Why This Blog Post is Late (or, The Nelson Sisters Wrap Up 2010 with a U.S. Tour)

THURSDAY DECEMBER 23
6:05pm – H twists her ankle five minutes into her pre-holiday workout. Next hour spent icing and elevating ankle in gym manager’s office who regales her with tales of his Greek heritage, his four sisters’ affinity for high heels, and how his being a part-time bouncer at a nightclub in Queens led to his recent breakup.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 24
6:30am – S, H & O head for the airport to celebrate Christmas with family in Atlanta much later than S would have liked who flies out earlier than H&O on a different airline (*this fact will play an important role later on). When O wants to go back upstairs for his forgotten newspaper, S threatens to take her own cab.

12:00pm - S, H & O pick up rental car at Atlanta airport (*this fact will play an important role later on).

5:00pm - H’s ankle has taken on the features of a ham hock.

9:00pm - Christmas Eve celebration in full swing, H starts feeling sick.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 25

6:00am - H wakes to full blown chest cold. Adds hack to hobble.

12:00pm - S, H & O consider impending snow storm in NYC and opt to reschedule flights out for earlier options. Trip to Atlanta foreshortened, but all feeling quite self-congratulatory for taking matters into their own hands before it’s too late.

3:00pm - H’s automated flight notification alert assures her that the flight she is no longer on will depart on time.

7:00pm - H’s automated flight notification alert says the flight she is no longer on will depart 11 minutes late.

9:05pm - H’s automated flight notification alert tells her the flight she actually is on has been canceled. The only way to fly home is on Monday through Chicago. Flight rebooked again.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 26

Blizzard hits NYC
All NYC airports close

MONDAY DECEMBER 27
9:00am - H wakes to S yelling back at Delta’s automated message.

1:00pm - S sends H pictures from the Atlanta airport of the Delta terminal chaos to forward to local Atlanta TV station. Someone should do something!

1:30pm - local Atlanta TV station replies to H’s email with a “Wow. Thanks!” H wonders if they are being sarcastic.

2:30pm - H gets email notifying her that while she can still get to Chicago without any problems, it is no longer possible to get from Chicago to New York. Big surprise. American Airlines agent tells H & O he can get them home on Saturday, maybe Friday. H & O decide they will drive to New York.

3:00pm - Rental car company informs O of the $600 penalty if rental car does not first get returned to the airport so a new one-way contract for the same car can be issued.

4:00pm - O & H drive the hour south to the airport in order to get the paper that lets them drive the car north.

6:00pm - Road trip! H’s cough & cold meds are keeping her bleary eyed and foggy headed. O drives the whole way.

11:00pm - It is surprisingly cold in North Carolina. O & H stop for dinner.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 27

12:30am - O & H drive through mountain ranges with wind that threatens to pitch the car off the road. While wrestling with the wheel, O laments it is not day time so we could see what he is confident is a beautiful view.

2:00am - O & H check into Roanoke Days Inn. The heat that manager swears will kick in doesn’t.

7:00am - O feels insufficiently compensated by grumpy front desk employee who refunds him a measly $10 for our troubles.

11:00am - the Shenandoah Valley is as pretty as the songs say. The Dunkin Donuts where we stop for coffee is less pretty.

2:00pm - what’s a road trip without a stop at Cracker Barrel? H discovers O’s liking for peanut brittle.

5:30pm - O & H make it home to find S in armchair reading newspaper. Scene belies her recent travails.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 28

Someone observes we haven’t posted a blog entry in a while.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 31

H begins working on blog post, ankle wrapped and cough at bay, all the while keeping in mind David Sedaris’ comment about how travel woes are uninteresting to anyone but the traveler. Oh well.