Day 1: Saturday, November 22
There's nothing like starting off an 11-hour flight with a Death Sprint through an airport.
On Saturday, our flight from Sacramento to Seattle was delayed for about 40 minutes because of excessive fog. Our f light from Seattle to Tokyo left at 12:35. At 12:15, we were still in the air. The flight attendant arranged for us to get off the plane first--along with four other international travelers with tight connections--and advised us, helpfully, to run as fast as we could.
The minute we got off the plane, Andrew and I took off at a full sprint; we left the other four people in the dust. Who had time to debate which direction to head? Running up and down escalators; dodging other travelers; screaming at the people on the shuttle train to HOLD THAT TRAIN--by the time we found the right terminal, we were nearly passing out. Finally, we found the gate--sweating, folded over at the waist, our diaphrams wheezing, convulsing wreaks--only to find out that the flight had been delayed by over 45 minutes. This fact had not been reflected on the info boards anywhere in the airport. The important thing--we made it.
Eleven hours went surprisingly quickly, thanks to the seat-back entertainment systems. We watched three movies: Mama Mia!, Frozen River, and Lucky You. Two were awful and one was hideously depressing, but they did the trick and passed the time. Soon enough, we were in Tokyo.
On Saturday, our flight from Sacramento to Seattle was delayed for about 40 minutes because of excessive fog. Our f light from Seattle to Tokyo left at 12:35. At 12:15, we were still in the air. The flight attendant arranged for us to get off the plane first--along with four other international travelers with tight connections--and advised us, helpfully, to run as fast as we could.
The minute we got off the plane, Andrew and I took off at a full sprint; we left the other four people in the dust. Who had time to debate which direction to head? Running up and down escalators; dodging other travelers; screaming at the people on the shuttle train to HOLD THAT TRAIN--by the time we found the right terminal, we were nearly passing out. Finally, we found the gate--sweating, folded over at the waist, our diaphrams wheezing, convulsing wreaks--only to find out that the flight had been delayed by over 45 minutes. This fact had not been reflected on the info boards anywhere in the airport. The important thing--we made it.
Eleven hours went surprisingly quickly, thanks to the seat-back entertainment systems. We watched three movies: Mama Mia!, Frozen River, and Lucky You. Two were awful and one was hideously depressing, but they did the trick and passed the time. Soon enough, we were in Tokyo.
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