Flight to Spain

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Right now it is 10 PM in New York and 4AM in Barcelona, Spain. As I am writing this I am speeding due east at 596 MPH at an altitude of 35,261 feet. Our flight has traveled 2,501 miles and we are mere 1920 miles from our destination. We have been in the air a solid 5 ¼ hours and have 3 ¾ hours to go.

One negative was Cathy and I did not have the luxury of sitting together. We both wanted aisle seats, perhaps across from each other. When I checked in yesterday the flight map would not let me choose seats for the flight to Barcelona. Instead we had to check in at the airport where we were told the entire flight was booked solid, can you say what recession? So we did have aisle seats, me in row 22 her in row 17. She was alright with that as she knows I am no fun on a flight as I am going to sleep and she will try to sleep but usually she can’t. Ii hope with her in an aisle seat she has better luck, as for me I plan to be well rested upon arrival.

First lesson: how to survive a 9 hour overnight trans-Atlantic crossing; drugs and plenty of them. Now, now folks not the drugs you are thinking of. I do not mean the common “recreational” or now what are called “medicinal” drugs. No, I mean good old fashion drugs to put you to sleep. When I got onboard and settled in for the duration I scarfed down 4 melatonin pills. YUP 4 30 mg pills in one shot. That is 4 times the recommended dose but I wanted to sleep and sleep I did.

So far the trip has been great. We left Atlanta right on time. Once we took off we were offered wine and sparkling water, among other drinks. I nursed these down while I waited for dinner. My dinner was a nice portion of cold fresh chicken salad with cheddar cheese and fruit. For dessert we were offered a chocolate chip cookie. A second glass of wine and the melatonin was kicking in.

Soon I was a goner. Although I could hear the drone of the jet engines, and felt people walking around me from time to time I did not stir. They darkened the plane after dinner and that cinched it for me. I slept for about 3 hours and awoke a few minutes ago rather refreshed.

Our next endeavor is a small snack to be served in 2 hours. This is designed to wake us up and get us on local Barcelona time so I suppose it will be a sugar filled delight of some kind!

As I finished this entry I did notice that more than ½ the plane is up and walking around or watching movies on the personal entertainment system. These people will regret staying up all night only to arrive in Barcelona exhausted. Second lesson: get on the local time as soon as you can so you don’t suffer jet lag and you can enjoy you new surroundings.



YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!!!

A few minutes ago I shut down the blog so I could get a little more rest. Just as I fell asleep they announce, “is there a doctor onboard?’NOT AGAIN…..yup again

I get out of my seat and cross the plane to row 17, yup my row but other side of the plane and on the floor is a petite 53 year old blonde lady looking worse for wear. She was HOT, CLAMY and sweating profusely. She had been in the air since 2 PM and obviously was dehydrated which resulted in Vegas syncope, she passed out. She came to very quickly and responded well to O2 and water. After 10 minutes she was back to normal and sitting in her seat a little embarrassed but OK. I hope she is not on our tour!

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