I’d like to report that 2025 got off to a good travel start.
But, I’d be fibbing. Some things never change.
There is good news with the bad news, however, as the New Year has opened with snow and cold to complicate things.
The bad news: I got stranded getting home from my NFL game this past weekend. It took me an extra two days to get back to C’ville.
Yes, I know that isn’t really ground-breaking news. It was all weather related, with planes missing appointments at airports that caused missed connections, etc.
The good news is that I was stranded in central Florida, so it was two days in the sun and warm instead of the snow and cold of somewhere else.
I did get back about midnight Tuesday, and it was 7 degrees, so I got a solid dose of winter as soon as I arrived. I also had a foot of snow on my car at the airport parking lot to remove, but I was happy to see when I got back to town that a couple vehicles had broken through on my unplowed alley, and instead of a couple hours of shoveling, it was just move a little snow in my parking spot behind the house.
So, I got stranded, but in Florida, but I was able to connect with Terry and Annie Borns, friends from South Dakota from forever ago. They are now retired and snowbirds, spending six months in the North Ft. Myers area. They own a house in an area that is retiree-friendly, and they had a spare sofa, easy chair and bedroom. I had my pick.
Our game was Sunday afternoon in Tampa, and as everyone here knows, Sunday night was not fit for man nor beast in Indiana. All flights were canceled, but there was advance warning, and I had been contact with Terry. He and I were both journalism majors at South Dakota State, and he spent a few years as the Sports Editor of the Brookings Register. I might have even written a story or two for him. I was an usher in his wedding.
So I did not have to spend any of Sunday at the Tampa airport. I drove straight to their home and we then shared the sorrow of the Vikings losing yet another big game.
I was supposed to fly out Monday afternoon, connecting though Dallas. Terry and I even looked to make sure that the plane I was going to fly from Dallas to Indy was coming from someplace not affected by the storm that had moved past Indiana to the East Coast.
I headed out around noon, and was only a few miles from the Ft. Myers airport when I got a text from American that my flight to Dallas was delayed.
We didn’t check that plane!
It was delayed big time coming in from one of the snow-packed spots along the East Coast.
So, instead of turning my car in, I pulled into the cell phone lot and played a hunch, and after a short wait there, the next text came in with longer delays. It soon reached the point where I was going to have a mad dash at Dallas, and that was if there were no other delays.
American offered me a re-booking, and after texting Terry, I changed my flight to Tuesday afternoon.
All I had to do was contact Fox Travel and extend my rental car for a day and head back to where I came from.
And here is where I lose all sympathy — Terry texted that if I hustled right back, I could play the back nine with he and a couple other guys at the golf course at their retirement village.
So, I was stranded, but in Central Florida. I was not sleeping in an airport, but at the home of a long-time friend (Annie is a marvelous cook, by the way). They even called some friends for a gathering at the clubhouse after golf to show off their friend who works with Tom Brady.
Please don’t hate me …
I like to think that this was a nice payback for the many times I was stuck somewhere and sleeping at some airport.
One other observation after the trip.
Florida drivers get the Nelson seal of disapproval, for they made a bad first impression.
There are long, flat stretches of road in Florida, I get that, but 90 miles an hour (or faster) by way too many knuckleheads was bothersome, even for this lead foot. Chicago drivers are still at the top of the list for worst, but those Florida folks moved way up the chart. It wasn’t even just the shiny pickup drivers like Indiana. It was one and all.
After some high school basketball this week, the NFL playoffs begin. My crew has the Packers at Eagles game in Philly on Sunday afternoon. We are all watching the weather coming in from the southwest. The forecast is for a nice, cool but clear, football afternoon. OK, chilly. It will be in the 20’s by the end of the game.
No long-time friends to find and stay with this time. As is always the case in Philadelphia, they love you or hate you, and mostly they just hate you. It’s their nature. Because we book flights so late, it will be a long Monday getting home. Hope the weather cooperates.
I also hope that each of you has gotten 2025 off to a good start. Maybe you can get stranded in Florida for a couple days too.
Safe travels.
Jeff Nelson is a frequent contributor to the Journal Review and works professionally for Fox Sports working with the Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis Colts and many more professional teams.
