I love travel and I love planes. But plane travel in the afternoons in the summer in the south is like playing Russian roulette.

The plan was a 50 minute flight from Gainesville to Atlanta, then a 2 hour flight to Green Bay after a 1 hour layover. Leave at 8 pm, arrive at 11:30 pm. That’s not what unfolded.

The Gainesville ground crew was great. They knew a storm was rolling in, so they had the arrival emptied and turned over in ten minutes. Our flight left 5 minutes early. Atlanta was clear, so they let us take off. A great start.

Nearing Atlanta is where things turned sour. A huge thunderhead was over the airport and we had to do circles to wait for the storm to clear. You could see dozens of other planes in the air doing the same thing .

After an hour of circles, we were running low on fuel, so we were diverted to Augusta to land and refuel. We sat on the tarmac in Augusta for an hour to wait out the storm. The fuel truck was right out my window so I could see the fuel gauge. We took on 859 gallons of fuel. There went any profit on the flight.

My connecting flight was also delayed two hours, so I should still be able to make my connection. But Delta kept trying to put me on a flight the following morning. I kept having to reject their recommendations to keep the original flight. Once we took off from Augusta, I could only pray we make it in time and Delta did not keep trying to rebook me.

Forty minutes later we were on the ground in Atlanta and the weather was great. And I had 25 minutes until my connection was due to depart. I knew I needed to go to the F concourse, but which one did I arrive on?

The answer was C. That is in the middle of the airport and F is at the far end with international flights. If I can catch the train, I can make it. It is about 12:30 at this point and the trains are not going to F concourse. I will have to walk. Quickly.

Walking at a 4 mph pace and using all the moving walkways helped. The F concourse is an eternity away. I make it about one minute before the door closes. I am the last one to board the plane. The plane is pretty full, but I can tell that the empty seats are others who did not make the connection.

After all the delays, the flight arrives in Green Bay three hours late at 2:30 in the morning. Now to get to the hotel. Uber, Lyft, or taxi. Any guesses?

I try to book an Uber as soon as the plane lands. Uber wants $65 for a 2.9 mile fare. No. Let’s try Lyft. They want $12. Bingo. By the time I get to the loading area, not a single taxi is around. It takes ten minutes to get a driver and the rate has gone up to $21. I’ll still take it.

The 11 minute eta takes 20 minutes. Then another couple tries to snag my ride. Do they not know how Lyft works? Five minutes later I am at the hotel. It is 3 am but my body thinks it is 4 am. I normally wake up at 5 am, so my body is wrecked.

Now to see how long it takes me to fall asleep.

Emotion of the day, Exhaustion

After an 8 mile walk in the morning, packing up everything, and dinner with Karen, I already had a full day. By the time the plane was in the air, I would normally be going to bed.

Now add 8 hours of travel, and I am exhausted. It’s one of those feelings of being so tired that you can’t sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, too.