30 October 2019 Snow? De-icing?

I was on my way to Mexico with a stop in Chicago.  The weather at Cleveland Airport was in the 50's.  I wasn't expecting snow when we landed.  Before leaving for Monterrey, the plane was de-iced. Some years, I am many flights needing de-icing.  This would be my first and last of the season in what would become the strangest year of my career.

Ewwww, slime.

Our green-winged bird was ready.  It was time to head to Monterrey.  The weather there would be the coldest I have experienced yet on one of these trips.

25 May 2011 Storms+Chicago = Big Delays

I hoped for an easy flight back. The weather was clear in Seattle, and we were due to arrive in Cleveland about 8:30 in the evening. We were at the check-in when the delays started. The plane to take us to Chicago was really late. Eventually, the plane arrived and we were on our way east.

Because of my health and meds, I am susceptible to food poisoning and avoid eating when flying. Since it is a short flight, I hoped for a meal in Chicago before the last leg of our journey, but I was surprised to find most restaurants close at 9:00 in O'Hare. I expected longer hours for such a busy airport. I was really hungry, but consoled myself with the knowledge that the cots airport staff were setting up weren't for us (we hoped). While we were in a gate area we spent a few minutes with a gentleman who had been trying to get home and stuck in Chicago for over 24 hours. He was happy to be heading home to Dallas, but perplexed that the only way to get there according to the airline was to fly to Boston, stay overnight and fly to Dallas in the morning.

It took almost an hour to resolve the standby line for our flight to Cleveland.