Time for the return trip of our mileage run in order to double our net miles for the trip. However, we have suddenly been faced with a major dilemma: do we catch our wee hour flight and only get 2 hours of sleep, or do we intentionally miss it and hit the beach, thereby forfeiting the extra miles by going standby on a later direct flight home?

Not to be ones who sacrifice the very foundation of our mission, we went for the "two-hours-of-sleep-and-more-miles" option. We left the house at 4:30am in order to return the rental car we'd only had for about, oh, 4 1/2 hours, and made a beeline for the airport. We left late (of course) and made it to the ticket counter only 20 minutes before our flight was to depart. As would be expected, the agent informed us they'd already closed check-in and INSISTED that we would never make it through security and to the gate in time for the flight. Always up for a challenge, we insisted back: "Check us in. If we miss the flight, we'll deal with it."

Once again racing through the airport, stripping shoes and belts for security as we went, John and I ended up making it to the gate before the plane was even finished boarding. I must say I was tempted to run back to the ticket counter and say, "I TOLD YOU SO!" Actually, we probably COULD have done that and STILL made it back for the flight. Silly ticket agents.

Landing in our nation's Capital, we needed to make a stop at customer service to print the remaining boarding passes for our journey...the one thing we didn't take the time for at the previous airport. After learning there was an earlier flight to O'Hare getting ready to close the doors, we thought, "Eh, why not?" There was plenty of room and we were probably among the last to board...standby was not a problem. However, arriving in O'Hare 3 hours earlier than expected would create all kinds of new bump/upgrade/rerouting opportunities... if it wasn't for that blasted weather.

Yes, the weather that both saved us and hurt us yesterday was again a threat. Not to be discouraged, we began researching what lemonade might be made from this sour weather. As we watched flight status begin to change on the monitors, we were not surprised when an announcement came over the intercom saying all flights would be grounded for the next 3-4 hours due to the storm. As people around us groaned, John and I looked at each other with smiles: a challenge!

We immediately found our spot in one of the less packed gates and booted up the laptop. We connected to my PCS phone and were online in minutes downloading an updated United timetable. First step was to see what happened to that Houston flight we considered taking. Did it make it out? Nope, it was sitting on the runway, an hour after leaving the gate. Our intuition served us well...glad we decided against it! Next step was to head to iPilot.com and view the most recent METAR and TAF information...raw weather data used by pilots to plan flights. Most helpful was the TAF, which gave us an hour by hour breakdown of the storm over ORD. We learned that a window of opportunity would open between 1pm and 4pm before the next t-storm hit, so we used that as our basis. Scanning the timetables for all possible routes from ORD home, we selected the first flight scheduled after 1pm: a non-stop flight. Hm...less miles, but it would at least get us home on time. A quick call to United and visit with the gate agent had us confirmed in business class for our final leg. Not only were we the first plane to board, but we got to sit and watch movies while sipping wine until the tower finally opened the runways. (Note from John: Love Actually is great flick!) Ahhhhhhh... the life of a frequent flyer is very good.

One of the reasons we fly is for the challenge. It's often like a good chess game: ANYONE can capture the king using the flexible queen. However, much more satisfaction is gained by using the squirrelly moves of the knight. Similarly, a rained-in airport offers us more experience and satisfaction than simply "getting home". It tests us, plays with us, and eventually proves to be a rewarding display of sleuth and wit. Presumably, it was enjoyed only by ourselves, but when the storm hit on that Sunday afternoon I'll bet we had more fun!