Last week’s RWA conference marked a turning point for me. Past conferences have always been a blast with non-stop writing talk, great food and networking opportunities I don’t have the whole rest of the year. It’s the post-conference exhaustion that’s wiped me out for a week, taking a serious toll on my writing schedule. Instead of a five day gap in productivity, I was ending up with at least a seven day black hole—more if I ended up with the flight delays that normally accompany my yearly venture since I live east of nowhere with sketchy flight service.
This year I got smart. It only took five conferences of conference failure to wise up, and that included careful perusal of articles on how to maximize your conference experience. Ready for the key? I discovered I was much better off not maximizing my experience. Being a natural introvert, I’m not recharged by being in large social groups. I love it, but it wears me out. The extroverts in the crowd can go home invigorated, but I grew bleary eyed by Saturday after continually being in the thick of conference events.
This year I took one day off to play. I indulged in a spa day with my critique partner and a private lunch out. And while we had fun catching up on our kids’ lives and our day-to-day world, we also made time to brainstorm in person. This way I could feel like we were working, but in a more mental way that directly benefited my writing. Because this kind of work could be conducted in a quieter one-on-one venue, my inner introvert came away energized and ready to tackle the next two days of conferencing. Okay, the spa time didn’t hurt either.
Phase two of my 2006 wisdom involved my flight plan. I’ve been stuck in Detroit and Cleveland more times than I can count on my way back to upstate New York, mostly because of the limited service to the airport. I’d always figured I deserved to fly for this trip, but since the delays were taking such a toll, I decided to drive to a major airport hub so I could have one directly flight—one major city to another major city. That way if I got bumped or a flight was cancelled, I could still catch another flight a couple of hours later. No overnights in Cleveland after hours of waiting around various airports. Yes, I had a five hour drive after my flight, but I ended up home faster than if I tried to fly that difficult—unpredictable—last leg.
The whole conference felt more low key to me with those couple of changes, and I’ve promised myself a day of isolated brainstorming during every future Nationals. The one flight I took home this year wasn’t spent sleeping. With AlphaSmart in hand, I got to work on the story ideas I’d plotted out during spa day, the words flowing easily for having had so much help planning them out.
It once took me 29 hours to get home from Atlanta by plane. I could have driven twice. Slowly. Anyone else have any eye-crossing travel stories to share? What’s the longest you’ve ever had to wait for a plane? Your record number of flights cancelled in an itinerary? (My Atlanta journey last fall included FIVE cancellations.) Let’s all feel better and vent. One random poster will win a signed copy of THE KNIGHT’S COURTSHIP.
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The longest delay was six hours back from the Turkey.
The most annoying flight experience was last November. We only had 14 days vaccation in the US. A few days before we had to go home we got an e-mail that we have to leave a day earlier. On the airport we got the information that we would fly from Orlando to Miami and then to Germany, instead of non-stop flight. We not only lost more than one whole day, but it was really exhausting. On the plane of the plane, sitting in a small room for 1 1/2 hours and back on the plane for 10 hours.
by Danny
on August 7th, 2006 at 6:27 am
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I’ve been fairly lucky. Living in Chicago, the longest I’ve had to wait is about 40 minutes while they were re-fueling the old-fashioned way. Though now it’s a given just waiting in line to take-off. It seems to take forever, where you might be #11 or #20.
I too felt a little intimidated at RWA, so I can’t imagine how stressful it is on a introverted author. With me, I have to push myself to go up and meet a favorite author, but with you, there’s elements to your career that can’t be ignored, like the networking and brainstorming. I envy those who have those socializing skills because I do not LOL
by Stacy ~
on August 7th, 2006 at 6:44 am
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I haven’t flown in years but my daughter just went with the youth group at church to San Antonio for a youth gathering and their plane was delayed coming home so their connecting flight was just about to leave when they got to the next airport. The whole group was running when someone from the airport stopped them to find out what was happening. They explained and were told to keep running.
by Maureen
on August 7th, 2006 at 7:13 am
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The only time I have been on a plane the worst part was the first trip…the plane had to wait for a connecting flight (the passengers waiting in their cramped seats) and by the time the connecting flight passengers all made it and were seated, we were delayed 45 minutes. I know there are a lot worse stories than that but I think those 45 minutes felt more like 4 hours!!!
by Kathleen
on August 7th, 2006 at 8:48 am
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At the end of May we ended up waiting in Chicago for 7 hours. So we arrived back home at 1:30 a .m. instead of 8:30.
by joelle
on August 7th, 2006 at 8:55 am
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The worst flights I’ve suffered through were 12 hour flights to and from Hawaii.
by Melissa
on August 7th, 2006 at 9:19 am
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The longest time I’ve had to wait for a plane has been 5 hours.
by Minna
on August 7th, 2006 at 9:19 am
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I’ve only been on a place twice and I didn’t have any delays but they did lose my luggage on one of those trips. I was visiting my daughter who has since moved backed to this area so there wasn’t a problem about clothes. They delivered my luggage the next day.
by Carol
on August 7th, 2006 at 9:29 am
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oops! That would be plane! lol
by Carol
on August 7th, 2006 at 9:29 am
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I guess I’ve been lucky, as far as delays go or lost luggage. But it sure seems that the seating is getting smaller or I am getting bigger. When they have a full flight it feels like you are packed in like sardines.
by Tammy G.
on August 7th, 2006 at 9:57 am
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I’ve only taken short direct flights to the region. My experiences have been fairly positive with no significant delays.
by Jenny
on August 7th, 2006 at 10:22 am
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I have only been on plane a couple of times and never had to wait. We did fly in a horrible thunderstorm though (my first time on a plane)….not very comforting to watch your plane’s wing go up and down quite a bit as you look out the window….horrible turbulence.
by Jennifer Y.
on August 7th, 2006 at 11:32 am
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My worst flight story was spring break (many many years ago) in the Bahamas. We were on a group trip. The company that sponsored our trip left us in the Bahamas with no transportation home. We were 17 and 18 year olds in unfamiliar territory. Some students called their parents and were booked home on flights for over $1300 per ticket. The rest of us pleaded with the government officials who came to speak to us. They sent us back to Florida on a free flight where we caught a bus trip back to Michigan. At the time, it was an adventure. Our parents were terrified, but I felt great that we had figured out a solution on our own without costing our parents thousands of dollars.
by Sandra M.
on August 7th, 2006 at 11:46 am
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The worst trip was when my daughter was less than a year old. We were flying from Europe to the US sans hubby. The final leg of the journey was from O’ Hare. I got stuck in a long immigration line and missed my connecting flight by 10 minutes. The airlines I was using were not affiliated and extremely unhelpful each saying that the other should do something to get me onto another flight. Topping that was that the two airlines were in different terminals and the escalators were broken. Hauling child, carry-on luggage and baby supplies to and fro as they each refused assistance was aggravating. Coming in from a flight from Europe, child and I was exhausted. The fact that I was still breast feeding also added to the troubles when I wasn’t able to find much in places to do the deed and ended up feeding while standing up in an extremely crowded women’s restroom. I don’t think I have ever been as frustrated before or since. But then again, if that is the worst thing that happens in my lifetime, it isn’t so much to complain about.
by Little Lamb Lost
on August 7th, 2006 at 11:55 am
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I only ever had one negative experience with a flight but it sure doesn’t beat yours. I had a 2 hour delay with a flight home once. It wasn’t so bad because I was with someone so it was not so hard to pass the time. Sorry about your awful experience.
by Cherie Japp
on August 7th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
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Luckily, I don’t have any horror travel stories :)
Although, the last one I took could have turned out bad. I was scheduled to leave Houston, for South Texas, at 5:30 pm. It would take me half an hour, on a regular day, to get to the airport. Well, my boyfriend came over to take me to the airport. But before we left, I decided that we should spend a little “quality” time together, lol. By the time we finished getting ready it was 4:45. Ack! We had to rush to the airport, and to make matters worse, it started to rain hard on the way there. My co-worker was already at the airport gate and called me to find out where I was. I told her to hold the plane for me, lol. By the time I got to the airport, this small, usually slow airport, actually had a line for me to get a ticket, ugh :D. After I checked my bags in and got my ticket, I had five minutes to make a run for it 
By the time I got to the terminal gate, I got news that, due to the weather, the flight was delayed for an hour, wouldn’t you know it…lol. Thank God :-)
by Ali
on August 7th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
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I never been on a plane. :oops: I am not much of a traveler.
by Crystal B.
on August 7th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
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The longest delay was at the Vancouver airport and the plane was a new one that
they were flying on it’s first trip with passengers and some electrical malfunction
happened so they tried to fix it. Eventually, they flew another plane in and we boarded that one; the wait was 2-3 hrs.
by Robyn
on August 7th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
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There was the time coming back from RWA in Dallas. I’d gone through Houston to visit my parents and have them meet my boyfriend (now husband). He flew back to LA and I flew on to Dallas. Coming home, I’d have to go back through Houston because it was cheaper to get a Houston-Dallas roundtrip flight and a LA-Houston roundtrip flight than a LA-Houston-Dallas-LA flight.
Because of other things, I develop bronchitis, so am sounding like Bill the Cat hacking up a hairball by the time I leave the conference. The plane from Dallas to Houston is late. Real late. I have to run through the Houston airport to make my plane, miss it by a hair, and am coughing so badly and have such difficulty breathing that they call the EMT. As soon as my heart stops pounding, I can breathe again, and the nice gate clerk puts me on another flight and bumps me to first class. They even have someone drive me to the new gate so I don’t have to walk.
This would be lovely, except that the flight is delayed six hours and we don’t leave Houston until some time after 2 AM. Did I mention we had turbulence all the way home? If I’d been in tourist, I swear I wouldn’t have made it. I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep because of the coughing and the plane bouncing around. Bless the Continental flight attendants — they fixed me food, plied me with hot tea, warm towels to make me feel a bit more human, got me extra pillow and blankets and did everything they could to make me comfortable. When I got off the plane, someone even stayed with me until the boyfriend found me at the gate.
It was the only time I’ve ever flown first-class and I was too sick to enjoy it!
by Caro
on August 7th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
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Ooh, that sounds a little scary Robyn :?
Oh, wow, Caro, I’m sorry to hear that you were so sick, but it’s nice to hear that there are still some very nice people out there :)
by Ali
on August 7th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
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I’ve flown a handful of times in my life. I don’t have any horror stories to relate. I’ve been pretty lucky. But one small incident comes to mind. I like to get comfortable when flying so I took off my casual dress shoes and boy did I regret that. For some reason my feet swelled up and I could get them back on. I had an awkward time getting through the airport. Next time I’ll take shoes that either lace up or can stretch.
by Sue A.
on August 7th, 2006 at 7:12 pm
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I think I’m pretty lucky after reading your post and some of the others. I always take direct flights because I don’t like being at the airport. I’ve only had to wait a few hours and so far, I’ve never had a flight cancelled. I hope I don’t jinx myself by typing this. lol
by KimW
on August 7th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
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I’m going to Colorado, later this month, and I’m praying hard that it goes smoothly :-)
by Ali
on August 7th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
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I flew out of North Bend, OR after a 5 hour fog delay, Had two small children(3 and 5) Were supposed to fly to S.F. and from there to Houston, TX. Had to fly to Portland, OR and from there to Denver, Co. Just barely made the connecting flight–about 2 miles from where we landed– to Houston. I was very cranky when we arrived and took it out on the airline officials–made me feel marginally better.
by Estella Kissell
on August 7th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
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Oh wow, a long trip Joanne! For me I don’t like to fly. I love to go on the train and be able to walk sometimes, read and its pretty comfy. I tried twice to fly and no matter with meds, it made me too sick. So I don’t mind having to put a extra day or two in my trip to use the train. The books are worth it!
by Cathie
on August 8th, 2006 at 3:29 am
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My husband and I were traveling from Milwaukee to Palm Beach via Atlanta…unfortunately on route( scheduled to get to FL by 12) to Atlanta a tornado hit around the airport we were rerouted to Detroit and then stuck there until the evening. We did get to Florida by midnight!
by Laurie G
on August 8th, 2006 at 6:50 am
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We have been to Hawaii for our honeymoon and had about 2 hr delay on connecting flight - I couldnt stay on the plane any longer waiting for it to get fixed. So We got off. (I really do not like to fly)
by Karen T.
on August 8th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
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Joanne, I LOVE your tip for a spa-slash-brainstorming day to break up the exhausting conference schedule. I’m adding that to my list for the next trip, which looks like being SF in 08. It was a treat to catch up with you Atlanta. Bron.
by Bronwyn Jameson
on August 10th, 2006 at 4:35 am
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Okay, today’s prize winner has to be Lamb because I could really feel the pain of that story!!! :o What a trip! My own list of travel travails could take up pages, but I do have to mention just one other in which we were loaded onto a plane but remained seated at the gate for– I kid you not– FIVE hours before we took off. We weren’t allowed to get off the plane for some strange rules I didn’t understand. This was pre 9/11, but they were still very strict about this rule. I had three small children to contend with, much to their frustration and the other passengers’. But honestly, what’s a toddler to do for five hours on a plane that isn’t moving when they also weren’t allowed to serve food or drinks until we took off?
I had a five year old, a toddler and a baby. I thought I’d go insane. Fortunately, our flight attendant numbed us with free cocktails once the plane took off. I had to wonder if she was sneaking a few of those bloody Marys herself after that episode :wink:.
Thanks to all for sharing the stories to console me about my travel woes!! Congrats to Lamb… just email me at joanne@joannerock.com with a snail mail addy and I’ll drop your book in the mail.
Until next time,
Joanne
by Joanne Rock
on August 10th, 2006 at 10:48 am
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Big congrats Lil!
by Danny
on August 10th, 2006 at 11:26 am
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wtg lamb
by KIM H
on August 10th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
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Congratulations lamb!
by Carol
on August 11th, 2006 at 7:57 am
