I’m on the road again, and I’m actually in mid-travel as I write this from the Alaska Airlines Board Room lounge at LAX. I’m on Option C, and counting.

Option A was my original flight out of Burbank this morning to Seattle, where I would take a second flight to Fairbanks, Alaska. When I tried to check in this morning I learned my flight had been cancelled. Ooookay, no problem.

Introducing Option B. They put me on another flight, this time to Portland to catch a second plane to Seattle, where I would catch a third plane (the original second plane) to Fairbanks. We took off, flew for about 10 minutes, and then start circling. After awhile they announced that we had a problem with the front landing gear and that we were going back to Burbank. We circled Burbank for awhile and then they announced that we were going to LAX because it has longer runways. Greeeaaatttt…. Our landing at LAX was quite popular with all the airport’s fire trucks and rescue vehicles, but seemed to go okay. We coasted for a loooong time before the captain let the front wheel drop, but we rolled out just fine. Just how close it was to “not fine,” I don’t know, but the captain’s hands were shaking and he looked veerryy relieved when he came out of the cockpit to “thank us for our patience.”

So now I’m on Option C: a 4 pm flight to Seattle, continuing to Anchorage, connecting to another flight to Fairbanks. I should get in around 11:30 tonight. IF I get there, which the way things are going today is not a done deal.

There is a bright spot in all this, though. Sure, I could have slept in if I’d known I was taking a 4 pm flight, but at least I didn’t have to drive to LAX. It was much more convenient flying the 25 miles from Burbank to here.