Leavin' on a jet plane

Thursday morning Chris drove me to the DHL to catch the bus to the airport. He put my suitcase under the bus and asked the driver which stop I should get off at. I didn't know there was more than one stop at the airport. I was so emotional I was trying not to cry. The bus trip lasted almost an hour. Then a nice gentleman helped me get my big suitcase out of the bus. I rolled it into the airport and asked where to go. I was directed to a loooong line where people were checking their luggage. Then I stood in another line to x-ray my carry-on and shoes. From there, all I had to do was go wait at the gate, but I had an hour and a half to kill. There was a place that sold Korean handmade items and had a desk where you could paint on a fan for free. SO I did that. They were playing traditional Korean music for a while, then I realized that some of the tunes were Beatles tunes. Very strange. There was a long line of people at the gate, so I sat until it got shorter since my seat was near the back of the plane in row 52. Thank the Lord I had an aisle seat. My two seatmates were Phillipino, but they didn't know each other. One was elserly, the other maybe a teenager. The flight was fairly uneventful. Every time the older one had to go to the bathroom, we all went. The young one had a puppy. The poor little thing shook the whole time. At one meal, the older lady decided she wanted the seafood dinner instead of the noodle dinner. So I traded with her. Both dinners had a bowl of hot soup, which spilled into my lap. Luckily I had a blanket on my legs, but it still hurt. So the steward ran to get a large bottle of water which he poured into my lap. All I could do was laugh. It was funny, but wet. He did bring me a dry blanket. The rest of the trip I read, or watched videos on the screen in front of me when they darkened the plane. I tried to sleep but the plane engine noise was too loud. The trip was at least 13 hours. That's a long time to sit in one seat.
When we got off the plane, we went directly to immigration where they checked our passports. We picked up our luggage in the very next room. Then looked for the connecting flight counter. I nearly walked out of the airport looking for it, but it was right around the corner from where they didn't rifle through my luggage. Then I had to WALK from terminal 1 to terminal 3 OUTSIDE in the heat crossing traffic, etc. I had to stand in line again, having my carry-on and shoes x-rayed. Out of a 2 1/2 hour layover, I had less than an hour before boarding the next plane, which turned out to be a puddlejumper. And there were several of them all boarding at the same gate. We sat for a while before taking off. The flight was about an hour, then we landed at Richmond. This time finding the baggage claim area was a little more difficult. Then I went outside to look for my in-law's car. Not finding it, I went back inside to the upstairs waiting area (which I had walked past earlier) and there they were, worried that I missed the flight or something. They took me home and I did my best to stay awake. We went to UNO's for supper. Then came home and talked. At one point Cecily asked me a question. I formulated my answer, then opened my mouth to say it but I think I fell asleep before I finished. It was time for bed even though it was only 8. I awoke several times in the night to go to the bathroom. Then I got up to take a shower because day light was coming through the window. And I got on their computer to check my e-mail. There were only about 50. Later I had breakfast and we went shopping. It was nice to see so many Americans, to be able to read all the signs, and to see a huge selection of stuff. I was never so happy to see WalMart. We also went to Good Will (I missed them too), and Walgreens. Then we came home for lunch. After which we went to the bookstore and the mall. It is now almost supper time and I am tired. I had hoped to avoid jetlag by eating local food (blackberries in the back yard) and walking barefoot on the ground. But there is still some adjustment yet to be made. I wonder how stewardesses do it? They must also have adaptable ears. I'll have to get a set because mine don't do well on take-offs and landings.