Sarah and I were supposed to be in France today. We're not. We're in an dingy Econolodge in Atlanta. And we had to pay for it ourselves. Stupid Delta.

So yesterday, we got to the Detroit airport bright and early. The weather was clear. Sunny even. Check in was a breeze. Security was a breeze. Finding our gate was a breeze. So we waited for our plane with excitement. And we waited. And waited. When our plane did finally come, the flight crew accidentally let on the wrong passengers. And we waited.

We ended up taking off almost two hours late, and by the time we arrived in Atlanta, we'd already missed our connection to Zurich. We went to the line where we were directed, and we waited. And waited. When we got to the front of the line, the agent brusquely barked at us to 'wait here' and then disappeared. And so we waited. When she didn't come back for a half an hour, we went to another line and were told to go to an even longer line. And we waited.

There were at least 50 feet of people in front of us in the new line, and we moved ten feet in two hours. I did lots of finagling. I called Delta customer service. I went to new lines while Sarah held our place in the Line. We moved another six inches in the line, and it became apparent that Delta was going to blame our predicament on the 'weather' (25 degrees and sunny in Detroit, 65 and sunny in Atlanta) so they wouldn't have to give us a hotel room or meal vouchers. At the front of the Line, they were giving out blankets and telling people they'd have to wait until the next day to leave. Stupid Delta.

And so we left. We did some more waiting, looking for an airport shuttle that would take us to a cheap hotel (as you'll note from my recent post, we're not exactly super-wealthy right now). We talked with a few shuttle drivers, and we found one who ended up giving us an employee discount on our room. Nice guy. Even if the Econolodge is a little dingy, $50 (plus a ten spot for the driver) is a pretty good deal for a reasonably clean room with free internet access, a complimentary continental breakfast, and a free trip back to the airport. And if we hadn't left, we'd probably still be standing in the Line.

For now, we're sitting in the Atlanta Econolodge, full of continental Raisin Bran, watching cable, using the internet on our laptop, and hoping and praying that we make our flight tonight, because if we don't, we'll be sleeping in the airport tomorrow.