Trying to find a pattern between these numbers? Well let me tell you, when you find out what they stand for, you'll be shocked. This winter break, my family and I took a expected 5 day long trip to Los Angeles. We did lots of fun things there such as meet my cousin Siddhanth, go to Disneyland, the LA Museum of Natural History (the biggest in the west coast), The Malibu Hindu Temple, Universal Studios, and more. I had lots of fun.
Sunday
The day we were supposed to leave which was Sunday, we went to the LA Museum of Natural History. There were many cool exhibits and artifacts in there such as dioramas of African and North American mammals and even skeletons of dinosaurs. We couldn't view the whole museum as it was very large but after we had our fill, we were heading towards the parking lot when my dad got a text message. The message was from Allegiant airlines and it said that our flight was cancelled! We were kind of expecting this since many flights across America were being cancelled due to insufficient crews, the new Omicron COVID variant, and severe snow in Washington. We panicked but calmly decided to eat lunch and then drive to Palm Springs Int. Airport where our flight was supposed to take off from. For lunch, we ate sandwiches from a well known Californian chain called Togo's sandwiches. My mom used to love eating from this shop and the sandwiches were pretty good. After that, we started our drive towards Palm Springs. It took 2 hours to reach the airport. Once we reached there, it was around 5 and it was dark. We had to return our rental car so we did that and then reached the airport. We spent another 2 hours there trying to book a flight the next day and asking the attendants at the booking desks for flight opportunities. Sadly, all the flights for Monday were fully booked. Because of the scarce options, we decided to stay that night at Motel 6 and decide what to do from there. We got a new rental car and drove to the motel. For the next 2 hours, we scoured Expedia, Kayak, Delta, and other airline/travel websites for flights. Not only were they not available, but they were also not coming to the Palm Springs Airport. We looked at many airports from my former house at San Jose to Burbank to San Diego. One airport was available though. Harry Reid Int. Airport at Las Vegas. There were no flights for Monday or Tuesday so we booked an Allegiant flight for Wednesday morning. Also, Las Vegas was only 4 hours away compared to the 7 hours to San Jose. Las Vegas was also where my aunt on my dad's side lived. We could stay at her house until Wednesday and then take the flight back home. My dad then called my aunt and she was overjoyed that we were staying with her. With this good plan in mind, we had a good night's sleep.
Monday
My parents and I got up early so that we could reach Las Vegas fast. We had to return our rental car since we only booked it for one night. But we had another ready. Once we got in the car, we zoomed away from LA. We had to cross the Yucca Valley and Mojave Desert which is between Southeastern California and Southwestern Nevada. The area was so dry and there was barely anybody around. The clouds' shadows created mirages that made it seem like there was water in the distance. It was pretty mind-boggling but cool. I was pretty tired from waking up so early so I took a quick power nap. After 2 and a half hours or so, I woke up to the bright lights of a sign. I looked at it and it said "Wild Bill's Casino and Amusement Park". From this one sign, I knew that we were in Las Vegas. After dropping off our third rental car (we had one before the flight cancellation) at Harry Reid Int. Airport, we called my aunt to let her know that we had arrived. She said that she was here to pick us up and we met her. My dad was super happy to meet her since he hadn't seen her in quite some time. On the drive to my aunt's house, I could see an excellent skyline of The Las Vegas Strip which is a famous road that has a lot of casinos and shops. The rest of the night my family and I just talked and we called many of my relatives. My uncle and cousin were on a skiing trip while my other cousin was doing her medical work in Chicago. I was happy that we were almost going to go home.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, we didn't do much. My aunt helps work at the ISCKON temple in Las Vegas. What is ISCKON? Well it is a Hinduism organization that stands for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Followers of ISCKON worship and celebrate Krishna and Radha. We went to the Las Vegas ISCKON temple and had some very good food there. After that, we all just went home and relaxed. My parents and aunt watched a movie while I watched the new Disney movie Encanto. The movie was really good. For dinner, we just had chaat and bhel puri.
Wednesday
Finally! The day had come where we were going home! Everyone got up early so that we could catch the flight even though it was only at 11:00. As we packed all our bags and were eating our breakfast, my dad got another message. It told us that our flight had been cancelled. Oh no! All of us were super disappointed and angry. Why did our flight have to be cancelled!? As we were searching frantically for flights again, we found one! We quickly looked at the flight details and decided that it was perfect. It was a Delta flight that had one stop at Oakland. We didn't want a stop but we took what was available. It was a 2 hour layover and then from there we would reach Bellingham Int. Airport where we originally left from. We quickly booked the flight and were happy. For the rest of the day, we didn't do much. We just relaxed again and watched movies. In the evening, we got Mediterranean falafel bowls and for desert we got a really cool Japanese/Korean ice cream and cookie.
Thursday
We got up early again and luckily our flight wasn't cancelled. After my aunt dropped us at the airport we said our goodbyes and thanked her for letting us stay at the house. We got through security and then reached our gate. For lunch we bought taco bowls. But as we finished them, we noticed that our flight was delayed by 2 hours! We didn't want to come back very late so we changed our flight once again and then at 2:00, boarded it. After 1 and a half hours, we reached Oakland! Step 1 out of 3 was complete. What were the other two? The other two were board the flight to Bellingham, and then from there complete the 2 hour drive back home to Sammamish. We had a 1 hour layover so we bought Subway for dinner and hungrily ate it. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, we boarded the Bellingham-bound flight and took off! After 2 hours and 20 minutes, we reached the airport! I was overjoyed to be back in Washington. Step 2 out of 3 was complete. My uncle had come to pick us up and he also brought some shovels to get the snow and ice off our car. The whole airport and parking lot was covered in snow and it took 20 minutes to get the snow off our car. Once that was done, my mom and dad hopped in our car and I drove with my uncle since I wanted to talk to him. After telling my uncle all about our trip, I was pretty sleepy so I slept for most of the ride. I eventually woke up right before we reached our community, Timberline. I was amazed since the whole place was covered in lots of snow; more than the previous years. When we reached home, fireworks and celebration music played in my head since we finally reached home! Step 3 out of 3 was complete. The house was cold but after letting the heater on for a couple of minutes, the place warmed up. I slept very soundly after coming back home.
Phew! That was quite an adventure. The mysterious numbers stand for 3 cancelled flights, 100+ hours spent overdue in our trip, and 1700 miles travelled in total. I enjoyed writing about my winter break trip and I'll see you in the next post. See ya!
Sincerely,
Adi
