From there to here: Part I
Well, here we go:
I got up at 3 A.M. on Saturday (central) and got myself ready. I left my hometown of Council Grove, KS (pop. 2300) at 4:30 with my mom and one of my little brothers to get to Kansas City International Airport (MCI). We got there with time to spare and I checked my bags. I said my last goodbyes and crowbarred them off of my so I could board the plane, and I was off at 7:46 AM.
My first flight was scheduled to arrive at O'Hare in Chicago (ORD) at 10:16 AM, but we were 15 minutes early. We spent that extra time chilling in the plane because they hadn't cleared the terminal out yet for our arrival, and I passed it by reading the emergency manual from the little pouch on the back of the seat in front of me, next to the barf bag. These used to have simple stick-figure-like illustrations in them, but this one had actual photoillustrations done with something like Adobe Photoshop. Sadly, the poor cut-and-paste-work and other blatant mistakes made everyone look mishapen, which didn't help their melodramatic poses.
O'Hare, which is supposed to be the busiest airport on earth, seemed amazingly empty. I mean, there were more people in MCI. I cruised the concourse and went to Mcdonalds in the terminal. I saw the prices and ran. $10.00 for a large order of Chicken Selects, my friends. That is insane, even for an airport. I made my way to the food court, where there was another McDonald's. This one had to deal with competition, and sold that same item for $8.00. (Capitalism triumphs!) The cash register wench had apperently not started english lessons until the day before, and screeched something I can only spell as "Kaa Hewp Yuu?" I got a bacon, egg, and cheese McMuffin, and ate it standing at a bar for people t0o important to sit, or something like that.
The flight from ORD to Reagan National Airport (dca) in D.C. was more interesting than the previous one. It was kinda bumpy, and by "kinda bumpy," I mean it made me wonder if I was on a plane or a paint shaker. Then came time for the landing, which was made all the more fun by the Pilot skipping the plane like a stone on the runway. I kid thee not, we freaking bounced our way to the gate.
It was at DCA I met Scott, who now gets to live with either the pride or the shame that comes with being my lifesaver. Scott is a friend of mine who goes to George Washington University where he studies law. He was kind enough to be at the airport and help me navigate my way on the MetroRail system from the Airport Station to Woodley Park, where I'll be living for the next 14 weeks. He was kind enough not to laugh hysterically when I fell halfway over before catching myself because I didn't grab a bar on the subway before it started moving.
I'll have to get used to that.
I arrived at my apartment, and it was nice. More to come on that in my next post.
I got up at 3 A.M. on Saturday (central) and got myself ready. I left my hometown of Council Grove, KS (pop. 2300) at 4:30 with my mom and one of my little brothers to get to Kansas City International Airport (MCI). We got there with time to spare and I checked my bags. I said my last goodbyes and crowbarred them off of my so I could board the plane, and I was off at 7:46 AM.
My first flight was scheduled to arrive at O'Hare in Chicago (ORD) at 10:16 AM, but we were 15 minutes early. We spent that extra time chilling in the plane because they hadn't cleared the terminal out yet for our arrival, and I passed it by reading the emergency manual from the little pouch on the back of the seat in front of me, next to the barf bag. These used to have simple stick-figure-like illustrations in them, but this one had actual photoillustrations done with something like Adobe Photoshop. Sadly, the poor cut-and-paste-work and other blatant mistakes made everyone look mishapen, which didn't help their melodramatic poses.
O'Hare, which is supposed to be the busiest airport on earth, seemed amazingly empty. I mean, there were more people in MCI. I cruised the concourse and went to Mcdonalds in the terminal. I saw the prices and ran. $10.00 for a large order of Chicken Selects, my friends. That is insane, even for an airport. I made my way to the food court, where there was another McDonald's. This one had to deal with competition, and sold that same item for $8.00. (Capitalism triumphs!) The cash register wench had apperently not started english lessons until the day before, and screeched something I can only spell as "Kaa Hewp Yuu?" I got a bacon, egg, and cheese McMuffin, and ate it standing at a bar for people t0o important to sit, or something like that.
The flight from ORD to Reagan National Airport (dca) in D.C. was more interesting than the previous one. It was kinda bumpy, and by "kinda bumpy," I mean it made me wonder if I was on a plane or a paint shaker. Then came time for the landing, which was made all the more fun by the Pilot skipping the plane like a stone on the runway. I kid thee not, we freaking bounced our way to the gate.
It was at DCA I met Scott, who now gets to live with either the pride or the shame that comes with being my lifesaver. Scott is a friend of mine who goes to George Washington University where he studies law. He was kind enough to be at the airport and help me navigate my way on the MetroRail system from the Airport Station to Woodley Park, where I'll be living for the next 14 weeks. He was kind enough not to laugh hysterically when I fell halfway over before catching myself because I didn't grab a bar on the subway before it started moving.
I'll have to get used to that.
I arrived at my apartment, and it was nice. More to come on that in my next post.
posted by Logan C. Adams at 1/09/2005 12:48:00 PM
1 Comments:
Know that exact feeling in the Subway! But it brings a great memory of your first ride. :)
~les
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