Their flight was cancelled, so these delegates mounted a road trip to the DNC

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The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you the latest on the Democratic National Convention.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Weather conditions on the East Coast forced some flight cancellations to Chicago late Sunday night — including the flight that two New York delegates, Erik Bottcher and Allen Roskoff, along with Shaun Abreu, who is a member of the DNC Rules Committee, were supposed to be on.

They were in a pickle: The next flights would have them arriving at the convention 48 hours later than they had planned.

But Bottcher had an idea. How about a road trip?

Storm’s a-brewing, and flights out of NYC are canceled, but that’s not going to stop me, @ebottcher, or @allenroskoff from making it to Chicago for the nomination of our next pro-freedom president, @KamalaHarris.

So, who has tips for an 12-hour drive? pic.twitter.com/f7kmJ8zyG5

— Shaun Abreu (@ShaunAbreu) August 19, 2024

Abreu and Roskoff were down for the re-routed journey — and off they went.

“We had no option but to drive,” said Abreu, a New York City council member representing Manhattan’s 7th District. “We couldn’t miss the first day of the convention. And we knew that, so we executed.”

With food breaks and all, the drive took about 13 hours. Abreu said they took driving shifts so that each of them had some time to sleep.

“Let me tell you — I think both of these guys should be tested for sleep apnea,” Abreu said.

As tiring as the drive was, the excitement they felt about the convention kept their mood up, and they had fun documenting their journey on X, formerly known as Twitter.

We made it. https://t.co/SyX9aFYQDK pic.twitter.com/dnLsdb4E85

— Shaun Abreu (@ShaunAbreu) August 19, 2024

“We’re all energized for November, so there was plenty to talk about,” Abreu said.

And, there was a country music playlist to keep them entertained, too.

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