A couple gin and tonics, an order of wings and two orders of the infamous fries (no, we couldn't finish them all), we were sated and headed back to my apartment. I picked up my bags, thankfully having finished packing before taking Bailey to her vacation home for the week, and I quickly loaded up Mel's car and we headed out to Grand Prairie.
Sleeping before this trip was a bit like trying to sleep before Christmas morning: virtually impossible. But I was able to get a decent amount of shut eye and before I knew it, it was 6am.
I trudged out of bed and got a quick shower. Both Mel and Linda came down to see me as I finished putting things back in my suitcase (and we even commented on my packing style/ability). With a quick hug (and a few words of wisdom about running to Linda before departing) Mel and I were out the door and on the way to the airport, via Starbucks.
I met my parents at check in and the next stop was security. Who knew that would be a challenge? Mom got pulled quickly for a standard security check and dad and I seemed to get through fine. Correction: apparently I got through fine. Once through, mom and I met up to find that they were checking my father and his bags fairly closely. Mind you, my father has a cane and a camera bag. That's it. And if a strong wind managed to whip through the airport, my father would be on the ground. Needless to say, this guy wasn't a threat to security. But they hauled him into a room nonetheless.
Luckily for him, they released him...after a lie detector test, strip search, who really knows?! (just kidding) So we headed off to the Delta Crown Club. Were we flying Delta? Nope, but dad's a million+ miler member, so what does it matter, right?
Ah, spicy Bloody Mary's at 8:30am are delicious.
Refueled by food (and in my case, booze) we were off to our gate for our flight to Charlotte. The flight itself was uneventful, as flying first class should be ;-) but I did see Will Power boarding the same flight, which was a funny coincidence. It's a small world, and the theater world is even smaller.
Charlotte was the home to our last meal in the states. Nothing wrong with Chili's in the airport, right? Since Santa Fe doesn't have a Chili's, Mom and dad have to travel to either Espanola or Albuquerque to get to one (which they don't do often) and I do it rarely, as there are other great restaurants in Dallas and apparently, when I go, it's only to relive the glory days of high school. Ha!
So with food and ice tea (unsweetened, of course), we headed to the US Airways club (this time, because we just flew first class and were about to board an international flight in business class).
Another drink there (gin and tonic) and time spent updating my phone and charging other electronic devices, we were off to the gate again, this time for Heathrow.
Well, mechanical delays can put a crimp in your schedule. An issue you on our plane, set to cross the Atlantic, was going to delay us five hours. Five hours! Thankfully, they pulled another jet from the hanger instead, delaying us only an hour and a half total.
But when we boarded...oh my lerd! We were seated in Envoy (which is the first class/business class of US Airways) and boy, was it magnificent. We each had our own individual pods: enclosed spaces that had our own entertainment tvs (which had a ridiculous amount of movie, music, television and game options) and a fully reclining seat. What else did it have?
Oh, sparkling wine once you arrived at your seat, a three coarse meal with a gin and tonic and two glasses of white wine, which was delicious, a snack bar post meal throughout the flight, and breakfast.
Mom said I was screwed and therefore, now spoiled. She was right. How can I travel overseas again without the same accommodations?! Hooooooow?!
Well, after my movie (Now You See Me) and a couple of hours of sleep, it was breakfast time and then, time to land in London.
The travel day was complete...and can I say, an immensely pleasurable one. :-)
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