After eating dinner and taking a shower, I got ready and headed out for LAX Airport at about 8 pm. I timed it so that I would arrive at the Marriott LAX parking lot right at 9 pm. I was a few minutes early and the gate would not allow me to enter even after scanning the QR code. Since it was only for a few minutes, I parked and waited at the spot designated for taxis. Once I scanned the QR code after 9 pm, the gate opened. I had to drive down to the green level before I found plenty of available spaces. I then headed up the stairs to catch a shuttle ride over to the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Marriott LAX Parking
I always prefer it when my domestic flight gets assigned a gate over at TBIT especially since they have been taking such a long time to finish all of the renovations over at terminal 4. My flight out to DFW was scheduled for just before midnight at 11:55 pm.
TBIT
Friday 6/19
The plane took off a few minutes after midnight. It was the standard red eye flight. The cabin was darkened as most, if not all, people would be sleeping. The flight was on schedule and landed at DFW right about 5 am. I got off of the plane into terminal C. After checking the mobile app and seeing that my connection was over in terminal D, I hopped on the Skylink for a ride over.
After checking out the Coca Cola Around the World Experience, I stopped at the Starbucks to get some coffee. Since I had amassed a lot of stars, I cashed in 200 to get a free venti flat white. I found a vacant spot near the gate to enjoy my coffee. I wasn't halfway through my drink before I received a notification that my flight had been delayed. Then shortly after that, I received another notification that my flight had been canceled!
Mexico Bottle
Texas Folk Bottle
Venti flat white
After I finished my coffee, I checked the flight status board. There were so many flight delays and cancellations! I also saw on the weather app that there were strong thunderstorms in the area lasting into the late afternoon. I then headed over to the customer service to join the line. While waiting in that line, I was able to rebook myself onto a later flight out to MSP, landing at about 9:30 pm. Okay, I can work with that. On the mobile app, I attempted to look for any earlier flights. The availability for other flights were quite fleeting as I constantly refreshed the app. As soon as one was available, it would show unavailable when you go to accept the change. After many attempts, I was able to get myself onto an earlier flight into MSP at about 6:30 pm. Then I was able to get onto a flight landing about 3:30 pm. At that point, I felt a sense of relief as if the crisis had been averted.
Flight status board
So many delays and cancellations
Strong thunderstorms
My new flight was supposed to go out of terminal C, so I headed on over. It had been about 5 hours since I had arrived at this airport, so I was starting to get hungry. I headed over to the Starbucks near gate 21. On the mobile app, I ordered a tall flat white and a ham & Swiss on baguette. Just as I was waiting for my food, I received yet another notification that my rebooked flight had been canceled!
DFW Terminal C Gate 21
Tall flat white and ham & Swiss on baguette
However, now the app was both showing that my flight was canceled and that I had successfully rebooked. It wouldn't let me change anything. I went over to the customer service line and saw that the line was significantly longer than in terminal D. So off I went back to terminal D to join that customer service line... again. Per the usual, they had an employee go up and down the line handing out contact cards so that we could try and resolve out issues via the mobile app or phone call. Since the app wasn't letting me do anything, I ended up calling while waiting in that long line. The lady that took my call was really pleasant and nice to talk to, however she couldn't make any adjustments to my flight except to get me to my booked destination. The best she could do was to get me there on the earliest flight tomorrow morning. That would mean that I would miss the race. I had her book me on that flight just to have a flight. I then checked other airlines for available flights that would get me into MSP tonight.
I was able to find a United Airlines flight leaving at 4 pm, landing in MSP at 11:49 pm with a short layover in Houston IAH Airport. It wasn't cheap, but it would give me a chance to still run the race. Eventually, I pulled the trigger and canceled the remainder of my ticket with American Airlines for a refund. I then texted my friend to have him pick up my race packet. This was now about noon local time.
My flight was out of terminal E, so off I went to catch a Skylink ride. Each terminal at this point was crowded with a lot of stranded travelers. I don't usually fly with United Airlines through DFW, but the layout of the terminal was similar to the other older terminals. Unlike the nicer, more spacious terminal D, the hallways were a bit too narrow especially when so many flights were delayed or canceled. Of course, the flight was delayed. With the delay, I headed to the other end of the terminal to get dinner at Wendy's. On the mobile app, I ordered a Dave's single and a chocolate Frosty.
Dave's Single
Unfortunately, at around the time to board, the gate attendant announced that the flight crew had timed out. Once delayed, there was no way to catch the connection in Houston. At this point, I was out of options to get into MSP tonight. The best he could do was to put me on a flight out to Chicago O'Hare ORD where they would get me food and hotel vouchers. I would then fly into MSP the next morning.
I finally boarded the plane, taking off from DFW at just before 9 pm. For the flight, I put on Jiro Dreams of Sushi. After a long exhausting day at the airport, I was nodding off, so I only managed to catch bits and pieces.
DFW > ORD
The plane landed at ORD at about 11 pm. While I did receive a text with meal vouchers, I had zero interest in spending the night in the airport. As I got off of the plane, I asked the gate agent about that and she gave me a contact card. The card had a QR code to speak with a live agent or online chat. At first, I opted to speak to an agent. The wait was a bit too long, so I switched to the online chat. Once I was connected with a rep, I requested a hotel voucher. Thankfully, there was no resistance. After providing my flight confirmation code, I received another text with the hotel voucher as well as Lyft ride vouchers. When I clicked on the provided link to use the hotel voucher, I saw that the closest location was about 5 miles away. Unfortunately, when I went to book a room, there were out of vacancy. The next location was about 20 miles away. I was able to book a room at the Residence Inn Chicago Lake Forest/Mettawa. I was able to use the same webpage to book my Lyft ride to the hotel.
Chicago O'Hare ORD Airport
Lyft ride
Saturday 6/20
The ride over to the hotel took a little over 20 minutes. When I was checked into room #123, the guy gave me 3 bottles of water. After setting down my bags and chugging one of the water bottles, I could not wait to take a shower and take a much needed nap!
Water bottles given during check-in
Residence Inn Chicago Lake Forest/Mettawa
After a few hours of sleep, I had to get up to get ready to head back to the airport for my morning flight out to MSP. I hailed a Lyft ride and checked out of my room at about 5:30 am. Bye bye hotel, thanks for the short unplanned stay!
Rideshare pick-up spot
After getting dropped off at terminal 1, I made my way through TSA security screening. I then went over to the McDonald's to use up my food vouchers. Since they had given me 2 $15 vouchers, I had to order way too much food. I ended up getting 4 sausage McMuffin with egg sandwiches and a large coffee. These days I normally only eat 2 of these sandwiches, but hey, I can always put away 2 more!
McDonald's Terminal 1
Sausage McMuffin with Egg x4, large coffee
Shortly after 8 am, I had boarded the plane bound for Minneapolis-St Paul MSP Airport! The plane sat on the tarmac for about 30 minutes to wait for our turn to take off. During that wait, I thought it was a bit hilarious that the screen showed that our next stop was New Orleans. At this point, I would not be surprised. :D
Finally heading out to MSP
That would've been funny if the plane actually landed in New Orleans! :D
I love Stroopwafel!
The plane landed at MSP terminal 1 at about a quarter after 10 am. After getting off of the plane, I followed the signs to head over to the rental car center. Fortunately, the line for Alamo wasn't very long. When it was almost my turn at the counter, there was an irate lady over at the adjacent Enterprise counter just chewing out the employee that was assisting her. She was a total Karen. She was saying stuff about how this was Enterprise, you should be able to do something about it. What she said wasn't necessarily bad, but it was her very mean tone. She was completely clueless as to how she was coming off. When the employee's supervisor and other bystanders were starting to come to the employee's aid, she had the gall to think that everyone would be defending her! Eventually, she scurried away over across the way to the Hertz counter when the supervisor went to go get security.
Oh the joys of air travel! When it was my turn, I told the guy that my reservation was for yesterday at about the same time. He said that if it was within 24 hours, they would still honor it. Looked like it was, as he was able to get me in a car and get all of the necessary paperwork signed. I then headed up the escalator to go get my car. Once I reached the garage, there was a line but it looked like it was for Enterprise. I lined up at the sign for Alamo. The one employee that was there seemed to only be helping the Enterprise line. The lady after me that was also with Alamo wasn't too keen on just waiting, so she went to find out what the deal was. That employee said that there should be another employee there to help. I supposed he felt bad, so he looked at our paperwork and pointed to the cars from which to select. I picked a black Hyundai Sonata hybrid primarily because it was the same car as last weekend's trip.
Escalator up to Budget level
Picked out a Hyundai Sonata hybrid
After configuring the car settings to my liking, I finally started my drive up to Duluth. It was a pretty easy drive, taking highway 5 to I-35E to I-35. Since I wasn't in a hurry for anything and this wasn't California, I stuck to driving at around the speed limit. At about halfway up to Duluth, I came up to an on ramp where I saw a vehicle about to merge onto the freeway. Normally, I would change lanes to give them room, but I saw that there was a car in the left lane driving faster than me. I stayed in the right lane and that car merged behind me. He didn't stayed there for too long as it was a state trooper. He promptly passed me and turned on his lights to pull that faster car over. After about 2 hours of driving and nearing Duluth, I took the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge into Superior, Wisconsin. I decided to get a late lunch at the A&W Restaurant.
It sort of looked like they were still doing carhop service, but in any case, I decided to just eat inside. I was surprised to see some many tables occupied at almost 2 pm. I found an empty table and looked over the menu. It took a good while before the waitress came around to take my order. I ordered a #1 Papa Burger Combo with a root beer float. I don't usually drink soda, but man, that really hit the spot! Later on, she came by to refill the mug with more root beer. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry because that was definitely not fast food! After paying the bill, I used their restroom before heading out.
Root beer float
#1 Papa Burger Combo
I then started my drive up to Days Inn Duluth Lakewalk. Google Maps had me take I-535 and exit at Garfield Ave and going onto Railroad St. I don't know the area, but I thought it was strange that I was headed towards all of the post race activity. It then navigated me onto Harbor Dr via 5th Ave. I got to drive along the course and see the runners that were finishing up their race. It then tried to get me to head towards the I-35, but I could see that the road was blocked by the police. I made my way up to 2nd St and headed east. I then turned right onto 21st Ave and saw that London Rd was also blocked by the police. Fortunately, I was able to turn onto Jefferson St, a very small street, to cut over to 23rd Ave to enter the Days Inn parking lot without having to get onto London Rd.
After I parked the car, I checked-in and was given the keys to room #200 which was right next to the exit doors to the stairwell. The room was pretty much a standard Days Inn room. Definitely wasn't worth $500+ per night or the 15k Wyndham Rewards points per night that I had used.
Days Inn Duluth Lakewalk
After using the restroom, I headed outside and up the street to cheer on the back of the pack runners. I went only as far as the Subway parking lot where there was an aid station. I saw a runner that had run all of the Grandma's Marathon. He was struggling, but this was his 50th! I chatted with a couple of the volunteers.
Once I caught what looked to be the last runner, I went back to my room where I turned on the TV to watch some FIFA World Cup group stage matches. At about 6:30 pm local time, I walked over to the McDonald's next door to get some dinner. Per the usual, I placed my order on the mobile app. I got a McDouble for $2.50. I added a 10pc Chicken McNuggets deal for $2 when the Twins score 2 runs in one inning. The 2 sauces that I picked were the Big Mac Sauce and Creamy Chili McCrispy Strip Dip.
McDouble, 10pc Chicken McNuggets with Big Mac Sauce and Creamy Chili McCrispy Strip Dip
Later that evening, my friend stopped by to give me my race packet. Originally, I just assumed that I would get it from him at another race back home. It was a total bummer to see my bib and to go through the race packet. I do like the pair of socks. Before calling it a night, I stopped by the vending machine to buy a drink as I was pretty thirsty and had an early drive ahead of me tomorrow morning to catch a flight.
Race packet
Race bib
Iced green tea from the vending machine
Sunday 6/21
I got up, got ready, and checked out of my room at about 2 am for the drive down to Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport. There were very few cars on the freeway during that time. I had planned to gas up the rental car at a BP gas station in downtown St Paul as it paid the highest per gallon on the Upside app. It was dark when I pulled up, so I wasn't sure if it was open. There was a guy standing nearby. I thought perhaps he was an employee. When I asked if they're open, he was mumbling a bit about his phone was out of charge and wanted a ride somewhere. I apologized and said that I was headed to the airport. I wasn't too keen on getting carjacked, so I quickly drove off for the Speedway on 7th St just off of I-35E as my backup gas station. Thankfully, this gas station was open and well lit.
Speedway
As I dropped off the rental car, I got a notification on the American Airlines app that my connection in PHX was already delayed! At this point, I really didn't care. I'll get home when I get home. After getting through TSA security screening, I made my way over to the Starbucks in the Main Mall where I cashed in 200 stars for a free venti flat white.
Connection in PHX delayed
Snoopy
Venti flat white
The plane from MSP took off at about 7:30 am and landed at PHX at just before 9 am local time. While I normally would head over to concourse B to get steak & eggs over at Matt's Big Breakfast. However since I was on a very tight budget and I didn't get to run a marathon yesterday, I decided to get a much cheaper breakfast at the adjacent Wendy's. On the mobile app, I placed an order for their Bacon, Egg & Swiss Croissant breakfast combo. I got it with apple bites and OJ. Unfortunately, the employee informed me that they were out of OJ. I asked her if I could get coffee instead. I had paid 70 cents extra for the OJ, but with a $2 discount on the app, I really didn't care at that point.
Wendy's PHX Concourse B
Bacon, Egg & Swiss Croissant and coffee
Apple bites
Bacon, Egg & Swiss Croissant
After finishing my breakfast, I headed over to my gate over in concourse A to wait for my flight. During the wait, I saw that the temperature had gone into triple digits. Oof! No thanks! I wouldn't want to live in a place that warm!
100F! No thank you!
After waiting a few hours, I finally boarded the plane in the afternoon with the plane taking off at about 1:30 pm. Thankfully, it was just a short flight over to LAX. As the plane was on the approach for landing, I saw the weeklong warehouse fire over in East LA.
PHX > LAX
Warehouse fire in East LA
Overall, this trip was a total bummer. Going into it, it was logistically one of the easiest. DFW is American Airlines' main hub. Also MSP is a pretty large airport. Having taken so many red eye flights, I went into this trip trying to think of what to do to pass time before the race expo was open! Never once did it cross my mind that I would not make it into Duluth in time for the race! I would find out later that all of the cancellations and delays were due to the FAA grounding all flights in and out of the area as there were severe thunderstorms in the area..
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