...Make Lemonade!

Traveling just got a little less glamorous (sort of).

Thanks to a two hour weather delay in Houston, I missed my connection from San Francisco to Hong Kong. My Singapore Air flight was due to take off at 12:05am and we landed at 11:30. I had 30 minutes to get off the plane, find the international terminal, go through security and get to my gate. There was hope. I even did the "embarrassing airport run." The kind of awkward movement that only occurs in airports among those who are either habitually late, traveling with kids, or set-back by long lines. It's funny to watch. That was me. Running... with a heavy backpack and duffel bag. I was the first one of our group (7 people trying to make this connection) to make it to Gate 95. As soon as I got there, the employees said, "I'm sorry. The plane just left." I looked out the window and saw the plane slowly pulling away from the gate. Like some terrible movie.

Of course, I make the situation even more awkward by crying. It was the kind of "I'm-tired-and-stressed-and-don't-deserve-this" kind of cry. It only lasted about 15 seconds, but it was enough to make everyone feel uncomfortable. Hilarious, right?

Our whole frustrated group walked the 300 yards back to the Continental counter only to find out that the "earliest" available flight to Hong Kong was two days later. We all got our hotel (and $6.00 breakfast) vouchers and left for the Hyatt.

The rooms there were surprisingly modern (note picture below). More than anything I was happy to be horizontal. Too bad my toothbrush was packed in my checked luggage. Oh, and did I mention that all of my clothes were checked too? Nice. Also, check out those puffy eyes in my second picture. Yeah, 4am!

I woke up this morning in a surprisingly good mood. I moved my flight up a day thanks to a nice man who let me call Singapore direct from his Blackberry (who does that!?). After talking to my mom, I decided to tour San Francisco with the 12 extra hours I had before my re-scheduled flight.

I got to see...
- Union Square
- Lots of gorgeous stores and buildings
- The Bay Bridge
- Sausalito
- Alcatraz
- The Golden Gate Bridge
- Fisherman's Warf
... and of course, Chinatown!

What started as a miserable sequence of events turned into an exciting day of sightseeing. It would have been better to share it with others, but I can't complain.

Flight update: I should now arrive in Hong Kong at 6:50am on Thursday, January 24 (that's 4:50pm on Wednesday for you). Let's hope for the best.