Here's to the road warriors, recently returned from battle.

Jim and DeeDee Quillen of Murrieta left at 9 a.m. Dec. 23 for their trip to see parents, kids and grandkids in Pittsburgh. Their plane didn't leave San Diego until 1 p.m., but last year they had a flat tire on the way to the airport, so DeeDee was determined to leave in plenty of time.

Arriving around 10 a.m., they checked their bags curbside with only a minor mishap -- their bags were tagged for Texas, not Pittsburgh. It took about 20 minutes to straighten that out, but no problem: They were three hours early.

As they waited for a crew for their airplane, their departure time came and went. Two hours after their planned flight time, they took off for Washington, D.C. And -- you guessed it -- they missed their connection.

Well, technically, it wasn't missed; the plane was still on the ground. They could see it at the end of the gate, but the door had been closed and, they were told, that meant it had "left," and the door could not be opened.

The gate agent said they could return Christmas Eve day to try and get a flight, but the first one that looked as if it would have any space was the afternoon of Christmas Day.

Jim said, "Where are my bags? We'll drive." The agent said he couldn't have his bags, but when Jim persisted, they were sent down to "bag retrieval."

"I had never seen so many bags in my life," DeeDee said.

After checking every single one, they got in line behind 20 others and waited.

"We don't have your bags," they were told at the front of the line. "It looks like they never left San Diego."

"Impossible!" DeeDee said, "I checked them three hours early!"

The agent gave her an 800 number, advised her to keep saying the word "agent" to try and get a live person, and dismissed them.

It's about a three-hour drive from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh, but Jim commutes from Murrieta to L.A. every day, so, he thought, how bad could it be? They finally got one of the last four cars Avis had on its lot. By now it was midnight.

Trying to keep them awake during the drive, DeeDee suggested playing "I Spy," but they couldn't see anything. Then she suggested singing Christmas carols. Because of the rain and ice on the roads, however, they decided to nix the entertainment.

Maneuvering through the storm, sometimes at the grand speed of 10 mph around jackknifed big rigs, they made it to Pittsburgh around 5 a.m. -- no bags, mind you, but in one piece.

The story continued, including 12 attempts at the 800 number that finally ended in a recording, "We are too busy to take your call right now so we are going to terminate." Click.

The flights back didn't go any better -- this time fog in San Diego diverted their plane to Los Angeles.

DeeDee said all is well that ends well, though. They had a great time seeing their family and were reminded throughout their journey that life is an adventure, so you'd better hang on for the ride.

Shari Crall is a Temecula resident. E-mail her at scrall@roadrunner.com with your good news stories or ideas for people worth writing about.