After being caught in the American Airlines debacle a few weeks ago at the Charlotte airport, I decided to write about our experience. For some, getting caught in an airport delay can be a nightmare. Especially when you’re on a time crunch. Lucky for us, we were just heading to Boston to meet the movers to collect the rest of our belongings.

We were given a hotel room for a few nights, while the weather was a whopping 97 degrees (106 with the humidity) we managed to make the best of it and go with the flow. There was a pool, which was cool, so we spent some time out there. But truth be told, it was so unbearably hot, we just opted to stay inside the hotel room.

One day it was so hot outside, we literally ended up staying in bed all day. There was no point in going anywhere. The kids had the television while I did some work (or attempted to do some work). It was certainly a challenge for them to no go crazy inside, but I was quite pleased they were able to hold off that energy until we got outside.

Even though Charlotte is only an hour away from us, I don’t know much about the city and don’t visit often. We did go to the mall, Audrey visited the American Girl store for the first time. Which was awesome. You can see more of her trip in the video below.

Odds that you will have a delay that requires a significant stay are slim, but should you run into an incident that’s beyond the airline’s control, make the best of it and deal with what you can control.

1. Explore the city, if you are able to work in a rental car comp (or don’t mind paying for Uber/Lyft), take the kids out and explore the city. Go have lunch, head to the mall, find a kid-friendly location and let them run wild. In Charlotte, there was so much to do, the Discovery Place is always a hit, and anytime there’s a Lego store you know you can have fun.
2. Our hotel did not have any type of dining, so for lunch when the weather was too hot to enjoy any time outside we ordered Ubereats. It was the kids first time having “room service”, they really thought we were being fancy. It’s the small things that can impress your children.
3. Head to the pool. If there is a pool, use it! If you don’t have swim clothes, let them use shorts and a t-shirt. No point in making yourself miserable, if you have a ready and willing activity right at your fingertips.

What are some of your travel tips? Summer isn’t over yet, there will be some delays and minor hiccups along the way, but don’t let that ruin your plans!