And We Are Off

Today we woke up.

It was to be an eventful morning when we had 5 hours until game time and 10 hours of things to accomplish. The great day was started out with a trip to the post office…

Then a trip to Benjamin Moore Hardware store…and the day was just cruising along. We had a minor detour to CVS to get extra malaria pills, master lock, Carley’s nexus detangler, and two pairs of what we thought were special aviation socks marketed by Pediatric Therapeutics. Once we got home Birmy put his new purchase on only to find out it was like a boa constrictor had just wrapped itself around his ankle.

What was supposed to be a morning of packing turned into a frantic mess of shoving rolled up t shirts into a 65 liter backpack. Once Carley realized her backpack was full and it was time to leave for the airport in 47 minutes it was time to take everything out and put it back in.  With my expert packing skills I was able to fit everything in including her mens extra large v neck t shirts.  Thank god. She was really thinking ahead packing more bathing suits than t shirts making no room to fit her bike helmet, which is now attached to the outside of her backpack along with a yoga mat, bungee cords, a rabbit foot, and her trusty blow up pillow for the plane ride, that is more uncomfortable to lay on than a hokie stone at Buruss Hall.  Once the backpack was full and all Carley’s other goodies were attached, I was then able to attempt packing my own backpack.  After shoving a few pairs of shoes and flip flops into new found pockets I was finally ready to buckle my crater of a backpack.  When Sheila walked in the door it was time to go and there was no turning back.

As we left 17 Brentwood we passed the lovely sights of New Jersey’s homeless,  their finest steel mills, oil stacks, and a smell we never hope to smell the rest of the trip unless it when we make it back in April. We approached Coney, Ellis, and Gilligan’s island and passed over a few bridges until we made it to an airport, which looked like Alcatraz of Long Island. Welcome to JFK. After getting out of the car and saying our goodbyes we approached the check in counter where we met a new friend from Staten Island. Things got started according to plan when she told us Birmy did not have a visa for Australia, but he was welcome to go to Congo.  After 20 minutes of swiping the passport on every computer United Airlines owns in the orange Terminal 7, we were on our way. However, we still had one more bridge to cross…re-entering our homeland. Apparently in 2011 having a one way ticket out of the country may be a little suspicious…  So our lady friend was able to hook us up with a illegitimate fake itinerary card with a flight from Hong Kong in May. Thanks in advance lady who looked like she should be a carton girl for Camel cigarettes.

By then it was time to leave lets call her Vikki Valentine by the side of the airport and cruise on over to Gate 7.  After the easiest walk through the security gate we were in Gate 7 with the 8 other passengers headed to LA.  Unfortunately V.V. was gone, but we still had her advice to never book a flight on Orbitz because the itinerary takes you completely out of the way. Who said Fiji isn’t on the way to Sydney. 

After a quick bite to eat, a final bathroom break, some phone calls, and a stop to Hudson News so Carley could buy tabloids and Chelsea Lately books, we were ready to board the jet. We slowly passed through first class realizing the sad truth that we were nowhere close to first class, nor will we be associated with it for the next 3 months.  When we made it to row 15, it was clear they were prepared for us with all of our extra leg room, apparently they knew Birmy was coming.  After trying to fit our bike helmets, extra shoes, and yoga mats into the overhead compartment, things got a little hectic as we had to make room for our new neighbor, the New Zealand Olympian, who can run a 4:06 minute mile, and was ready for his trek back to Willington. After Birmy tried to race him down the aisle and failed miserably we almost had to make an emergency landing in Newark so that Birmy could catch his breath, and get one extra sip of Lemon Lime Gatorade.

And were off…

We have made it to Fiji and are ready to watch the sunrise from the non air conditioned 1950's Motel 6 Terminal.