Travel Day (DFW, LAX, & Tokyo)

            Tuesday, June 9, 2009 – Wednesday, June 10, 2009

            And the saga commences…waking up this morning was impossible; 6:00am after a very shaky night’s sleep is never a good thing. I finished packing around midnight and then couldn’t force myself to finally tap out. Everything was going smoothly before getting to DFW airport where many of my compadres arrived slightly behind schedule, but no worries, because as all of us were counted for, the line at security was almost nonexistent, so we got into the terminal with plenty of time remaining. The flight went smoothly and we landed at LAX with plenty of time to charge the electronics and get a last American meal (definitely fast food) before the voyage to Asia, or wait…

            It began with a miniscule 30minute delay from 12:15 local time to 12:45; we thought nothing of it. Then another to 1:15 pm, just another delay of AA being AA, but then the major blow arrived. A three-hour postponement of our eleven-hour flight because the Boeing 777 had to be shut down due to mechanical problems. The airline was busy finding both a new plane and a new crew to carry us, further delaying us. The plane arrived at 2:20pm, but the crew was nowhere in sight, that 4:00 departure was further pushed to 5:00, our final delay at LAX.

            We spent the hours at LAX playing cards, walking the small terminal, and feasting at Chili’s. The card games were epic, beginning with a thrashing of Eleanor and Amanda at camps by the dubious duo of Malcolm and I, and ending with an apocalyptical duel in spoons, concluding with an epic showdown between Tiffany and I, I am no athlete, but I can surely dominate the deck. The boys then mosied over to Chili’s to spend the $10 food certificate that American generously gave us after dooming our travel plans. We spilt a bowl of queso, an order of buffalo wings, and an oh-so-tasty Chocolate Molten Lava Cake, our last American meal before dining in Tokyo.

            I never thought a plane ride could be so long. The plane was humongous, but I had zero legroom. Every which way I would try to drift of to sleep wouldn’t work, once I finally drifted off, I woke up to a creaking pain in my back. By and by, the flight finally ended and we got to Tokyo in one, semi-loco, piece needing a solid night’s rest after staying awake for 27 straight hours. And that is exactly what I’m going to do, go to bed. Goodnight!

             

Song Description: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” – Bobby McFerrin