I have slept a lot of places in my life — a few different beds at home, hotels, high school desks, a nice chair on my patio in Florida.

But not a lot compares to my attempted string of naps last night in the back seat of a Nissan Versa as it traveled from Charlotte, NC, to Dulles Airport.

The day started off well enough, relaxing at a resort in Hilton Head, SC. It was the day after my cousin got married and the end of a great long weekend with the family.

We left the hotel around 2 p.m. with plenty of time to get to the airport before our flight. The plan was a 5:50-something flight to Charlotte followed by an 8:06 flight home. Then it rained. The first plane was late. We missed the second one.

And then we waited.

Stepping into the Charlotte terminal just after 8 p.m., we saw there was a 10 o’clock flight to Dulles that seemed like an easy solution to the problem at hand. We got in the line to re-book flights along with about 30 of our best friends (or at least others in the same predicament). It was downright impressive seeing how slowly that line could move; I believe we went about 10 feet in the first hour.

It was as if the airline crews in Charlotte had never experienced a day in which weather forced cancellations and delays, meaning lots of passengers would need to change their flights.

I felt bad for the teenaged girl behind us, who was apparently traveling alone on her way to Miami. She struck up a conversation with an older woman behind her, from which I learned she was trying to get home so she could go to school this morning. I saw her later as we were leaving, and it looked like she was at least heading for a terminal and a possible flight home.

By the time we got to the front of the line the 10 p.m. flight was gone. So too was our chance of flying out of Charlotte into any of the three airports in the D.C. area before 6 p.m. the next day. Not ideal.

The decision was made to rent a car and spend the night driving home. We struck out at the first three rental agencies, who apparently weren’t willing to allow one of their precious cars to be taken to another region. Fortunately the final option had a car for us (thank you Hertz).

When you are exhausted, you can sleep just about anywhere. On more than one occasion I have passed a lunch break at work with a nap in the back of my Nissan Altima or my former Pontiac Grand Am. The key to sleeping in any car is finding the perfect position for melding your body to the various contours of the seats.

Usually that means finding a dozen different positions, ones you can shift to every 10-15 minutes as your body searches for true comfort.

The night passed and we finally arrived in familiar surroundings — roughly 10 hours later than planned. Fortunately our luggage did make that elusive 10 p.m. flight and was resting comfortably at Dulles.

A quick shuttle ride to our car, a short drive to my parents’ house, then on to my house for some quick unpacking and a bowl of oatmeal — all just in time to head to work.

I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty good night of sleep.

[Update: It was a great night of sleep.]