4. --- THE TRIP BEGINS ---

Getting Ready

Didn't sleep a whole lot Thursday night. I started my final work task after laundry & packing at 1:30 am. I was too exhausted to continue and crashed just before 3:00 am. Got up ate breakfast and worked some more. HURRAH! I was done. Sent the email to work...and forgot to attach the file. *sigh* I guess that's what happens when you're sleep deprived.

Off I Go
The flight to JFK was fun. Dad dropped me off. I still had plenty of time to go to the Starbucks, grab a hot chocolate, and watch some of Planet in Peril (Africa: Elephants & Gorillas) before our flight boarded. Sat by a Delta flight attendant named Christi. She needed help brainstorming names for a sorority-sponsored networking luncheon. I didn't have anything else to do - so I helped her out with 6 or 7 ideas. As we flew into NYC, I could see translucent, milky ice crusting the Hudson River.

Gate 22, Where Are You?

I got lost several times trying to get to the right terminal. Finally I stopped and ate at a Burger King. Sometimes a little protein helps my brain function correctly. Noemie found me! All of a sudden she appeared in front of me grinning ear to ear. Quick hugs all around since many of the tour members were already in the waiting area. I went to two different desks in order to get my boarding pass. Then Mike, Noemie, Noemie's parents and I went to the Wendy's. They had lunch. I while I slurped down a Frosty :) Ice is all around the airport, but the landing strips are clear. While I was waiting to board I heard welcome news of a cease fire between Israel & Gaza :)

Hitting The Jackpot

Danny & Sara have already flown over to Cairo on his frequent flyer miles. The rest of us were present and accounted for. I had an aisle seat, 35F. The window seat next to me, 35G, was vacant. YAY! Hope for sleep. Finally we were airborne at midnight CAIRO time. The sun was setting over the Atlantic.

A Night of Naps

I listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons and took the first of several naps. Dinner: pasta, green salad (my last until I return to the States), hard roll, club crackers and cheese, and an Oreo brownie. By two hours into the flight I had dozed a couple of times. I passed on watching movie #1: The City of Ember. I want to read the book first :) So I napped. Then watched movie #2: Mamma Mia! When it was over I looked out the window. The sky was inky but beneath us was a beautiful land traced by pen-light roads that ended at the sea. A reference map popped up on the monitor. Monaco! I've never seen it before. Slept through the flight over Italy and movie #3: Wall-E.

Daybreak

Woke for breakfast - just after we passed by Crete. We arrived in Cairo really early (9:30 or so). Our tour liaison, Osman, distributed our visas and then we went through passport control. ALL THE LUGGAGE MADE IT this time! YAY! We climbed on the bus and traveled all of two minutes to our hotel, Le Passage.