June 2: En Route

Saturday, June 2 En Route

We’re FINALLY on the way!

When I left to get a haircut, Lisa was still ironing. She called as I hurried to my parents’ house to say that she had the first bag packed. Lisa took the dogs to the kennel while I ate lunch with my folks, then I drove to work (I had a few last minute calls and emails).

So when I got home, we had 1½ bags packed with one hour until Kim was due to take us to the airport. We’ve done it before, but it was still pretty hectic! When Kim got there, we had all five bags packed, but we were still printing out packing lists. And Kim brought a ton of toothbrushes and toothpaste! So we found an empty corner in a bag and loaded them in.

We left home at 3:45 with a 6:15 flight. When we got to the airport a little after 4:00, Ray was waiting. Vicki, Michael, and Ray’s sister all came to see us off. And we were surprised to see Scott and Kristi, who had brought letters for their sponsored kids. We visited in the lot for a while, then went in, but the gate wasn’t open. A man from Delta helped us find the gate agents, who, once they arrived, were incredibly friendly and talkative.

We finished getting our boarding passes, then rejoined our friends. After a while, Scott and Kristi left, then Ray’s sister. Then it was time for us to head to the gate. We said our goodbyes, then cleared security without major problems. We had only an hour and fifteen minutes to wait with ABSOLUTELY nothing to do at the airport!

Our flight was delayed by weather in the Chicago area, so we were a bit late boarding. The plane was full, a small regional jet with enough head room in the aisle so that I could stand normally as long as I watched for the EXIT signs. We waited on the runway for a bit more, but I didn’t notice. I ran out of adrenalin as soon as I hit my seat, and I was asleep before we began taxiing. I didn’t even have a chance to read on the flight between naps.

I felt a bit rested when we set down in Chicago. We were about a half-hour late when we landed and a little more when we made it to the gate. We had to go out to the Iternational terminal, which meant finding the train and riding out. And although Lisa and I had boarding passes, Ray didn't, so we had to go to British Air ticketing to get his pass.

And it's a good thing we did! BA didn't accept the passes we'd printed without some sort of stamp. And the agent noted that the friendly guys in Chattanooga had put all six of our bags under Ray's name, which this man said would result in a fine. So he changed the bags randomly, two to each of us.

We finally went out to the gate. There was plenty of time to spare. As we were sitting there waiting to be called, we noticed Ray was no where near us. In fact, his seat was in deluxe economy, which meant a larger seat, better food, and less confusion. We, on the other hand, were back in the overcrowded, noisy, tourist section. The plane was a 777, which meant three seats on the aisles. We shared our eveing with a completely silent young Middel Eastern man.

I couldn't sleep at all, not unusual for me on long flights. There were tons of movies, but none I was very excited about. It was a long, long, night!