Well, it all worked out. I was able to surprise the hell out of my mother by suddenly appearing in the living room more than 2,000 miles from where she thought I was. The look on her face was worth the $327.50 for the flight and the 1+ mile sprint from my (late) Salt Lake City to Chicago flight (gate C32) to my Chicago to Rochester flight (gate B4). (View a map of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.) Then the next day I surprised the hell out of my sister and my grandparents, too. Fun stuff.
