Wednesday June 30, 2010

The alarm went off at 5 a.m. Julie and I finally got out of bed at 5:20. She took off to water the plants outside, before we leave. The day we leave is finally here! It's going to be a long trip ahead.

Whew! Brandon is grumpy this early in the morning! I woke him at 5:25 to get in the shower. WOW! Rachel woke up and is getting around! (A little secret...I think she's excited to go!)

Ahhhhh....showered...shaved...stretched out...all before 6:30 a.m.!

We were packed and loaded an hour early! The kids wanted to watch "Charmed". My sister and brother-in-law, Wade and Sharon, arrived about fifteen minutes early to take us to the airport. Going through security was completely a non-issue at Akron-Canton airport. No passports asked for. We bought Subway subs and waited for the security line to dwindle. Then we sat in the lobby by the escalators, since we were so early. (See picture)

The kids amuse themselves, as usual.

The flight to Charlotte, NC was uneventful. The Charlotte airport is far larger than I thought. We stopped for coffee at Starbucks, then walked to our gate (D3), to set up camp and wait. Julie and Rachel went for a walk. When they came back, Brandon and I left. Both kids loved the motorized walkways! Around and around we went.

Later, Julie and I walked down to a little wine bar and sampled some North Carolina wines. Ironically, Julie enjoyed the cab franc the most. She generally enjoys the fruitier wines. When we boarded, I realized we were given the wrong seats. We were supposed to be in 31 & 32 seats A & B. Instead, they put one seat in 32D, in the center section. The German man that was given 31B wouldn't switch. So I had Brandon sit there and put Rachel in 32D. When the German man sitting in 32C came, I asked him to switch with Brandon, which he was more than happy to do. So, in the end, the kids were able to sit together. The flight didn't leave until 4:45 p.m. Thirty five minutes late! Yikes!

The meal was really good. Airline food good? Really? Chicken and rice and veggies. the brownie was awesome. We watched the movie "When in Rome", which was very predictable, but good.

(There will be breaks in time throughout the blogs of this trip. Sorry.)

Well, I tried to sleep on the plane. No dice. At most, it could be called a couple hours of relaxation and that was it. Next, I decided to watch "Couples Retreat" out of boredom. Not a bad movie. When it ended, they announced we would land in about an hour. They're coming with coffee and danishes. Yeah! It's 5:40 a.m. in Germany and 11:40 p.m. at home, yet I feel like it's morning. Brandon looks dazed!