And an unexpected stop in Charlotte, NC… this wasn’t on my bingo card either.

My final trip as a Women’s Ambassador has come and gone! I went back to Washington, D.C. (which is one of my favorite places!) and visited Richmond, VA for the first time. Both cities were great! I started out in D.C., flying in on Friday afternoon to meet one of the admissions counselors there.

Since my last visit to D.C. had focused more on meeting up with people, this time I was very excited to see some of the famous monuments and landmarks. It was a lot of walking, but my first stop was the cherry blossoms around the Jefferson Memorial. The cherry blossoms were in full swing, and it was a gorgeous sight! Looking across the water, the Washington Monument stood tall in the background, and it wasn’t even that cold outside.

After that, we decided to walk around more of the downtown area. I could see the Capitol building down the street, but we eventually decided to see the White House instead. It was starting to get dark (and cold) but that didn’t stop me. From the White House, we went to see the Washington Monument, the World War II memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Even at night, there were some tourists around, and I was having the time of my life.

We returned to the hotel late that night, and I went to bed. The reception was the next day (on Saturday), and it was similar to the previous events. The full-time admissions staff gave a short presentation, and then I went around talking to students and their families, answering any questions they had. The D.C. reception was pretty big, so I had a lot of new people to meet!

Once the reception was over, we packed up and hit the road for Richmond, VA. It was about a two-hour drive, including traffic, and I ended up sleeping part of the way there. That was when I got a bit more homework done. I’d had some assignments that I wanted to work on, so that’s exactly what I did.

The Richmond reception was smaller than the D.C. one, but it was still a lot of fun! Just like at all of the receptions I’ve been to, people have had great questions. The Richmond reception also had this amazing butter cake for dessert. It was probably pure sugar, but it tasted amazing and I absolutely loved it!

Since there were still several hours until my flight left, we ended up touring the Richmond area! We walked around a street full of shops, including stopping at a bakery where I bought a sticker that reminded me of my cat. I grabbed a snack at a dumpling restaurant, and then we headed to the airport.

Unfortunately, my flight ended up being delayed – significantly. I was flying through Charlotte into Daytona, but the flight from Richmond was delayed due to a backup on the airline’s end. I ended up missing my flight into Daytona Beach, which just so happened to be the last flight of the night.

Although unexpected, I saw the delay more as a side adventure rather than an inconvenience. I only have one class on Monday, and I emailed the professor and explained my situation. I then headed to the customer service desk where I got the airline to pay for a hotel and meal voucher, so I spent the night in a Charlotte airport hotel. I ended up ordering DoorDash and getting a little more work done.

In the morning I took the airport shuttle back to the Charlotte airport. The hotel check-out time was 11 AM, and the flight that they’d booked me on didn’t leave until 3 PM, so I had plenty of time to sit and work on homework. The airport reminded me a bit of Riddle. In the main dining area, there’s a big glass wall so you can see the aircraft going in and out. I sat and worked on my lab report while watching the planes.

As my boarding time got closer and closer, I headed over to the E gates, where my departure flight was. On the way there, I saw a big 777 in the background and just had to snap a picture of it (see above). I then kept walking, and eventually, boarded the flight back to Daytona. It was smooth all the way down from Charlotte, and I arrived around 5 PM.

From there I got right back into it. My class was from 4-6 PM, so I showed up at ERAU with my suitcase in tow! I also had a meeting after my class, so everything seemed to work out well despite the interruption.

Since I graduate in May and have no other trips scheduled, that was my last trip for ERAU. It’s definitely a way to go out with a bang!-Even though the Charlotte adventure was unexpected, it was still a fun experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Delays and unexpected circumstances are part of aviation, which is at the heart of ERAU. I’ve had so much fun over the years meeting people in their home cities while seeing parts of the country that I’d never seen before. Preview Day is coming up, so if I haven’t met you before, maybe I will there. If not, I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle!