On Our Way to IAH

It’s getting on towards midnight … Argentinian time. Texas is two hours behind; Colorado three hours. My eyes are starting to get heavy, but before I succumb to sleep, let me catch up today’s travel story.

Boarding began on time. As is the case with most USA-bound flights, there was a last minute security check as we made our way to the counter to scan our boarding passes. Usually, these checks are done randomly. However, everyone had to go through the process tonight. It was a cursory check, really, so we were on our way without much of a delay.

Soon enough, we were in our Polaris seats and getting settled. When the flight attendant for our section came around with bubbly, we each took a glass to toast the conclusion of a successful Antarctic expedition. A great swansong adventure to the region. Should have taken a photo … as Jan would say, “If there is no proof, it didn’t happen.”

The 777-200 pushed back at 8:55a … ahead of the 9:05p scheduled departure, and we were wheels up at 9:10p. A good omen for an on time arrival.

As UA818 climbed up to its cruising altitude, we enjoyed the twinkling lights of Buenos Aires spread out below us. Before long, we were leveled off and the flight attendants were coming around with warm nuts and beverages. The meal service followed soon after. Dessert was the best part of the meal … ice cream with chocolate sauce.

During dinner, I finished the movie I had started after we took off … Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Pierce Brosnan in “The Great Lillian Hall” … the story of an actress who finds herself suddenly diagnosed with a form of dementia as she is preparing for a major new role. The story is apparently inspired by the life of the late American stage actress, Marian Seldes.

Now, the movie is finished; my bed is made up; I’ve got my United jammies on. Time to get some sleep.The app shows the flight duration as 10 hours and 30 minutes. However, before take off, the cockpit announced that we would cover the 5,066-mile distance to IAD in 9 hours and 44 minutes. If that’s accurate, we still have 7+ hours to go. Plenty of time for a good snooze that should keep me going until we get home tomorrow. Mui’s already snoozing, so he’ll be rearing to go, too.Leggi altro