ROAD TRIP! 4 strangers make 20-hr car journey from Tampa to Cleveland after flight canceled due to storm
CLEVELAND, OHIO: Four strangers decided to travel 20 hours across the nation to come home for Christmas after their flight was canceled due to a severe winter storm. The weather has been wreaking havoc throughout America, with an estimated 2000 flights canceled on Christmas eve.
Greg Henry, Abby Radcliffe, Shobi Maynard, and Bridget Schuster did not let the storm spoil their plans for the holidays and decided to rent a car and travel the 20 hours together. The four were stuck at Tampa International Airport and anxious to return to Cleveland for Christmas. What began as a cooperative effort and gesture of goodwill developed into an enjoyable road trip. Several gas stations, rest breaks, blizzards, and downpours later, the group arrived in Ohio in time for Christmas Eve.
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Schuster documented their road trip in a series of 9 videos she uploaded on TikTok. After their flight from Tampa, Florida, to Cleveland, Ohio, was canceled on December 22, the group decided to rent a car, according to Schuster's initial video, which had accumulated 11 million views by December 24. "The earliest they could get us out of there was going to be December 24 at 6 pm. And we all wanted to get back there, obviously, way earlier than that," Bridget Schuster wrote.
Henry claimed in an interview with WJW that he was looking at other airline counters when he ran into Maynard. The two later met Schuster and Abby, who were also attempting to reach Cleveland. "They were a little leery," Henry told the outlet, referring to his travel mates. "I'm like, 'I don't think they're going to come with me,' because we don't know each other." He requested the others to travel with him after renting the automobile. "As we’re just all talking, I think at some [point] all of us were like, 'Yeah, we’re doing it."
Maynard told Insider that he was "bummed out" after his trip was canceled, but that his spirits soon improved because the group created "so many memories." Maynard added that he liked how TikTok viewers responded to their adventure. "It was fun to see all the comments people were making, and was encouraging to us that so many people were rooting for us to make it home safely!" Maynard said.
The four have decided to keep in touch. "We got into some very deep, deep conversation about our lives and what we’ve been going through. It’s like we just [met] these people but it’s like, literally from the beginning we just had that connection," Maynard added. "I had no idea when I was going to start this — I was just going to take a quiet drive home, get home, be done. We are so thankful to be back home and for the adventure we got to have!"