Tuesday, August 7, 2012

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere

It might only be 3 o'clock in Washington D.C., but as Jimmy says, it's 5 o'clock somewhere, so I've parked myself at a wine bar in the Dulles airport while I wait for my flight. I got here super early (12:30 p.m.) so that Christy and I could share a cab--and a little moral support--on our way from the hotel to the airport. She is probably boarding her flight to Paris (then on to Scotland) now, but I have a bit to go yet. I must admit, my wine and cheese plate are helping me pass the time quite nicely while I wait for my 6:40 p.m. flight. And I've never blogged from a bar or an airport before, so I can tell this is the beginning of all the exciting firsts that are sure to come!

I've heard from Katja several times via email, and she seems to be enjoying life in Auburn already, which makes me so happy! She is surviving the heat wave we're having (why do I always miss out on the warm weather?) and is enjoying the extra space in the house. So far, she's already met several people who are so important to me, including my sister Heather and her husband Sean when they picked her up from the airport. My neighbors Nathan and Melissa have also met her and taken her shopping, and my good friend Reagan has plans to take her out. It was so great getting to know Katja a bit in D.C., and I'm happy my friends and family back home will be able to do the same. Be sure to give her a ring if you live locally; just email me, and I'll put you in touch!

Christy and I enjoyed our last day in D.C. yesterday, though we were notably more quiet and a little less energetic than normal as our impending travel weighed a bit heavy in our minds. We often said things like, "This time tomorrow, we'll be checking into our flights" or "this is our last ___ in America for a while." We laughed about it though and encouraged each other to stay excited instead of nervous. We also met up with a long time friend of mine, Erin, and enjoyed some fabulous $1 margaritas near our hotel (who knew $1 drinks even existed outside of Pullman!!??). Erin is a bit of a world traveler herself, and she was so positive and uplifting. Her excitement for our adventure was a great reinforcement.

After a low key dinner at the hotel, we did some sorting of details, including looking into tickets for the Edinburgh Tattoo!!! A group of American Fulbrighters is going to invade Christy in Scotland to attend the Tattoo and the Edinburgh Fringe (a huge arts festival) next week. It helps me feel less anxious to arrive in London knowing we will all be reunited so soon and can all catch up, share stories and have a few laughs about our first week of adjusting to life in a new country.

This morning after a quiet breakfast we headed for the airport together in our lovely van cab, which we needed so we could fit all our bags! :) Christy headed to her Air France counter, but I had to wait for a couple hours outside ticketing because British Airways wasn't open until 2:30 p.m. I enjoyed the extra quiet time, though, and used it to take care of some details that had slipped to the wayside. And now, here I am, through security, waiting for my direct flight to London to begin boarding a little after 6 p.m. I'm very excited and anxious to arrive in London, and I'm feeling particularly grateful to Katja's friend Carlos, who is meeting me at the airport and taking me home tomorrow morning. For now though, I'll just sit back, keep calm, and carry on with my pinot.

1 comment:

  1. Keep Calm & Carry on with Pinto... my new favorite line. So proud of you Steph!!!!

    ReplyDelete