ladynox25

I went, I saw, I ate, I took pictures, I came back. That could be a good summary of my vacation. Of course there was much more to it than that. So where to begin?

hoya99 and I planned this trip starting almost a year ago now. Could we, couldn't we, cost, time off, airline miles, scheduling, etc., etc., etc. Well, the answer turned out to be yes, we could. So we did. And it was something.

We were initially hoping to use some miles to bump our seats out up to business class but unfortunately Northwest wasn't offering any upgradable seats. Oh, well. Then there was finagling time off from both Ana-Lab and Kilgore College, partly covered by Spring Break, but still. Then there was the threat of a pilot's strike, which thank goodness, never materialized.

So it was that it all seemed rather like a dream to me, rushing to take care of last-minute details, picking

hoya99 up from the airport, finishing my last day of work, packing, driving down to Shreveport for an overnight hotel stay for a 6 am flight out the next morning. Arriving at the airport to discover that thunderstorms in Tennessee had cancelled our flight. Being rebooked on a Continental flight routing through Houston. Already tired, I didn't feel like it was actually happening until we stood at the gate waiting to get on the plane for the international leg of the trip. I asked

hoya99 to pinch me. I think I startled him. *grin* But I was totally serious. It seemed inconceivable to me that this was actually, really happening.

By the way, the World Clubs for Northwest Elite members kick much ass. Also, I discovered we really could pack everything we needed into two carry-ons and two additional bags.

The flight, obviously, was long. The food was quite good, as those things go, the movies were presented on individual screens that also had game options which made things nice and customizable. I dozed as best I could, but still the flight seemed interminable. And then, at the end, getting off, going through line after line after line. Immigration, customs, forms, passports, checks and more checks, and finally the moment of truth,

hoya99's parents there waiting for us.

I don't suppose it will come as a great surprise to anyone that knows me well enough, but I was literally, stomach-churning nervous about that meeting. So much so that

hoya99 at first thought I was feeling airsick after such a long flight. No, it was pretty much sheer terror at trying to make a favorable first impression under extremely unfavorable circumstances: after a long flight, in a crowded, noisy airplane terminal, severely jet lagged to the point of tunnel vision.

Fortunately,

hoya99's parents, being seasoned travelers themselves, were well experienced in the effects of jet lag and took pity on us, feeding us a late meal before sending us off on a 1 1/2 hour train and bus trip back to their apartment. They themselves were going to fly to the US the next day as part of their duties in the teacher exchange program and we wouldn't see them for another week. For a first meeting, then, if all too brief, it seemed fairly favorable.

The rest of the trip was largely a blur to me at the time: an express train from the airport to a central train station, change to a second train headed out to that part of Tokyo where

hoya99's parents live, then switch to a bus for a few minutes, followed by a (fortunately) extremely short walk to the building itself, up 10 stories to the top floor, down the outer balcony, in the door, and finally able to drop bags and rest. Well, not quite rest, not yet, because we had to keep awake as long as possible the first night for best adjustment to the new time zone. But rest eventually.

To be continued...