As winter weather prompts flight cancellations across the country, some are hitting the road instead to make it home for the holidays.
Alice Adkins Aldredge was in Chicago for the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic along with her husband, Tripp, and son, Greyson. Their flight out of Midway was canceled Thursday morning due to the weather.
Alice told CNN they have family visiting for the holidays, so it was important they got back to their home in Charleston, South Carolina.
“We decided to risk it on the road,” she said.
They booked a rental car and began driving around 10:30 a.m. CT. The plan is to drive 12 hours to Charlotte, North Carolina to drop off their friend, who caught a ride with them. They will then drive another 3 more hours to Charleston for a total of 15 hours on the road.
“Everything has been great so far,” Alice said, “We’ve gotten to see some sights along the way and we get to spend time together.”
Tripp told CNN that many other of their friends from the clinic chose to similarly take to the road, as there were no available flights out of Chicago.
Madison Painter and her fiancé, Tyler Logan, were among those in Chicago for the clinic. Painter told CNN their flight to Atlanta was canceled Thursday morning and rescheduled for 9 p.m. on Christmas Day.
The couple decided, along with their friends, Calvin Scott and Brenda Simechak, to drive back to Atlanta, get their cars from the airport, and then drive another 3 hours to their home in Troy, Alabama.
“I was super worried we wouldn’t get a rental car,” Painter said, “I wanted to get home to our families.”
Luckily, they did manage to get a rental car and started their drive around 11 a.m. CT.
“It’s been crazy with the wind and snow blowing across the road,” Painter says.
To pass the time, Painter says she’s been watching the snow come down and texting with friends and family who are checking in. They’re hoping to make it back to Troy around 3 a.m. ET.
