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The blooming dogwoods and azaleas at The Masters

I knew that it was probably a bad idea to leave town when the day before I left my child threw up.

I was already having some anxious feelings about leaving and my child getting sick only made those feelings worsen.  But...the non-refundable airplane ticket had been purchase months before and I had really been looking forward to this trip.  I was leaving my children at home with my mother to join the Golfer on a business trip.  Even though he'd be working the whole time, it was time alone with my husband that I had really been looking forward to. 

One way or another, I was leaving for this trip.

Luckily the Cheese only threw up once.  After a nap, he seemed to recover fine.  We picked my mother up from the airport and I packed my bad to leave early the next morning.  I chose to ignore all of the airline issues of late, and felt confident that I'd arrive at my destination without issue.

Oh how incredibly wrong I was.

After a long four hour flight to Atlanta, I had a short lay-over before taking a short flight to Augusta.  There were storms in Atlanta that day, and after circling the airport for thirty minutes we were finally allowed to land.  Turns out my two hour lay-over had turned into a five hour lay-over, with more storms heading our way. 

The airport was a crazy place to be.  With delays all day and more to come, it was bursting at the seams with tired and frustrated travelers.  I called the Golfer.

"I'm delayed..."

"How bad is it?"

"Bad and looking worse.  How long does it take to drive to Augusta?"

"Around two hours..."

It didn't take either of us long to do the math.  I could sit in the airport for the next five hours on a one-hour flight that might or might not take off OR I could rent a car and be there in two hours.  If I drove, there was no telling when I would get my luggage, but at this point I really didn't care.  I just wanted to get to where I was going.

I headed down to the car rentals.  At about that same time, they closed the airport due to the weather.  Suddenly my idea to rent a car and drive became everyone's idea.  All I needed was a little car to drive one-way to Augusta. 

I tried Budget.  No cars.

I tried Thrifty.  No cars.

I tried Hertz.  No cars.

It was at this time that the theme music from the movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" started to play in my head.  I called the Golfer again.

"This doesn't look good.  There aren't any cars.  I'm hungry...and you know how I get when I'm hungry...and this airport is filled with people wanting to make my life MISERABLE!"

"Babe...I got online and already got a car reserved for you at Avis."

I never loved my husband more than in that moment.

By the time that I got to my two-door, red, shoebox of a car, it was pouring rain.  It was getting dark AND I HAD NO IDEA WHERE I WAS GOING.  The Golfer kept telling me how simple it was to get there, so I said a quick prayer and headed out.  After a quick detour through a Chick-Fil-A drive through, I headed east on I-20.  

I called my mom from the road since she was expecting a call saying that I had arrived.

"The Monkey threw up this afternoon," she told me.

Of course he did.  Now I was tired, driving through the rain and darkness to a place I'd never been and feeling guilty for being anywhere other than home.  

After finally getting to the hotel safely, the Golfer and I headed to Wal-Mart (the only place open at two o'clock in the morning) to buy some essentials and some clothes for the next day.  This was not my idea of a vacation. 

I finally got my luggage late the next night.  We ended up having a great time and I really am glad that I went.  We finished up the trip by going to the Monday practice round of The Masters.   

We don't have any more vacations planned for a while, but I think the next time we go anywhere...I'll just walk.