My journey has begun. I am in Detroit, Michigan for a few hours, then I'll begin the LONGEST flight of my life to Tokyo, Japan. The flight will be 12 hours and 51 minutes. I'll be crossing over 12 time zones and the International Date Line, which means that I'll lose a day. I left today at 5:45 and I will not finish this epic flying journey until 8:00 pm tomorrow night after a 4 hour flight from Tokyo to Manila. In the month of June, I will log close to 17,000 air miles.
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I've been told by a friend that my blog has been kinda mushy lately, so I thought I would lighten the mood and tell you about the mistakes I have already made on this journey:
We arrive at Philadelphia International Airport at 3:15am for a flight that leaves at 5:45 am. I think "OK, there's plenty of time. After all, it's ridiculously early, so how many people could really be there and how long could it take?" Well, I am wrong! There is no one at the counter and they don't start working until 4:30am, so I can do nothing, but stand in line and wait. I am pretty sure I cut off a Japanese man in line. Sorry about that, sir! An outside bag checker came in and suggested people bring their bags outside for checking. I follow the crowd and wait in line again. I get up to the counter and hoist my bag onto the scale and hold my breath. The weight keeps going up...oh no...it's overweight...nope, I had a pound to spare! Thank goodness because I am too cheap to pay $100. He scans my passport and the computer can't read it. "You have to go inside to the ticket counter." Yeah, more standing in line at the crack of dawn. A ticket taker comes up the the line and tells everyone that they must have a boarding pass before they get to the counter. Tom had installed the Delta app on my phone, so I thought no problem...the boarding pass wouldn't load. I get out of line to print my boarding pass! The news on the TSA lines lately has been pretty bleak, so I am starting to get nervous. Fortunately, the TSA lines aren't too bad. I do end up throwing away the Tylenol PM that I brought for the long plane ride because I think it is trash. I get to my gate to sit for a bit, then I go to the store to get water. The announcement I have been waiting for, "We are ready to begin boarding." Yes, let me gather my things and get this show on the road. I feel my pocket for my phone...NO PHONE. This can't be happening. Search everywhere in my bag, no phone. I glance back to the spot I was sitting, no phone. I start ripping apart my bag, no phone. I walk back to the seat I was sitting in and get down on the floor...wait for it...wait for it...MY PHONE! Hallelujah! That would have been an awful start to this fantastic journey. Now I just wait for the rest of the group to get to Detroit for our departure to Japan.
From Maryland to Manila with Love!
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