No, this isn’t a story about needing to dry off.  Rather it is a reference to Douglas Adams’ HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.

Earlier this month, I had a vacation planned to visit a dear friend in Illinois.  Both of us had been through some life changes recently and I planned to visit her over the MLK weekend to hug in person and have that in-person girlfriend gab session that one just cannot have over Skype.

As fate would have it, my travel began on a Thursday. H2G2 fans will know that nothing good can happen on a Thursday.  This particular Thursday was definitely proving them correct.

I use the Shuttle2LAX service for transportation to/from LAX and just as the driver arrived at my house, I received a phone call from American Airlines that my connection onward from Chicago had been cancelled.  No explanation but a promise that they would call back.  Cut to my arrival at Terminal 4 and just as the driver is dropping me off, I get the call that my entire flight has been re-booked for the next day.  I was stunned.  I now faced the prospect of 12 hours hanging out at the airport or up to $100/RT to get home and come back again.  I plead my case with the ticket agent, but it was weather related so that fell on deaf ears.

I sat on a bench and posted a request on Facebook for any friend on the Westside with a vacant couch for the night.  Ping!  I had a taker. This was going to mean way more sleep than any route back to my house.  I opened the Uber app on my phone and saw that a car was right outside the terminal.  I quickly requested a pickup and left the airport.

I ended up spending the evening visiting with another friend that I don’t see that often.  I had another wonderful Uber driver back to LAX the next day and a fairly uneventful trip via Dallas to my destination.

When I got off the plane, 8 hours later than originally planned, my friend in Illinois reminded me that I had forgotten my towel which one should NEVER do, especially if travelling on a Thursday.  Point taken, universe.  I don’t need any further reminders.

And if you want to try Uber the next time you need an emergency ride somewhere, sign up using my invite code for a discount off your first trip!  https://uber.com/invite/ivmy5