Ray and I flew to Texas yesterday from Los Angeles. Normally, this is easy: drive to LAX, get on the plane, fly to DFW, pick up our rental car, and drive to Sherman. No biggie. However, yesterday, we had a slightly different experience. Okay, not slightly. Let’s call it a significantly different experience. Where to begin?

Our plane was delayed three hours due to weather in Texas. Okay, that comes with the territory.

We boarded and then waited while mechanics figured out why the plane’s equivalent to the “check engine” light was not working. They checked it out, powered the plane down, waited, and then powered it back up. No go. They worked a while longer, then powered the plane back down, then back up. Yep. It was working. This was an hour and a half from the time we boarded.

Our flight was uneventful until approaching DFW. At that point, everyone was advised to strap in, including the flight attendants, since storms were in the area. We rattled, shook, and bumped long enough for me to take Ray’s hand while silently appealing to God to keep everyone in that cylindrical tube safe while we sliced through the air at 500 miles per hour. I even had time to regret not letting our kids know that we have automatic travel insurance with AMEX, which covers unfortunate incidents that best go unnamed on this blog. Finally, we broke through the clouds and saw Dallas. I heard a collective sigh throughout the plane.

Unfortunately, because of all the delays, the time now was long past the time Thrifty rental car stayed open. We hoped Hertz would honor our prepaid reservation – knowing that was a long shot – so Ray stood in line for over an hour while I sat in a nearby chair. I was the designated driver, so Ray suggested I rest for the one-hour drive to Sherman from the airport. No such luck. The Hertz guy was very nice but had nothing to offer to anyone without a reservation with Hertz. He gently suggested we find a spot and wait 4 hours until Thrifty opened at 6 am.

So, we had a rather short night sleeping first on chairs and then directly on the terrazzo tile of the DFW rental car center. We were joined by many other passengers on our same flight, along with others who had encountered weather delays. Ray can sleep anywhere, I, not so much. Before it was over, I had a pair of extra jeans spread underneath me, a pair of shorts padding where my knees hit the tile, my jacket zipped up, my hood over my head, my travel pillow cushioning my neck, and my backpack cushioning the rest of my head. I managed to fall asleep several times only to be awakened by my hip aching, which required turning over, followed by lots of readjusting. I also had a fellow traveler sitting in the chair right next to me who stayed up the entire night, playing different songs on his phone and loudly talking to whoever was still awake in the wee hours of the morning.

At 6, we joined the line of other weary travelers, and by 6:45, we had our car. We are now in Sherman, tired but happy to be here.

Who doesn’t need an unexpected night spent on a cold tile floor in a rental car center? It could be argued that a little diversion from normal is a good thing.

With that in mind, I think next time I’ll pack a matt and sleeping bag.