A usual we are excited to be starting a new adventure!  I will be trying to keep up with this blog although we have had difficulty with exhaustion and weak internet when we have been in Cyprus before.  We shall see how that is this time. 

Before we could leave for the Parking Spot, we received notice that our flight was delayed. Uh-oh! That concerned us as we have a connection we need to make in Chicago. You all know how missing one connection can impact the entire trip! EEK! Well we could just hope there would be enough time to run from gate to gate (you know they are never close together!). First stop though was the Parking Spot where we were going to leave the car. They have a shuttle that would take us to the airport.

Once we arrived at the airport we were able to check in with no line and send our bags through with no charge since it was an international flight.  Mike had his back pack and I had a small roller bag as well as my purse/lap top bag that we carry with us.  Next stop was TSA and since we have Global Entry we always get to do the Pre-Check!  That in itself is worth the extra cost.  As we were here early, we decided to just have lunch (you know us if there is nothing else to do find some place to eat and drink)--the Budweiser Brew House was our choice today--But no beer for us as I can't drink it and Mike didn't want to do so before boarding a flight (I imagine you can guess why!).  He chose a pulled pork sandwich, fries, and water while I had a blackened Mahi Mahi sandwich (too much blackening spice for me), fries, and a water.  While we were still eating, Jody arrived and sat with us until time to head to the gate.

We arrived at the gate and started boarding about 1:30 p.m. This is the first time I have used the boarding pass on my phone (I had a paper option just in case!).  I am feeling so technologically superior here! Ha! Ha! We took off about 30 minutes late so we were hoping that we have time to make it to our gate.  Worry about making connections, etc. is always one of the unnerving things when you travel by air.

We landed in Chicago in Terminal 1--and guess what?  We were leaving out of the international terminal which of course is Terminal 5--WAY across the airport. We rushed down to the shuttle area and boarded the shuttle and were off to the international terminal.  They were boarding when we arrived at our gate, so we got in line only to be sent to the desk as they had to check our passports before we could board. Interestingly we had our photos taken at the gate check and compared with our passports before we could board.  How things have changed over the years!

Jody was seated in row 22 and we were in row 30, seats A and B in economy so there was not a lot of room.  Not long after we were in the air they came by with a snack--small heart shaped pretzels. That sounds much better than they tasted--which was sort of dry and tasteless.  Then it was time for something to drink--as it was an international flight there was free wine for all!--we decided to have a glass of wine (white for me and red for Mike) to wash away the nasty taste of the pretzels. We were just finishing our drinks when here they came with what they called dinner--Mike chose the chicken with sauce option which also came with mashed potatoes, a roll and butter and another glass of wine.  The non-meat option was pasta marinara, salad, roll, and butter and another glass of wine for me.  The food was actually passable and tasted much better than it looked.  

Once dinner was cleared away it was time to settle in for a flight through the night--but first one must make the walk to the bathroom where you stand in line (they tell you not to do that but if you don't you will never get a turn at the bathroom--we have learned that for sure).  Then I got my headphones and pashmina out of my carry on that was in the overhead bin. The rest of the night was spent alternating from sleeping in an uncomfortable position, watching a movie on a teensy screen, and reading the book I brought with me.  Mike also watched movies, listened to classical music and slept.  Sleeping was difficult for me but not so much for him--too many years flying in Navy aircraft at odd times of the day and night so he can pretty much sleep anywhere.  So now it was just wait to land in Vienna tomorrow.