Category Archives: Flying

On The Plane

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As I mentioned earlier, Dan and I aren’t sitting together: rather than being in the center of the row, where you can lower a “wall” and yak and all, we did the left side of the plane.

Wellllll … it is noisier on the sides (although my near-deaf left ear means it’s not too bad), and I am missing chatting with my man. I’m hoping the view we see out the window when it gets light will make this worth the experiment, but I have a not-so-sneaking suspicion that we will go back to our usual center seats on our next big flight. (We only do Polaris when we know we want to sleep, it’s night time, and it’s not SO horribly expensive we can gulp and pay the price.)

Anyway, I miss Dan! But does he miss me? Hmmmm.

Take off was quick and easy and, as always, I accepted the glass of sparkling wine. I managed to get the free WiFi set up (free means I can only text, but I can live without the internet for the time I’m on the plane, I think). Then I spent time reading my book, This is Happiness, by Niall Williams.

Eventually they came back around, offering a drink (Pinot noir for me) and the little cup of warmed nuts. Had I known dinner wasn’t to arrive for a while I probably would have skipped wine and ordered it later, but I didn’t realize that.

Dan and I had pre-ordered our dinner, because then we could choose the special chef-prepared meal. Sadly it was lamb and I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it, but being as it was a special thing I went ahead and did that. Prior to the main they brought a tray with a couple of salads — one with shrimp and one with beets, along with some crackers and an offer of bread (i chose the dark rye). The salads were quite delicious. I realize the image doesn’t look all that exciting, but trust me, it was all tasty! Truly a full meal on its own.

Then the lamb came with some carrots. I can now state that I do not care at all for lamb. I tried a few bites. That was enough. I also had some of the carrots which I found too salty, but maybe better salty than bland?

I skipped dessert.

Really.

No sundae or cheesecake or cheese plate for me. I was too full. The two salad plates would have been plenty.

Then it was sleeping time. I lowered my bed, got the blanket and pillows in place, and fell asleep.

When I woke we had already passed Greenland. Darn. I didn’t get to see a bit of that, and we flew too far below Reykjavik. So much for a window seat!

I spent more time reading: I’m really enjoying my book, but it’s a slow read for me. It’s quite beautifully written and a nice break from my normal mystery books. While reading I could smell food — breakfast — being prepared. I will forever wish that we’d be served meals on the schedule of the place we are headed, but I guess I’ll forever be disappointed. It’s a bit after noon where we are headed. Seems like lunch would be rather nice to get us to transition to that time.

Finally, looking out the window, I saw land! Hello Scotland!

Eventually the breakfast I was smelling arrived. I had placed an order for the salmon which came with potato salad and more, because I thought it might seem more like lunch and, sure enough, it did. Of course I couldn’t come close to eating it all (didn’t even bother to open the yogurt), but I enjoyed what I did eat.

Looking out the window I was surprised to see those big windmills (are they called turbines? Am I making that up?) in the water. It’s hard to see in the photo, but they are there, and there were many more as well neared Netherlands.

And then more land. We flew right over Amsterdam, I think. My map told me it was forty minutes until we land. Time has flown by. (See how witty I can be? And to think I’m just winging it. I’m goofy and simple that way. Just call me plane Jane.)

Then it was time to land. What a quick and easy flight and …

Hello Frankfurt!

We exited the plane and headed toward passport control with only one brief stop on the way. When we got to passport control we did the initial bit where the passport is scanned, a photo taken of one’s face, and fingerprints (of four fingers, right hand) were taken. Mine took a while, as I have very sketchy fingerprints. Dan’s went quickly.

Then we went to the somewhat longer line to get to the actual passport control window where a police man asked questions: why are you here (vacation), how many days in the Schengen zone (40, I think), and a request to see our flight back out of the Schengen zone. Then my fingerprints again took a while. Someday they are going to have to move to something else, I think (iris scan, maybe/). My photo was again taken. Then the whole thing for Dan which, again, went more quickly.

And then we were out and met up with Greg & Jan.

It was, as always, fabulous to see them!

Then the drive to our final destination for the night.

Hello Heidelberg!

Time for wine!

After a bit of time we donned warmer clothes and went on a walk to the Altstadt and just enjoyed the sites (and one sample of “moonshine” which was more like a sweet desert drink to me), the old bridge, and the cool air.

Finally it was dinner time and Greg made a wonderful lentil dish and salad, plus some bread from a local bakery. It was all delicious! Oh … and wine Jan and Greg had just picked up in Alsace.

It’s fabulous being here, and so far I’m feeling rather energized. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Dan was tired and hit the hay while I typed this up.

So for now … auf weidersehen! (And please excuse typos: I think I need to sleep!)

And We’re Off!

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We woke at about 4:00 AM.

Okay, to be honest, Dan’s alarm went off at 4:00, so he woke up then. Mine was set to 4:15. But he must have hit snooze so after he got up his alarm went off again and I figured I might as well rise as well.

We were fully packed yesterday, aside from things like iPads and watches, so we just had to deal with our showers and doing a few small tasks. Still, it took about an hour to do those things.

Our flight was leaving from SFO. Oh how I wish we could do SJC for a change … and a closer airport. But so it goes.

Dan did the driving, and we were both a bit surprised by the number of cars already on the road. Gee, I guess people have to work! Go figure.

We parked, took the tram (or whatever it’s called) to the terminal, and went into the lounge where we could have mediocre coffee and breakfast. But hey, it didn’t cost anything, so there’s that. Then it was a lot of waiting time. Time in which I could start today’s blog entry and then read.

We easily boarded the plane and managed to get the luggage stored right above us — that’s not always possible as people tend to put their luggage closer to the front of the plane rather than at their own seats, but since Dan gets to be in boarding group one (thus I do too!) we were in pretty quickly.

Then we sat for about 45 minutes as they said our take off was delayed. I did more reading and I do believe I slept a bit.

Our flight, when we finally did take off, was unremarkable and easy, and we saw some nice snow-covered peaks. (Bad photos, but oh well!)

Once we landed we made our way to the train (they call it something else) to get us to the location where Dan’s brother picked us up. Then we drove to Richard and Diane’s place.

Hello, Woodinville, Washington!

We did a ton of talking, snacking, and eventually ate dinner. Ruth Ann had joined us as well, and it was great to see her. She drove on her own from her home in California and I am rather impressed, as I’m not sure I could be so adventurous.

I could write more, but having been up since 4:00 AM or thereabouts I’m absolutely exhausted. I would imagine this post is both boring and full of errors but so be it: my brain is fried!

Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually take a few good photos. But who knows?

Thursday, June 18, Part One — Time To Head Home!

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As is typical, my watch let me know I didn’t get a good night’s sleep: this time the score was even lower. That came as no surprise since I’m the one who was awake a lot — my watch hardly needed to inform me of that! Part of it, I’m sure, is knowing we had a flight coming up. Part was also the sore throat. This is one persistent bug, and my nighttime throat is bad. (I barely even notice it during the day.)

At one point Dan looked at my open suitcase and said I wouldn’t be able to shut it. Because of that, I shut it. I’m not competitive. I just always win. Shown below is my daypack that will go on the plane with me, and the luggage which, even while it qualifies as carry on, will get checked. (Since Dan has to check his we figure we may as well get rid of mine as well.) And yes, that was all I carried for this 6+ week trip. The only things Dan took for me was my umbrella and my puffer jacket which packs into itself quite nicely. Odds are I might have even been able to squish that in my luggage, but maybe not.

We were ready ahead of time so we checked out and walked to “Dan’s underground station.” Okay, okay, that time I did lose.

Without much waiting we boarded our train. A nice man offered me his chair — wait, do I look old?! — I thanked him but said we would get off at the very next station so I was fine. Rarely has anyone offered us seats, and never have any people in their teens or twenties offered. But I won’t complain because then I’d sound like an old lady and of course I can’t possibly be an old lady. Um. Right?

And then we arrived at Paddington. To get to our next rain was so easy, but first we stopped for coffee. We wanted to use up the last £10 we had. Of course it turned out they don’t take cash!

After coffee we walked to Heathrow Express and got right on the train. Some would say we should take the Elizabeth Line, which perhaps is a bit less, but Heathrow Express is a 15 minute ride and with our “Two Together” card we get a very good price. Besides, it always has plenty of available seats. (Another Heathrow Express was right near us so I took a quick shot. Because.)

To Heathrow we went. Arrived easily, and then did the maze to get to the spot where we check our luggage. Lots of hallways, lots of those moving walkways …

We quickly checked our luggage and made our way to security. They are a bit slower here with the body scanner bit. I purposefully didn’t wear my barrette so I wouldn’t trigger the thing. Both of us remove our watches even though I don’t believe that would trigger anything. It’s just easier than dealing with that trigger possibility! Dan took off his belt (he was actually told to) even though it’s supposed to be the sort (it’s plastic rather than metal) to not trigger anything. Still he triggered the machine. I think it was because of the zipper on his shirt.

From there it was another maze to get to our lounge. Dan said it’s because we actually go under the runway or some such thing. Down a long escalator, then more walking, and then up two escalators.

We went into a store and managed to find a tin box with goodies for exactly £10 that we will enjoy later.

Then to the lounge we went. Dan asked if we qualified for more than this basic United lounge and yes, we did: we could do Air Canada or Singapore. The woman said Singapore was very good for their food, but nixed Canada. At that point, though, we just decided this one was closest to our gate and we were already there so we just went in. We both had breakfasts. I forgot to take a photo of mine, but did catch Dan’s before he dug in. I think Dan might be tiring of yours truly constantly photographing him! Could it be?

With about 45 minutes to go until boarding I went in search of the coffee machine. A cappuccino was made and back to my seat to do a whole lot of nothing. I am very talented at nothing, so I nailed it!

This is my view out the window in the lounge. Thrilling, I know. The United plane you see is most likely not ours — I think we are at the very end of the terminal.

And we are in the plane! I’ll post Part One now and get back to you when we are home. Ciao!

Tuesday, May 26 — Moving Day

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We woke earlier than necessary (7:00) for our 8:45 taxi ride so I turned off my alarm and slept a bit more. I had already laid my clothes out last night, and managed to fit even the thicker things in my luggage so I knew it would go quickly this morning.

I finally rose at 7:30, and made my Nespresso coffee, got dressed, and packed. Still more time to spare. So I sat around a bit, checked email and Quicken — just killing time, really.

Finally it was time to head downstairs and check out. Our taxi driver was already waiting for us. Dan said, “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting long,” but he didn’t answer, so who knows? The drive took a while due to traffic and the distance. I don’t know why we had the idea initially that the airport was closer to the city, as it was definitely not! But still we arrived nice and what I think I’ll call “patty early”. We checked our luggage and raced through security. Here they have you take out laptops and iPads, but nothing else. Both Dan and I triggered the thing that means they have to check us out. For me it was my barrette and Dan had a shirt with a side zipper and that triggered it. They are pretty darn careful here. I actually appreciate that, as sometimes I’ve gotten through with all sorts of things I forgot to remove and they don’t catch them.

We made our way to a lounge to see if we were allowed in (the AerLingus lounge was closed due to renovations but I read that we’d be allowed in the other one here … maybe). Sure enough, we qualified, even without first class or anything. The lounge was pretty tiny, and we were allowed to stay for two hours only, but since our flight was boarding in about 1 1/2 hours that wasn’t any issue. The real reason we wanted to get in was to get free breakfast. We are cheap that way.

As you can see above, Dan had what they call the full English, or is it full Irish? Hm. I didn’t do the meat or tomato and even with what I chose it was a ton of food. As you can also see, sitting in a lounge is so exciting Dan can hardly contain himself. The other people in the lounge looked equally thrilled to be there. Killing time is a riveting experience.

We decided to amble to gate 6, where we were to board our flight. It didn’t take long to hear the announcement that Group 1 was boarding. Alas, we were Group 2. And then, horrors! — Group 3 gets to board with us. Now how distressing can that be?

Okay, it wasn’t at all distressing. So never mind.

We were in row 2 of the plane, with another passenger in the window seat while we were middle and aisle. The flight was completely uneventful. At least for us. One man had to console his crying infant for quite some time. As this photo shows, Dan wanted our pants to match. Or maybe it was an accident. You decide.



And then we landed. Hello again, London Heathrow! At least for a very short time. But oh my, was it hot out! Cork was too warm already. This is “too warmer”!

We weren’t sure what to expect since we were coming from the EU and entering the UK. I’d been told by someone on the Rick Steves group that we could expect nothing, and that person was correct. No passport control or anything. So after getting our luggage we made our way to Heathrow Express.

Into that train we went for our fifteen minute ride to London Paddington.

We were going to have no problem connecting to our next train so I even asked at the station if we could change the ticket to an earlier train but that would have cost something so instead we went to the Mad Bishop and Bear in the station and had some bites and drinks. I tried the non-alcoholic G&T and it was surprisingly tasty! I should have taken a photo of what they used because I’d try it at home. Too late now, though.

Our train departed precisely at 3:23. Our seats were in the “quiet car” — I had reserved them (for no cost) but clearly there were loads of available seats. Right before we departed the station a couple came in with their cat (in a crate) and proceeded to yak. And yak. And yak. I don’t know if they didn’t realize it was the quiet car or if they didn’t care, but no one pointed to the sign. Quite different than another trip we were on when a woman acted as the Noise Police. She needed to be on our train! They got off in Reading though, so silence was then enjoyed.

We had a five or six more stops. I don’t really count them carefully, but I did pay attention because I sure didn’t want to miss our stop! Sometimes I did take a quick station shot. Just because, as well as other rather shabby shots out the somewhat dirty window.

And then we arrived. Hello, Moreton-in-Marsh!

We begin tomorrow on a week-long walk. I would love to say this will be a very easy walk compared to some, but it’s so darn hot I think it will still be challenging. Still, I am looking forward to it.

We walked to our lodging, provided by Cotswolds Journeys since we used them for this walk, checked in, and made our way to our rather large room.

And then the real fun for today: we met up with Greg and Jan! (My brother and sister-in-law.) They are joining us for the walk. I just hope we don’t melt.

After we met up we headed to dinner at the Black Bear Inn. I thought I might be done with fish and chips, but nope … had ‘em again. Food was plentiful, but hey, we have a 7 mile walk tomorrow, so there’s that.

We finished and walked back to our lodging.

And then it was G&Ts. It was just too hot not to. Trust me. (I grabbed this photo below from Greg’s What’sApp post. I’ll try and get the actual photo later.)

After drinks we said our good nights and went to our rooms. I’m hoping we can manage to sleep, but we’ll see. At least I have a fan in my room! (I’m not talking about Dan.)

For now, though … ciao! (I wrote this even more quickly than usual so I hat to think about the typos.)

6,701 steps, 2.69 miles, 3 flights climbed

PS This final photo shows our hair as being somewhat gray or white. I’m sure it’s just a camera problem and I will try and fix that.

HAH!

The Flight

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Boarding the plane was pretty darn quick. It was all done by facial recognition … except when it wasn’t. The camera didn’t see to recognize Dan! He had to then have his passport scanned and all was well.

We got to our sets (row 5, Polaris). I know, I know, fancy schmantzy … but these days I just can’t deal with tight spaces and the inability to sleep. Plus I blame my brother Greg who got us seats in business class once. He suggested we wouldn’t be able to go back and he’s mostly right (we do premium economy on occasion).

We were offered a drink. Speaking wine for me, water for Dan. Yep, he lives on the edge. Then it was a bit of sitting, followed by taxiing, followed by taking off. It was smooth until there was mild turbulence, which they apologetically said would delay our meal. Not that we were hungry anyway.


After a bit of time I looked at my watch. 4:20 AM.

No, not in San Francisco. But when I get on a plane I set the watch and iPad to the destination time, hoping it will get me to accept the huge eight hour time change.

I did a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, and read a bit, but my brain really didn’t want to concentrate on anything. I actually wanted to sleep! Sort of a good thing, but there was dinner to eat. What to do? (Some people suggest you do NOT eat meals on the plane: I’ve yet to convince myself to do that.)

What to do was start writing this.

Food was a bit late, due to turbulence, according to the announcement, but eventually we received our drink and warm nuts, followed by the appetizer. That appetizer was lovely, and was enough for a full meal as far as I was concerned. That turned out to be a good thing: our dinners were not quite so appealing.


After dinner it was lights out for the two of us, and we did a good amount of sleeping. Dan is, in fact, continuing to sleep as I type this. But it’s 11:35 AM at our destination so I’d prefer to try to stay awake now. (It’s 3:35 AM at home.)

Where we are:

Breakfast was served near the end of the flight. I would have preferred lunch, since it was lunch time at our destination, but since I only eat two meals a day anyway, I sort of tried to convince myself it was lunch. It was, as usual, too much food and not terrifically exciting.

This flight really flew by. Yep, that’s about how funny I can be! And then we arrived.

Hello Heathrow!

We went through the passport control in mere minutes, but oh all the walking one does before and after that. It’s a great way to get steps in after such a long sit, though!

Then it was Heathrow Express to Paddington Station.

From there we had to find our way to our hotel via the tube. It took a while, but we did figure out how to do that.

Oh … but it DID take us a while to walk from Euston Station to our hotel. One of use (me!) was using a map app and got confused. Then someone else (he!) took over and managed to also get confused for a bit. We figure this is par for the course and today we had a number of “oops!” moments so perhaps we got it out of our systems early. Who knows? but we got there. Eventually.

Side note: we had to opt for roller bags due to the things we (Dan, really) needed. I’m so torn between the roller bag and our packs. My back isn’t great, and I have neck problems, so a pack hurts, but it sure isn’t fun carrying luggage up stairs, and there were a lot of stairs to get from one place in the tube to another.

Our hotel is nothing exciting, but it will suffice: we are only here for one night and tomorrow we take a night train to our destination. London was just a quick stop.

After dropping off our stuff we went to find an ATM and then a pub. Well, except I first realized I’d left my phone in the room so we had to go back. Another mistake!

ATM was found, money was pulled from there, and off to The Lamb we went. Dan ordered fish and chips and I had a chicken and leek pie. Both were yummy pub food and just what we wanted for our first night here.

Cheers!

On our walk back to the hotel we went past this interesting building.

And then it was time to finish this blog, post my daily flora photo, and hit the hay.

I’m not sure I will be able to post every day: it will depend upon time and internet access. But I will actually write every day so I can post later if things don’t work.

For now … cheerio!

Time to Head Home (9/25/25)

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We could start quite lazily today (but then when can’t we?!). I showered while Dan did whatever it is he does on his computer. Then I played a few of my games, started this blog, and began the packing adventure. The only thing I have to add to the mix is my new Boston cap, so packing should be fast and easy.

We discussed what we’d do with our shorter day and then we received a text: our flight was being delayed (by two hours so far) because the incoming flight was arriving late due to low visibility which limited the number of planes allowed to land each hour. Gee, memories of when we left SFO! We could look at other flights and reschedule and/or reroute if we wanted so I took a quick look and, sure enough, there was a 1:05 flight so I grabbed it. By the time I’d done the necessary box clicking the seats I wanted were gone, and the departure time had changed to 1:35. Unfortunately we now couldn’t get one aisle seat, but so it goes. We’d rather get home earlier, after all. Shortly after we received texts saying our flight was now delayed until 2:15!

In any case, this meant change of plans: we’d first pack and be ready to go, leave our luggage downstairs, and go grab our coffees. Knowing how traffic is here we want to leave plenty of time to get to the airport!

Leaving to get coffee at the closest place that wasn’t Starbucks (we only go there out of desperation!) the rain came down. And I mean really came down. It was a true downpour.

We had our umbrellas, but were still a bit wet when we arrived at the coffee spot. Of course the rain immediately died down when we went inside. But we got our food and coffee, sat down, and spent a bit of time there.

Then back to the hotel we went.

We didn’t want to chance a late checkout, and knowing how slow the one available elevator was we made sure not to take a chance. So up and then down we went, and Dan called for a Lyft.

We had an uneventful ride to the airport.

Just a few from-the-car photos:

Security was quick and easy. Dan got us into the lounge (I have no clout!) and we relaxed. Soon the departure time for our flight was yet again later, listing 2:58 for take off with boarding beginning at 2:18. I started to wonder if our landing might be what we had planned on with the later flight!

The lounge was fairly empty when we arrived, and nice and quiet.

Of course eventually it did fill up: we obviously wouldn’t be the only ones affected by all the delays. I’m just grateful that Dan has the charge card that gets us into a lounge and we can get our “free” food. (Obviously paying for the card — and it’s not cheap! — means nothing is truly free.) We had nice seats right at the window so we could watch planes take off and disappear into the clouds. We were also near our gate so we could see when the plane we would be taking (coming from Chicago) landed.

Boarding was quick and easy. I was in the middle seat, and Dan had the window. The woman who had the aisle was definitely not one to want to converse. She also was wearing a hoody AND a puffer jacket — I would have roasted! She stood to let us in, but then she hunkered down and I did wonder if she’d ever get up. At one point I finally asked to get out to use the bathroom (oh how I wish we’d had the aisle!). But the flight was fine, and home we went.

The terminal is a bit of mess to get through at the moment, but we made our way out (eventually) and took the tram to our car in long term parking. We arrived home safe and as sound as is possible for us. (Well, I suppose I shouldn’t speak for Dan. Hah!)

Next up (after some music work for me): Chicago!

But first … lunch!

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After my dear sister (thanks, Carolyn!) drove us to the airport we went to check our luggage. There was no wait at all. It it so odd at this point to say goodbye to luggage, since I’m so used to carryon only. I think the rule about trekking poles is dumb, and I am betting we could have gotten through with them, but were we willing to take that chance? No way!

We got through security in what felt like seconds, so that, too was a breeze. There is barely anyone here!

Then it was time for the Polaris Lounge. (Yes. We are doing the Polaris lay-flat seats on the plane, which means we get in to the Polaris Lounge. We are spoiled. I’m okay with that.) We headed to the dining room and had a lovely, small meal. It was just delightful. And quiet. Very, very quiet.

Small bites first, and then our main. I
promise you we won’t complain!
(Yes, that’s my poem for today.)

Now we are sitting in the lounge, having coffee and dessert. Oh what a rough life. You might weep a bit for us.

Or not.

Next up … Frankfurt. We have close to a 7 hour layover before we have a 2 hour flight to Glasgow.

I’m still not quite realizing this is happening!

Yes, I’m Home

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I will post more photos from the flight … maybe. We’ll see. But it was a rather uneventful flight, aside from a few little annoyances.

Because I checked my bag at the last minute which meant it was one of the last to be put on the plane it was one of the first to get delivered. This is one reason I like to do it that way when they ask for volunteers! Then my sweet sister picked me up (Thanks, Carolyn!), and we headed back to San Jose.

We went out to dinner and even treated ourselves to ice cream cones. Okay, really frozen yogurt cones because those MUST be so much healthier! HAH!

Anyway, who knows if I’ll get to photo posting or not, but for now? BED. Ciao!

Flying Home

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After my quick cappuccino at the hotel I scheduled a Lyft to take me to EWR. I knew I’d arrive (too?) early, but there wasn’t enough time for a walk and staying at the hotel seemed boring.

The driver arrived a minute after I scheduled the “longer wait” right. Heh. I’ve learned that one rarely needs to get the immediate car that costs more. As we were dealing with a ton of traffic in Manhattan he asked how soon my flight was and I assured him I had plenty of time. But then, even further out, we hit nearly standstill traffic. Turned out there was an accident that was impeding …

<Wait! Side note: the person behind me just closed MY window blind in the plane. Hello?! The same person who put his — or hers, I haven’t checked — blanket plastic wrapper on my arm rest. Heh. Boundaries be gone!)

… our progress. But we got past that and, for the most part, did okay from then on. We did pass another accident with two cars on their sides and another damaged one as well. Eek!

Security was a breeze. Barely a line and very very quick. I then walked over to find my gate, before heading to the United Club lounge. (I like to know how far it is from the lounge.)

I really didn’t end up having a ton of time in the lounge. Or maybe I did and it went quickly because I was playing all my games. Hm. (HUGE fail with “Connections” today, though.)

I stood in the line for Boarding Group 2 until, as I expected, we were told the plane was full and if anyone was willing to check their carryon bag they could do so. Knowing the bin above me would be full by the time Group 2 (really Group 6) boarded I went for it. Too bad they don’t reward us with a meal or something. Oh well.

And now I’m on the plane. I’ll be curious to see if I can post this! (Yes, I paid the $8 to have a connection on the plane.)