As usual, I started changing my body clock a couple of weeks ahead of the trip. I was doing well until the Broadway Series at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando presented Come from Away just 3 days before the trip. My husband K had been moving his clock a bit, too, in spite of work. We gave ourselves a little break because of the play,but got right back to moving the clock. We got up about 3 today, which would be 8 am in Scotland. So, that was good.
I'm always amazed by all the time you get by getting up early. Granted, you lose a lot in the evening by going to bed around 8, but, still, the morning is amazing. I took care of all kinds of household things, including filling the water bottles for the outside plant pots, before walking up to water aerobics at 8:10. I really like to get that in, when I'm going to be sitting in an airport and on a plane for a while.
At 11:17, I got an alert on my phone that our departure had been pushed from 6:15 pm to 7:55 pm. We debated leaving later, but we didn't want to mess up our ride and we worried that the plane might be able to depart earlier than planned. Thus, at 2:50, we were picked up by KG and family, who were going on to Universal after dropping us off.
We reached Orlando International Airport at 3:23, which was just fine. We were unclear where to check in. We booked through Delta, using a credit from a trip that was canceled due to a hurricane, but it was code-shared with Virgin Atlantic. Since our paperwork was through the latter, that one seemed reasonable and, indeed, it was. We were sent to a side counter, where the women were mainly interested in their conversation. At least, it kept us out of the regular area. I asked why there was a delay for our plane and we were told that it had left Glasgow late. We were checked in and bags sent off at 3:27.
K wanted to eat at Panda Express, which is not my favorite fast food. Our bill came to $20.78! I had wok-fried shrimp for $7.70, because it seemed healthy enough. K had Beef with Broccoli, also for $7.70. He got 2 egg rolls for us to share for $2.49. Unfortunately, they only have Pepsi products. So, I had to go to the McDonald's for a Diet Coke for us to share for $2.65. Sadly, the meal was no better than a previous time I'd eaten at a Panda Express. The food was very dry, particularly the rice. You'd think they'd have a sauce.
At 4:50, when we reached TSA, we were shocked to see there was no line for those of us with TSA Precheck. We sailed through and were waiting for the tram 5 minutes later.
When we got out to our gate, there was no real room for the two of us in the regular seating area. So, we sat out in the aisle in seats whose USB sockets didn't work, unfortunately. At that part of the terminal, there are several gates at the very end. I sat there reading and doing crossword puzzles and K read as the area got much more crowded. There just weren't enough seats. Several planes were heading for Europe: Lufthansa was headed to Frankfurt; another Virgin Atlantic was headed for Gatwick; and Edelweiss was leaving for Zürich.
At 7:30, we still hadn't started boarding the plane. It got to the point, where there were so many people standing in line for their flights right in front of us. It made it difficult for us to hear announcements from our gate. We finally gave up and stood in the line that was forming there just to be able to hear. As we stood there, they did start boarding. I saw this sign and just thought it was hilarious. Look carefully to see what I mean.
Our plane looked huge out the window, which it was, since it was a 747. We'd never flown Virgin Atlantic before and I was looking forward to it. I liked that they loaded the plane by rows, back to front. That just makes so much sense! No climbing over other people. Why don't they all do that?
At 8:10-almost 2 hours after our scheduled departure- we were in our seats, 34 G and F, on Virgin 76/ DL 4403. The configuration was 3-4-3 and I had been unwilling to sleep with a stranger next to us in the cramped quarters of 3 seats. I hoped that some of the 4 next to us would be empty, but no such luck. At least, I had my aisle seat.
The plane started moving at 8:35 and took off at 8:45, as I started to watch Beautiful Boy and K did his usual, which is went to sleep. I'd wanted to see the movie in the theater, plus with the way you have to go through the menu on the entertainment system, it was one of the first that came up. I was not impressed with how hard it was to get the screen to respond.
Turbulence started getting rough and got so bad, that they told the flight crew to sit. This meant that food service stopped at 10:25. I hoped that it wouldn't be too long, because I really wanted to eat and go to sleep. Luckily, it stopped and at 10:34, I was served my requested BBQ pork. It wasn't half bad. Hoping to improve my chances of sleeping, I had wine and no soda with the meal.
After the movie, I set about trying to sleep. For years, I've had this blow-up neck rest that goes on your chest and keeps your head from falling forward. It also gives you someplace to put your arms. It usually works quite well. However, tonight it died and will get thrown out in Glasgow.
The flight was so warm, that I didn't even bother with the blanket.
And we're off!
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