knowledge up front or we could try to book a flight on one of the planes the next afternoon. Crazy!
We had already been "traveling" for 8+ hours and we were still in Seattle. We opted to get on that plane. It was empty! Very few passengers got on board.
Later in the flight we were told we'd be in a holding pattern above LA while waiting for the fog to clear in SD. After almost an hour of this, the pilot told us the fog hadn't cleared but that we didn't have enough fuel to fly to SD anyway... and because so many planes had landed at LAX that evening, they were not allowing anymore diverted planes to land... and then to sit back and buckle up because we were starting our descent into Ontario. There was a lot of grumbling on the plane, many of us asking where the heck Ontario was, would we be able to get a rental car, are there hotels in the area, etc.
Before we walked off the plane an airline rep. came on board and told us busses were waiting to take us to SD. We were instructed to claim our bags and board the marked busses out front. At midnight, we were on the bus waiting for it to leave Ontario.
Fortunately the drive was 1.5 to 2 hours and uneventful. Our bags were waiting for us at the SD airport and getting our car was easy enough. We were finally home around 3am! We had left the W family holiday gathering at 12:30pm the afternoon before to head for the airport. It was an incredibly long travel day -- and not one we want to do again anytime soon.
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