Flying to Hong Kong

Then later as we were strolling through the airport we came across a 12' wide, 40' long “river” flowing, complete with river rocks and fake fish, through the middle of the airport. It was like a fountain, but designed to look like you were outside in the woods instead of inside a large building. There were plants and trees all around, and not too far from there was a giant aquarium with fish over a foot long! We rested and ate during our wait and finally were able to board the plane. It took almost 45 minutes before we finally taxied down the runway. We slept on and off during the flight. We cruised at about 31500 feet at speeds ranging from 550 to 600 miles per hour. And at that height it's great to have a pressurized, environmentalized cabin. The temperature outside was a negative 56 degrees! And how did we know all that? This airplane, a 777, is equipped for making long flights more bearable. On the back of each seat is a computerized display that tells you all of your flight information as well as having movies to watch, music to listen to and games to play. It's quite nice. Charles' display didn't work well, and my A/C plug and his headphone jack didn't work well either. But, it was still fun to have a few different things to do while we waited. Sleeping on a plane isn't the greatest – especially for Charles – he's so big compared to the seats that there aren't too many different ways he can sit comfortably.

Charles is fairly used to traveling. For Michele this was a totally different experience. She hadn't flown on a plane in 10 ½ years (and that flight was just to and from Salt Lake City, UT. Michele felt like a little kid with her nose pressed against the window during the first flight. She also felt the heartache at leaving her children for two and a half weeks. While she knows that the families she has entrusted them with will love them and take care of them well, she still misses them terribly. Each baby or child she saw would evoke smiles or tears. She was amazed at the number of babies she saw being carried in front packs – including a seven month old on the BC to Hong Kong flight.

We were seated during this flight in a row of three. Charles had the window, Michele in the middle and an Asian young man in the aisle. He was kind enough (and humored at the prospect) to show Michele how to use chopsticks. Charles enjoyed watching that :-).