Sometimes This Just Happens

Well, actually this was a first for me. In some ways, at least.

Last weekend I went down to the Outer Banks, NC, aka Duck Beach. Some of you may have heard of this, and for those of you who haven't shame on you. Just kidding. Every Memorial Day weekend for the last 20+ years, Mormon singles have flocked to these beaches. Why not spend an entire weekend with friends old and new at the beach? Sounds like a fun time to me!

Here was the plan:
- Friday:
1. Leave for airport at 5:15am to make 7:00am flight to Norfolk, VA.
2. Rent car upon landing in Norfolk and drive about two hours to Corolla, NC. A stop at Target would be necessary, naturally.
3. Play on the beach
-Saturday:
1. Go for a run in the morning after sleeping in.
2. Play on the beach.
3. Some sort of BBQ/party.
-Sunday:
1. Church with 800 or so of my closest friends, all filling the chapel/overflow and lining all the halls and classrooms.
2. Eat some good food and just have a relaxing day.
- Monday:
1. More beach time.
2. More BBQs.
-Tuesday:
1. Leave in the middle of the night to drive to Norfolk, VA to catch a plane that will bring me back to NYC in time for work.

Now here's what really happened:
Friday:
1. Slept in until 6:49 am; somehow I never heard my alarms. Yes, multiple alarms.  And yes, my flight left at 7:00am. There goes that! (This was the first time I've ever slept through a flight.)
2. Wait on hold with the airline's customer service for over 1.5 hours. Changing my ticket to a flight later that day would only have set me back about $1,200. Riiiiiiiiight.
3. Start checking out other options. Decide (after much research and freaking out) to take a train, bus and car down to NC.
4. Train for 10 hours to Newport News, VA.
5. Bus for 30 minutes to Norfolk, VA.
6. Car for 2+ hours to Corolla, NC. (Luckily Ashley and her friends flew into Norfolk at the same time I arrived via bus. They were so nice to cram me into their car!!)

The rest of the weekend played out pretty much as planned. But instead of flying back to NYC (my whole ticket was canceled since I missed the first leg of it. I'm still really frustrated by that stipulation.), I drove in a car on Monday. I was just grateful to have had a ride!

All in all, it was a perfect weekend at the beach with my friends! I loved being able to see people I hadn't seen in ages and from all different parts of my life. I've been so lucky to always be surrounded by wonderful people and friends!

But I do have to say, I will be just fine if I never have to do the train/bus/car route again for 13+ hours!