hi sweetie,
heathrow was not joking about giving yourself four hours. i arrived here at 7:00 this morning via the tube. which was uneventful. i used virgin's self check-in service and then waited an eternity in their bag drop line. honestly, there has to be a BETTER way. it's completely ridiculous the way they manage people at this airport. if i was in charge....
anyway, i finally got my bag dropped (it was all i had to do!) at 9:20. should it really take over 2 hours to drop a bag? i think not. and in the grand scheme of things, okay, i'm just going to keep breathing and realize it's all just how it goes.
but then the line for security was beyond belief. good grief. it was all the way through the airport, back down the stairs and back to the tube station. hundreds of hundreds of people! then i heard someone shouting if anyone had a flight leaving at 10:00 a.m. then they should follow him. well, i didn't have a flight at 10:00 a.m., but followed him anyway. this was a good thing, as it let me avoid all the people who were waiting to make sure my hand luggage was the "correct" size. i'm not joking. every seven steps was another person with a box that you had to make sure your hand luggage fit into. and mine didn't exactly fit, so i wanted to avoid those folks at all costs. made myself invisible and just kept going.
right through security! lovely. that worked out. once on the other side, i tried to dump the euros (and was denied...ugh! those things have haunted me all over the place), but did manage to switch my pounds back to dollars and found my way to the gate. which was a good thing. because guess what? another security check. physical. they literally went through my bag and were quite concerned with both my empty vitamin bottle (i let them just toss that...good grief) and all that glitter. what was it? where was it coming from? how did it get there? was there more? what was the source....oh goodness.
so anyway, now i am seated, waiting to board. all systems seem to be go. one concern is that one of my flight attendants was on the tube with me this morning, sitting right next to me, and she was reading the safety manual with her highlighter. how wonderful!
but yes, i'm on my way. i'll be home soon. this flight is flight number 19. i get in at 1:30 or something like that. i hope you found betsy and perhaps we have a plan. but whatever i'll just be happy to be home with you. i'll see you soon!
love and more love,
me
