National Mall & Memorial Parks, DC
A notification this morning from Southwest Airlines that the check-in for my 1/19/23 flight from DCA (Washington Regan National) was available didn't set well with me. As you know from yesterday's posting, when I arrived in Houston on Tuesday to change planes, the DC leg of the trip to was cancelled. My options at that point were limited. I could reschedule my flight from Houston to DC for the following day. What kind of option was that? Being stranded in Houston America at the airport didn't sound like much fun? In addition, I could not get to DC the following day in time for my board meeting. Flying back to Austin seemed like prudent judgement. It was really the only viable option. I paid $12 bucks to get my car out of the parking lot when I got back to Austin and went home.
Of course, the General's take on my travel was very different. Anyone with half an ounce of commonsense had the wherewithal to know two weeks in advance that a winter storm was coming. I should have cancelled the trip or at least had the insight to steer clear of DC in January. Okay, so now you know how she thinks.
They say you can't fight mother nature and win. The same might be said of the General. Who's to say? I will say this, a fresh blanket of snow over Washington transforms the city into a winter wonderland and nothing is prettier than the purity associated with a white blanket covering the city.
I have stood in two or three inches of snow in front of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall and found The Wall both strikingly beautiful and sad. The same is true of the Korean Veteran's Memorial Wall. If anything, a heavy layer of snow makes the Korean Memorial look even more authentic.
I was once in DC and the mother of winter storms was forecast to arrive on the afternoon of my day of departure. It was thought to be the catalyst of difficulty that would bring everything to a halt. So, a debate took place inside my head. Should I change my flight and go home the night before or should I throw caution to the wind (Mother Nature again) and take my chances.? After all, isn't it all about the adventure?
I finally figured out that if the Metro wasn't working, no one working in restaurants would have a way to get to work. That didn't sound like much of an adventure. As it turned out, I changed my reservation and got the last seat on the last flight leaving D.C. the night before the snowstorm hit. The flight I was previously scheduled to take was cancelled the following day and it was three days before another plane left or landed at the airport.
Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I thought of that as a big win.
All My Best!
Don
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