Chalk one up for the third world.
I left Ecuador at 9:40 am, Wednesday. I got home at 5:30 am, Thursday. My plane was delayed out of Miami, then we sat on the runway for an hour and a half, then we were in a holding pattern before entering Chicago. I got into Chicago at 11:00, too late for a plane, bus, or rental car (which were sold out).
On the plane, I was sitting next to the only other person to travel from Ecuador to Milwaukee. We teamed up, using her cell phone, to call American Airlines, rental places, etc. After learning that we would be stuck in Chicago until a 1:00 flight the following day, we got an offer from Will to come come pick us up. We accepted.
He got to O’Hare at 3:30. We got to Mom’s house at 5:30. I called Eileen and then slept.
Total time it took to get to Ecuador and back through American Airlines, including delays, layovers, and flight time: 7 days.
And they call this the “developed world.”