But surely this is the music major board, not the meteorology board, you say.
Just posting it as an FYI for parents who may be flying into or out of the Northeast or Midwest over the next few weeks for auditions.
Last year we had to deal with some winter storms but our airline always sent out notice offering to reschedule flights at no charge. The key is staying on top of the forecast as your flight approaches and if snow is in the forecast, be ready to reschedule as soon as they open up the opportunity to rebook, ahead of the hordes of other rebookers. One time I discovered we could rebook before we got the official email, by logging in to the airline site to view my trip.
Also, my wife will have you know if you are flying in ahead of a snowstorm, try to upgrade your rental car to an AWD. She and D had an adventurous drive from O’Hare to Evanston last February.
I wish you nothing but clear skies and dry roads, but best to stay abreast of the forecast this audition season.
Very timely and thoughtful post as many of us make & remake travel plans and book flights.
Where available time and funds permit, planning an extra day before the audition to arrive and settle down is always advisable. This will not only offer a buffer to cope with any unforeseen flight challenges but will also offer your young musician a chance to acclimatize and rest before the most important day. This can especially be valuable in case of those PST to EST or vice versa trips where you have to adjust to a 3 hour time difference on top of all the travel tiredness.
May all your flights leave and arrive on time and your drives be without ice and drama!
Two things I do at this time of year - book direct flights (even if you have to drive an hour or so, it’s worth it as airlines often cancel the small feeder flights out of hubs) and always rent a small SUV. Saved us last weekend driving from Cincinnati to Oxford, OH and back to Indianapolis for our flight home. Luckily for me (and S) I spent a year in Rochester, NY and have skied off and on for the last 20+ years. Snow driving skills come in handy. Give yourself as much extra time on either end that you can…and be flexible as the Weather Gods have their own plans.
(typing this as I see the snowstorm that’s headed to Philly this weekend…trying not to think it’s us bringing the bad weather)
This post brings me PTSD. Here is one more tip: if the distance to the audition is at all driveable, consider driving instead of flying. My daughter’s CIM audition was the morning after a 3’ blizzard. We were driving the 7 hour distance from Philadelphia because I wanted to save on airfare. Most of the auditioners from our area flew, and they were all very stressed out from flight delays and cancellations. The highways were completely clear (hardest part was getting out of our neighborhood to the turnpike.) Even thought I had second-guessed the choice to do all that driving, I was very happy I had. Of course, if skies had been clear I would have felt I might have made the wrong decision.
Yes, this is a PTSD memory for sure. Our first audition last year was at Bloomington (Jacobs) during the beginning of a snow storm (January 12th, 2018). Being from California, we just elected to take a cab (or Uber) everywhere. It’s well worth it when you’re not used to driving in snow country.
Getting out of Bloomington, to head to Indianapolis Airport, I called the local cab companies from the hotel at the students union. The first guy did not pick up the phone. The second guy picked it up, sounded very irritated that someone was trying to get to an airport when the weather wasn’t to his liking, told me that they weren’t dispatching any cabs that day, and hung up. Our next option was Uber, and boy, were we lucky - a very brave soul (Shane, with dreadlocks) agreed to pick us up, and drove us to the airport. As it turned out, the roads weren’t too bad. Sure it was snowing, but roads were relatively clear. I guess the cab companies weren’t too thrilled about having an empty trip back.
The one thing that stands out to me from our trips last year was all the great Uber drivers we met, and the conversations we had to and from airports, especially when they found out that we were driving to or from an audition.
Big snow storm in north east. Boston is expecting heavy snow followed by ice rain and then very cold temperatures over Monday/Tuesday. Elder D was booked on a LA to Boston flight with planned landing around 5am Sunday morning and we just heard her flight got cancelled. Anyone traveling today / tomorrow should be prepared for delays / cancellations. All the best and good luck!
Lots of weather discussion here in Philadelphia but I think the storm is just missing us. Either that or we are escaping just in time today. But it looks ugly up in New England and Midwest (again).
For all folks flying back west - be prepared for a very long and bumpy flight. Crazy - 7 hours from Philly to west coast. (Happy birthday to your S @akapiratequeen)