December 26, 2009 Brevard to Somewhere Over the Atlantic

I drove over to Webster to pick up Elena on Christmas afternoon. She turned 18 the day before. Brevard was still covered in snow left over from the ~ 10” snowfall a week earlier; most of it was melted over in Webster.

Back in Brevard, we spent some time in my office printing out last minute things and getting a few books and implements. After dinner at my apartment, I did most of my packing, noting a few things I still needed to get. Elena also thought of a few things.

We got up at 7:00, showered, and had breakfast at Burger King before going to Ingles to get our last minute supplies. I finished packing and we put our things in the van. When we arrived at Moore Science at 10:45, everyone who was riding with us to Atlanta was already there: Chelsea, Monté, Curtis, Dean, Hunter, and Brian. We left at 11:07, amazing! Right on time. We took US 64 to Sapphire and then took NC 281 to SC 11 and on to I-85 into Atlanta. I drove the first two hours and let Dean do the rest. We parked in daily parking and marched into the terminal. Bob, Anne, and Drew met us on the check-in line. In spite of code red security levels we breezed through ticketing and security.

Mark and Clint were at our Lufthansa gate. We started meeting the others from our group: the Finches, Suzanne, and Mary Anne. It took awhile to find the Doves but I figured out who they were just before boarding. I met Lynne Gylani and her Tennessee Wesleyan group as well.

The Lufthansa flight was full. Elena and I did not sit together. My seat was uncomfortable in my lower back. I watched “Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife” but never really managed to get to sleep.