SAN DIEGO — Thursday update: Southwest sent an email to Marcella about her Saturday flight home from Denver, Colorado that says: "we expect to resume a full schedule of flights with minimal disruptions on your day of travel." Hopefully, Marcella and her family won't have to drive another 30 hours. Fingers crossed!
Original story below:
Travelers from far and wide ticketed for their holiday destinations with Southwest Airlines were left without a plane to board - including CBS 8's very own anchor, Marcella Lee.
Lee and her family set off for San Diego International Airport Monday, December 26, with plans to board their Southwest Airlines flight to Denver, Colorado.
Flight 1483 was scheduled to depart around 8:50 a.m.; instead, Lee reported the flight was delayed 15 minutes, 30 minutes, then one hour, but ultimately canceled.
By 6 p.m., Lee and her family decided their best bet to reach their destination was to rent a car and drive more than 17 hours to Denver, Colorado.
Lee, her husband, and their two kids prepared for the adventure of a lifetime.
"This has been the craziest trip we've ever taken," Lee told Heather Myers, a colleague, and anchor at CBS 8.
Video posted to Lee's Twitter account showed a bustling and booming rental car center nearby San Diego Airport where dozens of other travelers looked for alternate forms of transportation.
Lee said her family would have had the option to drive their vehicle instead of paying for an expensive rental car to get them to their destination if Southwest Airlines had provided an earlier heads-up about the cancellation.
Six hours into Lee's family road trip, traffic conditions became unbearable.
"It’s like all of San Diego decided to head north on I-15. We’ve been driving for 6 hours from San Diego and are still 3 hours from Vegas," Lee tweeted.
Photos and videos shared with Lee's social media followers showed bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway.
"It's my dream to be trapped in the car with my kids, whom I don't see very often, without cell service! It's been wonderful. We're just trying to make the best of it; there's nothing we can do," Lee said.
Amid the traffic conditions, refueling was a challenge too, according to Lee.
The Lee family stopped for fuel in Barstow but were met with long lines and fuel pumps out of gas.
The family anxiously continued on the highway with only half a tank and made it to the Nevada state border, where they fueled up.
Lee said the road trip to Las Vegas, Nevada took the family about ten hours.
More than 14 hours later, The Lee family made it to Utah, where they slept for only four hours, then hit the road again.
"A memorable way to end the year for sure; we will never forget this trip," Lee said.
Instead of the family's original two-hour flight to Denver, Colorado, Lee and her family eventually made it to their destination about 30 hours later.
Lee was able to get her family and her luggage on the road quickly after checking their bags, thanks to Apple AirTag trackers.
Thousands of people were trapped in San Diego or at San Diego International Airport amid several holiday flight cancellations.
Adding to the chaotic situation at the San Diego Airport, luggage filled the baggage claim area and even a food court, creating a scavenger hunt scenario for travelers searching for their bags.
Most distressed travelers reported that most of their problems arose from Southwest Airlines, which seemed to be the most heavily impacted by cancellations and delays.
Lee was hopeful Southwest Airlines could recover by December 31 to bring her family home to San Diego.
You can watch here for more of Marcella and her family's journey to Denver, Colorado.
WATCH RELATED: Southwest Airlines cancellations continue upending travel plans at least through beginning of 2023