Syracuse Airport...10 hours later

So what started as a 45 minute delay turned into an hour of sitting on the plane...in the middle of a storm (thunderstorm, tornado, whichever you prefer). Finally they decided it probably wasn't a good idea to keep us in a plane on the runway during a tornado watch (ya think?) so they brought us back to the gate at about 3 pm (our original time of arrival) and told us that it shouldn't be more than another hour. That hour passed and they said they were just waiting for the storm to clear and sit tight for another hour. Meanwhile, Obi calls to tell me that JFK is in fact NOT closed and that it's 90 and sunny (some storm eh?). At that point, passengers had to start rebooking flights to make different connections and I sat on the floor, slowly losing hope. By 7 pm I was starting to get anxious. I didn't know whether to get on a bus or continue waiting it out. Long story short, the captains who were watching the dopler radar said there was no way a plane was leaving that airport tonight so (after crying on the phone to Aaron, my mom, and Obi) I went over to talk to one of the supervisors. Here's one positive... It was Erin's Uncle Greg! he rebooked me for the next flight out (6 am) and offerred to bring me back to his house for the night and then back in the morning, but my friend from school (my life saver..love you girl!) was already on her way to come get me. As soon as I grabbed my bags and started to walk away, they announced that anyone who was still left needed to board the plane right away as we had a quick window of opportunity to get there! I REbooked my ticket, thanked Greg profusely, and got on the plane. I was the ONLY passenger left from the original flight. 11 hours and a few mental breakdowns later, I was in New York with my arms wrapped around my boyfriend and happier than ever to not be sitting on my ass in an airport waiting room.
The only positive aspect of the experience (aside from spending the day with Uncle Greg) was being lucky enough to have met 3 of the sweetest women! My original seat buddy on the plane, Danielle, was from NC and we sat together in the airport and talked all day. When she decided to leave at about 8:30, she asked if I would be interested in staying with her at her friend's house right near the airport and coming back for the 6 am flight. Of course I had other options before I would resort to that, but she was absolutely the sweetest, funniest, most genuine woman I have come across in a long time. Then there was Pam and Deb, lifetime bestfriends traveling to NYC for the first time from Seattle. We sat together on the second plane and talked the whole way to JFK. When we got there, they even waited to make sure I was being picked up!
After this day from hell, I can only be grateful for the people who made it a little more bearable and thank my family and friends (s/o to Mom and Dad, Aaron, Obi, Ugo, Mrs. Nwaigwe, and Katie) for letting me vent and helping me maintain a (semi) positive attitude throughout the day.

Syracuse Airport

Finally on the first leg of the journey; Syracuse to JFK! Although, unfortunately, we're not off to a great start:( Severe thunderstorm warnings have caused what was initially a 45 minute delay just prior to takeoff to turn into an indefinite wait as JFK is now closed. I'm not thrilled, as you can imagine.

Goodbyes

Last night with my girls:( went out to Wilson Hill and skipped rocks in the St. Lawrence River then went out to dinner

2 days to take off!

My farewell dinner and well-wishes from the friends and family:)