Thursday Travels - Part 1

Thursday, January 22, 2015 - Part 1

I got everything squared away at home, and Matt and I left our house about 8:50 a.m.  First, we dropped m car off at the GMC dealership so it could be repaired while I am away.   Then, we ran by the pharmacy to pick up some medicine and headed to the bank to activate my new international debit card.  Once we took care of those few things, we headed to Huntsville.

In Huntsville, we were greeted by our good friends Jeff and Dana McCutcheon.  It was so nice to be surrounded by people I love!  We had a few minutes to hang out, and then I said some teary goodbyes and headed over to the security checkpoint.

I had an easy trip from Huntsville to Houston.  I was on a small plane with only one seat on one side and two seats on the other.  The couple across from me just happened to be from a tiny little town in Mississippi called Iuka.  Well, Iuka just happens to be the tiny little town where Matt’s parents grew up.  It just so happens that Matt’s grandfather, Hays Woods, who worked for Farmer’s Home, helped this couple buy their home when they were “just kids.”  I love it when a big-ole-world gets a little smaller!  These sweet folks even agreed to have their picture made with the Flat Cats. The flight attendant did, too!

On that flight, the Flat Cats really enjoyed looking out the window because it was a pretty nice day in Alabama and Mississippi. But, by the time we got to Texas, it was cloudy and rainy.  :(  I was very proud of the Flat Cats on that first flight, though, because they listened to directions very carefully and red along with the flight attendants as they reviewed all the safety precautions.

                  

I had a fairly easy transition in Houston.  I stopped briefly and charged up my phone at a charging station the airport has set up in various waiting areas.  I made a call or two and checked messages.  Very quickly, it was time to board the flight for Munich!  I found my traveling companion, Karen Wells from Arkansas.  She and I were seated together, but the flight was not full.  I checked the seating chart prior to take off, and there seemed to be over 100 seats available!  So, after we boarded, Karen found another seat, so we each have our own row.  Hopefully we can sleep a little more easily.

We had dinner on board.  I chose ravioli, a roll, a salad, and a cookie bar.  I’m REALLY enjoying the in-flight tracker.  It has a great map that shows you what you are flying over.  (We just passed Boston... I surely do hope I can keep my pillow inflated for the rest of this flight!! ) We are now nearly over Nova Scotia, Canada. This map shows when it is daylight and dark.  It also shows some topography and snow cover.

Here are our current flight stats:

Ground speed:  543mph

Altitude 33000 ft

Distance traveled: 2101 miles

Distance to destination:  3551 miles

Ouside air temperature:  -65 F

Time to destination: 6:05

Time at home: 8:17

Time at destination:3:17

Estimated time of arrival (their local time): 9:22

Estimated time of arrival (home): 2:22 a.m.  -

I promised Matt I would text him, and I will update Facebook when I land in Munich.  We will have a short stop there before changing to Lufthansa Airlines and heading in to Warsaw.

Going to try to catch just a few hours of sleep.  I watched Maleficent on the inflight move, but I think I’ll pick something more boring than that now.

So, for now, goodnight.