Roenblog:

Starting December with a trip to Orlando, Fla., I was almost able to avoid the beginning of winter in Milwaukee…almost.

After a grueling trade show that started with a 7:30 a.m. flight Saturday morning, my co-worker Griffin and I headed home yesterday evening with seriously sore feet. While our flight left on time, we didn’t quite make it. Around Joliet, Ill., we were delayed in the air due to a snowstorm in Milwaukee. We circled around until the plane ran out of gas and was diverted to St. Louis. We tried to bail on the whole trip home, but Midwest wouldn’t let us go anywhere (quote from the gate agent: “I’m in charge of this plane!”) We hung out in the terminal until it was supposedly clear to get back on the plane and try again.

The snowstorm started back up — add in a medical emergency at the MKE airport that for some reason delayed the ground crew from working — and we circled around Chicago until finally getting cleared to land in Milwaukee around 2 a.m. As explained by the pilot, our other option would have been to land in Green Bay and get ground transportation back to MKE, approximately a 2+ hour drive in obviously bad weather. We thankfully made it back, somehow remained coherent enough to drive home through uncleared roads, and were back at work this afternoon. Welcome to winter in Wisconsin!