The commercial game of "Travel"

    Today we played "Travel." This is a game where you make reservations ahead of time for an airline flight to a particular location. Then you roll the dice and see if you can overcome weather and other world events to get on the plane, fly to your destination and do whatever it was you wanted to do in that new place.

    Last night I looked on line to see how the weather was in Dallas, TX, and it looked fine. There were no delays. I didn't see anything coming either. But I was w-r-o-n-g. A frontal boundary of cold air hit the hot air coming off the Gulf and by 7 a.m. when we arrived at SEA-TAC (Seattle's international airport), we were told our 10:30 flight was delayed by thunderstorms. It was re-scheduled for 2 p.m. We checked our bag, walked to the gate and then we were told the flight was cancelled. So we went down to the baggage claim, picked up our bag and headed home.

    Once home, we got on the phone and computer and tried to call reservations to find another solution. After several hours, we were connected to the airline and told we could have a flight out at 5 p.m.

    Now it's 1:30 p.m. and we have barely enough time to drive back to SEA-TAK and make the pre-requisite 1.5 hour pre-boarding deadline. Rushing with bags and tickets, we drive during the pre-rush hour traffic back to the airport. Jey-hu decided it was best if I went in to confirm the seats while he parked the car. It was exactly 2:30 p.m. when I walked through the doors and up to the counter only to be told that the new flight we were confirmed on had been cancelled as well. Simultanously I received a call on my cell from the airline announcing we were now confirmed on a flight the next day - one that would take us from Seattle to Chicago to Dallas, and giving us a full tour of the midwest so that we could be flying all day, arriving after the seminar ended which we originally planned to attend. This was a roll of the dice that put us both in the loser's seat.

    Admitting the game was over, I cancelled all our reservations and called it quits. The airline won. Now I have to try and recoup our ticket costs... this will be a game I think I stand a better chance of winning.