Readers share Thanksgiving travel stories
(CNN) -- Early? Late? Or just in time? We asked readers to send us their Thanksgiving travel stories. Here are some of their submissions. Some responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Mollie, New York City: [I] left on Thanksgiving Day morning. [I] was through [airport] check-in and security within 15 minutes. [The] flight was on time -- no glitches. Perfect.[I] returned to New York on Saturday. Again, check-in and security lasted about 15 minutes; flight was on time -- no problems whatsoever.
Although my flight times were not ideal, I completely missed all of the weather problems that everyone else seemed to have this Thanksgiving travel period.
Lisa Jenkins, Rapid City, Michigan: We drove from Rapid City to Berrien Springs, Michigan, for Thanksgiving this year. It normally takes 3 1/2 hours to drive but we ran into snow and ice about 90 miles south of our house. We counted 33 accidents along our route, and the drive took seven hours to complete. Thankfully, we arrived safely.Chris Pangilinan, Cambridge, Massachusetts: [My friend and I] started our journey by carrying our bags about one mile across campus to the subway stop. After catching a crowded train we disembarked at South Station in Boston. Our first adventure was here with the broken elevators (of all days they could be broken). I use a wheelchair to get around and was lucky that the escalators were at least working. Two kind gentlemen helped me ascend the escalator in my chair then carried my chair up a flight of stairs while I walked with my crutches. ...Our next adventure began at the airport, where we arrived with only 30 minutes left to catch the plane to Pittsburgh. ... Luckily, the airline representative rushed us to the front of the line where the agent gave us our boarding passes but could not check in our bags. We'd have to run (and wheel) with four heavy pieces of luggage through security and down to the end of the terminal in less than 15 minutes.
The security line was short and we got through in about 7 minutes. [We checked] the departure board: Our flight was one of the few on time (we wanted a delay in the worst way).
We ran down the terminal nearly bowling people over and made it to the gate just in time! You have to imagine us now: Me in my wheelchair racing through the terminal dodging people left and right while Danielle carried all four bags making a beeline for gate 4. It was definitely a scary sight for anyone in front of us!
The ticket agent knew we were coming and held the gate open for us. If it were not for her, we probably would have missed the flight and spent a night in Providence.
Sarah, Boulder, Colorado: We traveled from Boulder to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for Thanksgiving to see our children and grandchildren. [It is] normally a three-hour drive, however, some snow over Rabbit Ears Pass made it a bit scary. We had a nice Thanksgiving but by the time we returned the next day it was snowing hard. Steamboat Springs got 14 inches of new snow, and the traffic that normally travels on I-70 through Colorado was diverted due to a huge rock slide. The holiday drivers traveling east or west were re-routed around the slide and onto Highway 40 -- the one we use to get back home over the mountain pass. With weather and traffic volume, it turned out to be bumper to bumper over Rabbit Ears Pass in a blizzard. Very hairy!James, Germantown, Maryland: [I had] absolutely no problems traveling from Baltimore [Maryland] to San Antonio [Texas]. Security lines were less than I encounter when traveling for business. TSA and airline people were friendly and helpful.Dan Seco, College Park, Maryland: I am a freshman at the University of Maryland and I live in northern New Jersey. I figured that I-95 would be rather congested if I left for home on Tuesday. My friend and I decided to skip classes on Monday so that the drive would be quick. Well, we were completely right! We managed to drive from College Park to New York City, where my friend lives, in less than three hours. Let's just say we were lucky that there weren't any police officers on the road. The last time I drove home from college it took nearly 4 1/2 hours.Sarah, Austin, Texas: Last year we spent six hours on I-35 traveling between Austin and Dallas on Wednesday afternoon (which is usually three hours). We gambled this year and decided to make the same trip on the same day, however this time we left at 10 a.m. instead of 2 p.m. and, wow, what a difference: The roads were clear as the skies that day.Traci, Wells, Maine: From Maine through Massachusetts to my final destination in New York City, the trip was flawless. I left Wednesday morning and returned Friday morning. Each way was no problem. I couldn't believe it either. I never thought driving to New York City during this holiday would be so easy.Geoff Pinsky, Baghdad, Iraq: I left Fort Bliss, Texas, on November 21. It was a 24-hour flight to Kuwait City and Camp Doha, where I spent the next few hours processing to go to Iraq. Then I spent the next 3 days in a warehouse with several hundred other soldiers waiting for a space-available flight to Baghdad. There was about 1 flight per day on an Air Force C-130 averaging about 15 passengers per flight. I finally made a flight that was subsequently cancelled due to a bomb threat at the Baghdad International Airport, so I got to spend about 3-4 hours sitting on a bus that day.Finally, I made a flight out on November 24 to Baghdad via Mosul on a C-130. We had to fly at night to avoid being shot at by insurgents (both rockets and small arms), and we had to wear helmets and body armor and sat on mesh seats. It was around 8 p.m. when I got to Baghdad, and had to spend the night at the airport because the roads are not safe after dark (those pesky insurgents again). I was picked up Thanksgiving Day and made it to my base just in time to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal about 7,000 miles away from my family in the States.
I'm sorry to hear about those 3-hour delays back home.
Terrie Terrell, Palm Springs, California: I flew to New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On my flights to New York there were empty seats. On my flights home, again, there were empty seats. Every flight arrived early so all connections went smoothly. This was by far the best holiday travel experience I've ever had.Judy Siegfried, Sarasota, Florida: I would never travel on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving but my sister ended up in the hospital. I had to make flight arrangements on Tuesday evening to leave on Wednesday. I got right through to the airlines with no trouble, got an incredible fare on the tickets (last minute special) and never waited for anything -- all the flights were early.
