Showing posts with label st. louis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label st. louis. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Finally in the air

Finally, we are airborne. We've been waiting for this since March.


Martha's Comments

I haven't been on an airplane for almost five years.  My last trip was a short flight to New Orleans.  This marathon of flying is definitely something new.  I have to give two thumbs up to the TSA pre-screening Chuck signed us up for.  We got to leave our shoes on and our liquids in our bags, got in a shorter line, and were done in a flash.  After all our preparation for them scrutinizing everything, it was a little bit of a disappointment, but in a good way.  

The flights were uneventful, thank goodness.  A long international flight is kind of like being in the hospital.  Every time that you start to relax, someone interrupts you.  Only 2 or so hours into the flight, they had come through with cheese and crackers, dinner, ice cream, water, and three rounds of drinks.  Wine and beer were complimentary on the flight!  I was starting to think they were just trying to get us to all pass out for the rest of the 15 hour flight.

On the back of the seats, there were monitors that gave you the opportunity for in-flight entertainment, including movies, TV shows, and games.  You could also pay $17 and connect to WiFi and play on your computer.  My favorite, though, was the flight tracker.  You could watch the path of the plane, and get a countdown on how far you'd gone, how far left, time left, altitude, and outside air temperature.  We flew over Canada, near the Arctic Circle, and down over Russia and China to get to Hong Kong.  

I have to admit, the hardest part about the flights was sitting so long.  My butt was tired of sitting, my legs were tired of sitting and my knees were tired of being bent.  I was grateful for a small space near the rest rooms where we could go stand and stretch.


Day 2 Expenses

$11.58 for Starbucks at the St Louis Airport
$31.88 for lunch at Newark Airport

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

On The Road and bound for Vietnam

We managed to leave about 08:30 this morning. We made a run to our bank, stopped in Branson for brunch and now we're headed toward Lake of the Ozarks and Highway 54.
Next planned stop is St. Louis. Make sure to look for my personal locator link (SPOT Locator) on the right side of the blog near the bottom. Click the link to see where we are.
Comments encouraged

Martha's Comments:

We took back roads (or at least no interstates), and got to see a few things besides pavement.  It was sunny, in the 80's and Jimmy Buffett playing on the radio.  

Took one picture of Americana to act as a contrast to our Vietnam photos.


Once we arrived in St. Louis, Grandson Vincent met us at the door and we loved having dinner with the kids.  Matt and Mike and their spouses/fiancees and their children.  Mexican food was a good start to the vacation.  And being treated to dinner by the boys was a bonus!

Family Diner


Mike was really concerned about whether Chuck was ready for this trip.  I did my best to reassure him that Chuck had done his preparation and that I would hold it together, to help him hold it together as time went along.

Vital Statistics

Today's expenses:

Food $35
Gas $30

Total so far:  $65