Imagine getting off an eight hour flight, an emotional and very turbulent flight, and finding out as soon as you turn airplane mode off, that your connector flight is cancelled. It doesn't sound terrible, I'll admit. However, add in the fact that there's a huge snow storm outside, the airline is refusing to give you accommodation after telling you the next flight is three days away, they also lost your luggage, and you're a college student (now missing the first day of classes) with a pretty tight budget. Definitely not a budget large enough to book a hotel for 2 nights in New York City! Probably the most expensive area we could have possibly found ourselves stranded! So as my boyfriend and myself walked around Newark airport, for 6 hours, in a desperate attempt to find our luggage, whilst carrying small paper bags with mini toothbrushes, deodorant wipes, and powdered shaving cream inside, we wondered what in the world would we do for these next few days?

Earlier that day, when we had taken off from Dublin airport, there were mixed emotions. Of course I had been upset saying goodbye to my friends and family, Tanner was thoroughly searched by security, and the turbulence just about managed to knock our plane "food" onto our laps. Not to mention there were no good in flight movies and we got stuck next to an older lady who had a few too many mini Bacardi bottles! But, we did somehow luck out and end up in business class seats, and our flight was on time which was a huge improvement from the flight out of America the week previous. P.S. to the pilot on that flight, in the future please don't tell an airplane filled with anxious people who've been waiting 3 and a half hours to take off, that we're having maintenance issues but will be leaving shortly anyways. But when we landed in Newark airport to find that our next flight, back down to Charlotte, was cancelled, I started to panic a little. I called my dad trying to keep my cool, and he advised that Tanner and I make our way to the customer service desks of both airlines we had traveled with, and ask them when we could get on the next flight down south. Well, I don't know if it was the gloomy weather, or maybe just something in the air, but boy were the employees we talked to rude! We were told that no one could find our bags, and if we didn't wait around for the next 4-6 hours to get them back, they would be sent to Charlotte without us. We were also that airlines do not give out food vouchers, hotel rooms, or any form of transport to make up for flights that are cancelled due to the weather. So as the lady working at the customer service desk (giving awful customer service) slung our new boarding passes across the counter and turned her back to us, we pretty much knew we were in the shitter.

After a small anxiety attack and thinking we would be stranded in a cold and empty airport for 3 days, it was time to accept the fact we would be in New York for a while and we booked our hotel. After many laps of the airport, our tired and jet lagged bodies finally got onto a bus and made our way to the Hampton Inn. And as I looked out the window that was framed with snow, I saw the millions of lights shining from Manhattan. I looked at Tanner and all I could say was "Holy shit we are in New York." Through all the stress of the flights and airport, we hadn't even stopped to think that we had 2 nights in New York!! New York City!! Every scene from Friends and Gossip Girl ran through my head! Yeah this wasn't exactly in our plans for Christmas break, but it ended up being a pretty brilliant surprise!!

The next few days were a whirlwind!! From going up to the top of the Empire State Building (and almost blowing away), to being terrified of rats in the subway, to having to pinch myself because I was standing in the middle of Time Square, I realized this was one of my child hood dreams come true!! I couldn't actually believe I was walking around the streets of New York! In the end, our flight getting cancelled turned out to be something great. We ended up with an extended vacation in New York City. Although we did miss some class and we did spend a lot of extra money, this once in a lifetime treat was completely worth it! The Big Apple is like no other place on this planet, it's beautiful, it's weird, it's completely crazy, and it's inspiring!

So that's the story of what can happen when your flight gets cancelled! Some good, some bad, but a fantastic adventure none the less! And to Tanner, thank you for dealing with my airport stress, and for taking on New York with me, I couldn't imagine getting stranded with anyone else hun! LOL