How did I get here?

I'm sitting in the business centre of a Holiday Inn in Dulles, Virginia, wondering - how the heck did I get here???

Oh wait. I know.

I'm cheap.

Never again will I opt for the cheaper alternative when booking a flight. I thought: $400 from Ottawa to London! Sure! Great deal! Stopover in Dulles? No problem! (Never mind that I had no idea where Dulles is, why would it matter? London here I come!).

So I'm waiting for my initial flight from Ottawa to Dulles and the sky darkens. All of a sudden lit up by bolts of lightning and outbursts of thunder. Followed by an announcement that my flight has been delayed due to a "weather freeze."

Fuck.

So I figure I'm going to miss my connection in any event. The flight attendant tells me, "no problem, you can catch the next flight out this evening, you'll be taken care of."

I land in Dulles 5 minutes before my connection is to take off and I'm told to hurry to the gate, just in case I can make it on. So I run. With a massive backpack, a full bladder and way too many layers of clothing - I look like a gypsy fleeing persecution.  

Carelessly,  I run past TWENTY gates and get there only to see the plane pull away from the passenger tunnel. Too late.

I walk forlornly back past the twenty gates to customer service where they tell me that I'm booked on a flight "first thing in the morning!" Oh goody! 

What the hell am I supposed to do until then?

So I call airport accomodation and the operator, who I'm sure is sitting somewhere in South Carolina by the sounds of it, asks me, "ma'am, which hotel would you like? the Hyatt, Holiday Inn or the Chelsea (aka: the cheapest option)." Instinctively, me being a student once again and incessantly cheap and without having learned a thing from my recent experience,  answers, "the Chelsea!".

And then a second thought.

Waaaittt a minute.

What's the lesson to be learned here?? I call back and book the Holiday Inn.

So here I am. Dulles, Virginia. With a hotel parking lot duly equipped with a McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wendys and Burger King. 

They certainly make for an interesting view from my hotel room.

Never mind that I could have been in London by now.