Senator Angus King Ditches Airport For Overnight Road Trip With Strangers

For most travelers, canceled flights mean major headaches. For Sen. Angus King  (I-Maine), it was the chance for a road trip.

On Thursday night, King’s homebound plane waited on the tarmac in Washington for more than an hour, only to be canceled, he explained on Instagram. Stuck at the airport where he was considering taking the next flight out, King found a group of four strangers in the same boat who “decided to forget the airlines, rent a car, and drive through the night to Maine.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the senator joined in for the nine-hour journey.

“I signed on on the spot, and here we are just north of Baltimore headed to an early-morning arrival in Portland,” he said, sharing a photo of his newfound friends. “Two software engineers, a college professor, a lawyer, and a U.S. Senator — what could possibly go wrong?” 

In a series of updates from the road, King kept his followers posted on his whereabouts, taking the final driving shift and arriving in Brunswick around 6 a.m. 

“Thanks to our fun crew for including me and to all of you who wished us safe travels,” he said. “Now for a couple of hours sleep; g’night (or actually) g’day!”

In an interview with USA Today , King said he just wanted to do something “spontaneous.”

“They said, ‘you wanna go with us,’ and I said ‘sure!’” he recalled, describing it as “just like an old-fashion road trip.”