<p>Whose having a hard time getting back to school because of the weather? My dd left this country and is transiting a second country as she progresses to the US. The airlines cancelled her flight to her school due to weather. We have been in communication and she is safe, but her flight is now delayed one day.</p>
<p>I hope she flies out tomorrow. As independent as she is, I never anticipated this problem.
Thankfully, she has an ATM card- but no visa. I think I will be getting her a prepaid VISA from now on.</p>
<p>Flights all over the U.S. are messed up today. I’m parked at an airport hoping my DC gets out this afternoon…</p>
<p>I have a friend whose daughter is stranded in Detroit as we speak. If they can’t get her out on the next flight, she won’t be able to leave until Tuesday.</p>
<p>I drove DD back to school early today under clear skies, I think she was the first one back, as I was trying to avoid the weather. On the return trip about 5 miles from home, the light rain hit the road and turned it to glass. Took me a little while to recover from the resulting spin… landed in a snow bank , rather close to a big tree. Did the last few miles at about 5 mph and have never been so glad to be home… Though the house is way too quiet now. Be safe everyone, and I hope your kids all get back to school without too much hassle.</p>
<p>ChoatieKid is stranded with several school mates in Baltimore as their connecting flight didn’t make it out of Chicago. He texted me his $200 voucher from Southwest for the “incovenience,” but it does look like they will be boarding another flight in about an hour. I expect there may be some class/homework leniency tomorrow as there was with Nemo last year.</p>
<p>The roads were slick, but everyone is back safe and sound. Quote of the day goes to K2 after we dropped off K1: Mom, I know you’re excited about Downton Abbey tonight, but when we get to my school, would you mind bringing the car to a complete stop? I’d like to get my stuff out without the car rolling…</p>
<p>The Midwest is a mess for flights, some projections don’t get the stranded out until Wednesday.</p>
<p>Flying home before the holidays, My D16 was bumped from her cancelled/rescheduled flight and enjoyed a night in Embassy Suites on the airline, and got a nice voucher. We did not want to repeat the experience though, and she was lucky to catch one of the last flights flying out of here today.</p>
<p>I’m so glad you’re okay, Cameo. I was in a car accident driving back (alone) after Thanksgiving Break drop off. I left myself plenty of time today. I was driving in the right lane all the way. It really shakes you up. </p>
<p>Sending good thoughts to all the parents with kids still traveling.</p>
<p>My Midwestern kid’s flight was cancelled, but he wiggled on to an earlier but delayed flight (just skipped all the lines and asked the agent taking tickets if he could get on the plane at the very last minute). Managed to stay on the plane through Chicago as a standby passenger and after two more hours waiting for de-icing got through to Manchester. We’re equally astonished by his ability to get himself exactly where he most needs to be when traveling and grateful to the fates. Tons of other kids are stranded, for days it sounds like. </p>
<p>However, when his second flight was cancelled late in the night on the way home, we discovered another thing to love about boarding school: friends willing to come to the airport at midnight to pick you up when you’re stranded at every major hub! In a snowstorm! (Though maybe that’s a teen boy with license thing.)</p>
<p>And why did it take us four years to realize that sharing a limo from the airport back to school with friends is faster and less expensive than the school shuttle?</p>
<p>@Rose, GMTson also has to transit multiple countries but was saved from potential travel chaos due to my incompetence: Because of the different timezones, I stupidly booked his return trip for a day later. They say even a broken clock is right twice a day…</p>
<p>Thanks, PhotoMom. I guess someone was watching over both of us! 
PS, I tried to PM you…</p>
<p>All these stories scare me. I think I’ll send my kids to Maui Prep.</p>
<p>I hope everyone is safe and sound and warm and dry.</p>
<p>All flights to Boston cancelled. Son was due back to campus today for the start of school tomorrow, that has been pushed to tomorrow. Don’t know what will happen when the Mid Atlantic gets hit with the Arctic blast later tonight, will wind chill ground the planes?</p>
<p>Did you know that yo can not ride Amtrack alone until you are 16.</p>
<p>
Yeah, and Southwest has a pop-up window that asks if the minor traveler is being accompanied by a adult-- we just ignore it.</p>
<p>Having traveled Amtrak many times to and from school, I’d sooner put an unaccompanied 11yo on a Southwest flight than put an unaccompanied 15yo on Amtrak.</p>
<p>Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk</p>
<p>The funny thing is where do they card you? My son looks like he is a senior, over 6ft so I wonder if we ignore the warning and book the ticket, will it work? He is booked to fly back to school tomorrow at 5pm but I am wondering what impact the temperature drop will have on the flights tomorrow? Heading to Boston.</p>
<p>Assuming there are no more cancellations (we have had 2 rounds), our daughter will get back to school 2 full days late. I don’t mind the 2 day delay vs. the airline solution of sending her on a connection thru a city that only has one flight a day out! I was picturing her sleeping on the airport floor. For the record, she was excited at that prospect. Kids! </p>
<p>Sent from my iPhone using [URL=<a href=“Tapatalk”>Tapatalk]Tapatalk[/URL</a>]</p>
<p>Southwest is a great airline for travelling minors in our experience. The biggest advantage is the ability to change reservations without penalty. My kid missed his flight home, and I was able to transfer his ticket to spring break, 15 minutes before departure and book him a flight on another airline. He loves that he can check his bags free too and says the planes are way more comfortable that United or Delta, his other options for flying home. That extra pop-up window is just for parent/guardian info.–annoying but not a boot off the plane. </p>
<p>To those of you parents now nervous about your kids flying alone: this vacation–which has been a travel nightmare–has been the first time my kid has been stranded in his four years of traveling, with 2 flights per trip, always through Detroit or Chicago. He missed one connection when he was 15, but really, they’re better off missing flights at that age as the airlines will generally prioritize them over the older passengers. Saying, “I’m 15 and travelling alone” is the golden ticket to successful standby travel. </p>
<p>And they become such incredibly savvy travelers…there’s no way my husband and I would have gotten ourselves onto that last-minute flight yesterday–we’d have been standing in line for hours with all the other adult sheep. Even the two missed flights home before Christmas turned into opportunities to (a) head into Boston for some good Italian food and (b) catch up with a friend from summer camp who he’ll be going to college with next year. They nearly always seem to meet up with someone they know from school in the airport, and posting on facebook that they’re stranded seems to lead immediately to invitations to visit. I told my kid over break that I think I’ll never worry about him being stranded at an airport ever, anywhere since he has so many friends from so many different parts of the U.S. (and world for that matter).</p>
<p>It’s random, and variously likely. <a href=“Amtrak”>http://www.amtrak.com/passenger-identification</a></p>
<p>Amtrak is not impervious to weather, and when they stop a train, it’s often on a stretch of track in the middle of nowhere, for an indefinite period.</p>
<p>Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk</p>
<p>ChoatieKid and his Baltimore strandees landed safely in Hartford around 8PM last night barely missing the back-on-campus deadline of 7:30, so all is well.</p>
<p>Good luck and safe (if not timely) travel to those still en-route.</p>
<p>Agree that Southwest is the best.</p>