Steeerriiiike!

The mechanics' union for Northwest Airlines, which I'm scheduled to fly tomorrow morning back to Washington, D.C., decided to go on strike today at 12:01 a.m. NWA says it has crews of backup non-union mechanics trained and ready to keep planes flying.

But I'm not holding my breath. I may be in the Twin Cities longer than I expected.

Back in D.C: I'm a bit worried about my dog, Nelson, who has been home by himself for 2 1/2 days (even though we hired a dogwalker to feed and play with him three times a day). Plus, I have a Sunday 10-miler with a friend. And I still have a lot of work to do (non-wedding-related) before we head to Hawaii on Tuesday.

Ah, the Hawaii trip. Also on Northwest Airlines. There's the rub. I'm sure their mechanics will still be on strike, and it's extremely likely that NWA's schedules will be completely off-kilter. I'm expecting canceled flights throughout the country.

So the question is: Should I go ahead and buy another ticket to Hawaii on another airline? Or I should I wait it out until Tuesday morning to see what transpires? I already paid close to $700 for the NWA ticket. I don't want to shell out another $1,ooo to $3,000 (last-minute fares) to get to luau-land.