I keep seeing these posts that ask where we all were on 9/11, and I thought, "It's been 14 years, I really need to write my experience down for my kids someday." So, here's a kind of summed up, unedited, VERY ROUGH version that I'm working on. There are many details here I'm leaving out, such as my brother didn't have his driver's license on the way to FL and how much of a problem that turned into, or the fact that my mom was asked by a random, old friend we ran into to carry a family heirloom, a machete, back with us and trying to sneak that through the airport...etc... Anyway, here it goes:
My parents, my siblings and I were enjoying one last day of our Disneyworld vacation at the Typhoon Lagoon park. We had already spent a few days there, so we were intending to take a very relaxed and an unhurried day of leisure.

My mother and I were in the changing rooms heading out to meet the rest of them at the designated spot.  Imagine a mass of panicking, crying horde of people coming towards you heading madly back towards the exit.  Terror. That's the only word that describes it.  There are catchy vibes when something is terribly, terribly wrong.  You look for family first thing among the sobbing, jogging/running throng. And, thankfully somehow, we managed to find the rest of them quickly except for Dad, but the crowd was pushing us towards the exit.

No one knew for sure what was happening.  We heard everything from, "The East Coast is being bombed and thousands are already dead!!" to "Planes are dropping from the sky and running into buildings".  (Here I'd like to commend Disney for their cautionary, immediate, yet mostly orderly evacuations!  Well done!)

Once we grouped up and found Dad again outside the gate, and got back to the hotel, we watched the news along with millions of others and witnessed the tragic truth.  Reality hit shortly after as we were supposed to be flying out of Orlando, FL on United Airlines the following day. When we FINALLY got through to the airlines, they told us to go ahead and come the next day, the twelfth, and it would most likely be a first come first served boarding for all airlines.

Well, when we got to the Orlando airport, there were soldiers everywhere sporting automatic weapons.  We were then immediately ordered down to one end of the airport in a containment area which was an indoor courtyard to a hotel.  We were held in that area with hundreds of others for over 9 hrs.  (Met a lovely English couple. And we thought we had problems!  They had to somehow get back to Europe!)  If we had to use the restroom, we had to be escorted.  Not enough chairs for everyone?  Too bad.  One little sandwich deli made a load off that crowd. There was no one to ask what was going on.  We just had to sit and stay put.

Well, as you all know, all flights were grounded...for DAYS!!  I have a photo somewhere of the Departure and Arrival board posting all the flights and they repeatedly flashed "CANCELLED".  And because of all the tourists being stranded, there was a mad scramble trying to find hotels. When we finally figured out there were no flights going out for a while, we called just about every car rental place in vicinity trying to find a vehicle that would fit our family of six so that we could rotate drivers and drive 24hrs around the clock.  (Mostly two-door hatchbacks left.)  We FINALLY found a twelve seater passenger van!! The last one in the state!  No joke!  The only catch?  It was at the airport again!

Luckily, we got in, got the van, and just as we were driving out of the airport, we turned back to see a ton of people being escorted by soldiers down some ramp.  Apparently, there was a bomb threat. Got out just in time!  (Left in hurricane/stormy weather too!)

Anyway, made it back home in just over three days of driving.  In those three days, what stuck with me the most is that there was not one single plane in the sky the entire time.  The skies were quiet.  That every rest stop/truck stop or ma and pa restaurant we landed in, the tragedy was all people talked about.  When they asked where we were from and heard what happened, we had strangers offering their homes to us, no questions asked. We thanked them but kept moving. Their kindness touched our hearts.

We endured crazy weather in several states.  Yes, it is possible for the sky to turn black in the middle of the day in mere minutes.  And, yes, the wind can blow from both directions at once!  Got to see St. Louis at sunrise, and mile after mile of a whole lot of nothing.  Also, there are some towns with funny names, and a town with a population of two.  And you know what?  I can't remember one argument between all of us the entire time.  (Except when Mom took a picture and the flash reflected off all the windows scaring me so badly I almost drove us off the road.  lol  Even then we laughed.)

And when we finally did get home,  we had Tanner's future bride and very good friend waiting to take us to a camp out.  Two of the most lovely faces on the face of the planet!

Yes, the four of us "kids" went straight to a church camp out after all that.  You'd think we'd want our own beds, which Dad and Mom opted for.  We just wanted to see faces we knew!!  And you know what else?  That's the place where I fell in love with Jacob.  Why?  Because after my first. real night's sleep in days, (A sleeping bag never felt so good!), no make up and honestly wouldn't doubt if there was dried drool on my face...  who should I see on the path on the way to the campground showers, but twinkly Mr. Blue Eyes, who smiles and said in a sweet, voice, "Good morning, Sunshine!"  And at that moment I was hooked.

This is long. I know.  But the point is, that was one crazy vacation I will never forget.  We could have easily been on one of those flights.  We changed the date of our departure from the eleventh to the thirteenth after much hemming and ha-ing.  Millions will never forget feeling helpless, feeling terrified while witnessing that fateful day through a box on a stand. Wishing we could have reached through the screen and caught those falling with our own two palms. No one forgets where they were when they heard of the towers falling.  I doubt many of us forget every time we step on a plane.  This nation is ever changing and full of controversy, but for that one day, we were all united in our cry for our fallen fellow human beings.