Summer family road trip begins with a string of delays

We were all ready to go. Bags packed. Boarding passes printed out. The cab was on its way to drive us to the San Francisco Airport. And then American Airlines called and an automated voice told us that our plane was delayed two hours. At least we were still at home and didn't have to wait at the airport.

By the time we made it to the airport, we found that storms in the south and East had delayed many planes. We bumped into some friends who were trying to get to New York and they'd been at the airport all morning. But we finally got on the plane and made it to Dallas.

But the best part of this story comes on the second leg of our trip, when we were flying from Dallas to New York. Our plane was about to take off when suddenly it turned around and returned to the gate. Turns out a drunken woman refused to wear her seat belt. The unruly passenger was escorted off the plane, and an hour later we took off.

 Another passenger on the plane knew the woman who got kicked off. They weren't traveling together or close friends. They just lived in the community.

The flight attendant asked, "What's she like?"

The woman screamed out, "That woman is a ****!"

That's when my daughter asked, "Mommy, what does that word mean?"

As a result of all the fuss, we got extra special treatment on American Airlines. Free snacks for the kids and a mini bottle of wine for mom.