Travel Tips (continued)

After a drink at the airport bar Andrew went to check in at the gate while I watched our bags. Upon doing this he discovered our flight was going to be delayed until 7 a.m. the next morning. They gave him a meal voucher for $18 at the hotel they would be putting us up in, but having just ate at the airport, this did not seem to be that useful since we would have to leave before the hotel would be serving breakfast. When he returned I went to the gate to go get my voucher. Which brings me to tip #4.

4. NEVER BE AFRAID TO ASK. When I learned that we had a flight at 7am and and a meal voucher that was only good for that evening... for all intents and purposes... I decided to ask about a meal voucher for the airport for the following morning. Upon explaining my concern, I convinced a gentleman from the airline to give us a $12 meal voucher redeemable at the airport for breakfast the following morning. As far as i could tell, we were the only people on the flight to get a free breakfast, evidenced as I watched everyone line up at the airport Starbuck's the next morning and pull out their wallets for their meal.

With our four vouchers in hand we headed to the Marriot for our free nights stay in Houston. Awake and anxious with thoughts of our upcoming adventure, we showered went to the airport bar, which was now packed with around a hundred people in a bar meant for fifty... which brings me to tip #5

5.  BEFRIEND EVERYONE.  Tipping well makes friends with bartenders and smiling makes friends with everyone else. Don't get distraught over slow service if it's busy, and know that being understanding and joking with people goes a long way. After a good tip and some better conversation we ended up getting half of our drinks for free, and making friends with a beautiful Argentinian who agreed to take us out the following weekend. What more could you ask for. As I drifted off to sleep that night i couldn't help but think about the importance of MY golden rule. A good rule for travel, and an even better rule for life... #6

6.  EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. You don't always know the reason but I've found it is always there if you're patient. While for some, a flight delay of 10 hours might be obnoxious or even infuriating, for us it was a boon.  A last night in lush beds, our own room for the last time in what will likely be several months, and a new contact in a city we know nothing about. So as I said, be patient... look for the good in your situation and understand that everything does happen for a reason, optimism and faith are your biggest assets in situations that lay unknown to you.