6-5-8

Let the phoon begin! Some people may think I'm cheating going back and changing the dates. But this is my blog, so I don't care.

Day 1

Woke up at 5:30am. Not overly excited at this point. I mean, I am excited to go, but not like bouncing off the walls excited. Since I am already packed and ready to go, it takes a mere 15 minute to get ready and then we go over to pick up Bonnie.

I think we're still a little tired as my mom is more excited then we are.

Nothing overly exciting happens until we get our plane and met someone new. What her name was I do not know. But she was sports writer and she was on her way to Pittsburgh to cover a story. Our *ahem* flight attendant (because apparently they're not called Stewardesses anymore) was a super friendly Texan who said "Y'all" on several occasions. Man, when Texans say "Y'all," it's as good as a Bostonian saying "Paaaak" (Which means park). Anyway, so that flight was pretty good.

Next up, Vegas baby! I did not gamble or play the slots because I do not do those things. However, I always encourage others to give it a shot. And Bonnie did. And failed. So sorry, Bonita. Anyway, we had to walk quite the distance to get to our other plane. In fact, the Las Vegas airport is so poorly laid out, that we had to go through security check again just to get to our other plane. Having not had anything substantial to eat, it was feeding time. Burger King seemed sufficient. I have not had Burger King in about 5+ years, so it was an interesting experience. It was overpriced and tasted a lot like super fattening calories. Eek!

After eating (and groaning at the agonizing effect of fast food), we hurried to our plane which had already boarded! Dammit! Unbeknownst to me, the plane was making a quick pit stop in Chicago "Home of da Bears," and then we head to our destination. Due to lateness of our arrival on the plane, I was forced to sit in between an old, hungry, yet angry married couple that did not want to sit next to each other. They made that very clear as I tried to steal the old man's window seat when he went to the bathroom. I say they were hungry because they broke out the buffet once we reached cruising altitude. First it was salad with the most onion-y smelling dressing I have ever smelt. And since we all know how I feel about onions, already this is bad news bears. So they enjoy their salads while gently brushing their arms against mine in this cramped space. The gentle brushing started to make my skin crawl and soon began to really aggravate me. So I decided to assert dominance and boldly pushed my arms to clarify that this was part of the seat. Alas, their interest in their food was to great for them to pay any mind to my discomfort and they kept right on with the gentle brushing. So, I decided to there was only one thing to do: sleep. So I did catch some Zzz's. Only to be awoken by the godforsaken gentle brushing of their arms against mine again! Now they were eating Subway sandwiches. Filled with mustard. And onions! GAH! I desperately wait for the captain to make some mention of the time remaining. But nothing comes. I give myself a quick pep talk and I am determined to sleep away the rest of this flight.

There was a shining light during this trip that kept me somewhat sane. Strangely enough, it was the "flight attendant." He was a very funny guy that inserted a bit of comedy into the obligatory schpeels of flight safety, regulations, and warnings. An example was his take on the no-smoking rule which went something like this, "Sorry folks, this is non smoking flight, but if you feel you absolutely need to smoke, feel free to step out on the wing and enjoy some of the feature films we'll be showing such as Gone With The Wind and Bye Bye Birdie." All of this done with a dead pan face. Well done, sir! The captain was also rather humorous in our landing procedures imitating the noise of horse slowing down. As we landed and smacked on those reverse thrusters, he said "Whooooooooaaa." Ya know, like you do with a horse. Well, it was funny to me and most of the other people on the plane. Maybe you had to have been on that flight. Anyway, we were now in Chicago, "Home of da Bears." (That was something our flight attendant kept saying)

Finally, after a quick layover, we were on our way to Washington D.C. It was pretty cool because actually got to see downtown Chicago this time. And we flew over Lake Michigan. But the best part of this flight was our speedy pilot. He literally started accelerating before we finished the turn to get on the runway. Good news was he got us there 15 minutes early.

Throughout this vacation series of blogs, you will come to acknowledge how hot and humid it was. But you cannot understand it though. So when we took that first step off the plane, Bonnie and I immediately displayed our displeasure at the air quality and let out a collective groan of disgust.

We collected our baggage (much to Bonnie's relief as she was sure our luggage would be displaced with all those stops and transfers) and headed out to meet Uncle Rex, our ride from the airport to our destination. Let it mentioned that Uncle Rex drives like a Virginian because he is one. This is not insult nor a compliment, it is simply a fact. I have driven with him in California, so I am aware of the difference between a Californian driver and a Virginian driver. So when we got pulled over no more that 2 miles away from the airport for speeding, I was already laughing inside. Well, we finally (albeit not too hastily) got to Bonnie's sisters place after several red lights being run and braking for no apparent reason.

Bonnie's sister lives in the posher area of Chevy Chase. The area is chockablock full of high end name stores, a ritzy mall, and expensive restaurants. Thankfully, the good Lord decided to serendipitously plunk a Chipotle right in the middle of all that and again, it was feeding time. After a stellar chicken burrito bol, I was ready to slip into a delicious food coma as only Chipotle can consistently deliver. So, about an hour later (better late than never), it was finally time for sleep from a not so strenuous day. The time was come to ready myself for the attack on Washington DC tomorrow that would be fought with the use of maps, cameras, and good nights sleep.

Note: Where are the pictures you might ask. Don't worry, they are coming. The full collection needs to be united before going on display.