Dark Horse - Tokyo 2019

It all starts a day or two before I leave for these international experiences that I have the nerve to set up. Well really, not just a day- six-months before actually. In doing this, I am not only responsible for myself but for Laurel as well. I need to be sure that everything is taken care of before I leave such as bills, map studies, currency conversion, performing time and nautical calculations, finding the closest church, memorizing the itinerary, studying airport floor plans, and everything else that has to be done so that I don't look like a buffoon in front of my child. And Laurel being Laurel, she will be sure to call anything to my attention should something go wrong on my end. I even watched a YouTube video of a man getting off the train in Tokyo near where our hotel is and walking out of the station so that I would know the landmarks should my wi-fi navigation not be working. Does all this cause for some anxiety? It just might. There are some folks that think I am crazy for even putting myself through this but looking at the bigger picture, I know that Laurel will always remember fondly the experience for the rest of her life.

  So let me begin with the first step along my journey. I want to just briefly talk about an integral part of the trip - the airport and flight experience. Since I don't travel for work purposes and have mostly taken road trips everywhere, I have not flown super often up until these recent years. But now that I have been bitten with the travel bug, I have discovered an adrenaline rush associated with this experience. Everything from getting through security to the fear that your name won't be in the system at the time when you check in.
 

    Flying Domestic


 What is different about this trip is that I am flying out of both domestic and international terminals. Since the last two trips were both international only, I have learned a few things about flying domestic so far on this trip.
 
   I arrived to the airport pretty calm for the most part. I was happy to be on time and Laurel was excited. However, it was time to check in and I really did have a genuine sense of paranoia for whatever reason that our reservation did not exist. My previous bookings, as well as this upcoming trip to Tokyo, were all booked through Expedia. Since the trip to Los Angeles was separate from Tokyo, I had to book separate one way trip flights which I purchased online with some unused credit card points from some debt I paid off a lot of years ago. So the flight was actually booked through some third party organization associated with my bank. Though I had a confirmation, I could imagine the possibility of somehow my reservation getting lost in the system. I was, however proud of myself for being resourceful as I was able to book two tickets to Los Angeles from Atlanta with Spirit Airlines for under $150. After a year saving up and collecting loose change here and there, I was able to afford a comfortable spending allowance of about $100 a day if I am savvy. It was finally time to approach that counter. All went really smoothly until it was time to check in our bags. At this time, my first $100 went pretty quick. Bag fees?? Ok. So now I know. But at least my name was in the system! Right?
 


 What I Forgot and then Remembered about TSA
 


I was still in a good mood anyway. Things were running like clockwork and I had a pretty good idea of where to go - Security then the concourse train to our gate.

  The security line was pretty long and I couldn't help but notice the expression on people's faces. It was visible that there was much waited anticipation of travel. Most looked like they were on vacation. I saw a guy that look just Garth from Wayne's World. Once you are through the line the security part of the airport experience is by far the most stressful. At Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson, you have to remove your shoes, grab a bin and separate all of your items to be scanned while trying not to disrupt the flow of traffic.  Luckily, the TSA staff was positive and celebrated with me as I made my way through the metal detector successfully. Now that I had that behind me all I had to do was wait for my belongings to sail through as well. So I waited. And waited..Well, I finally saw my bin come though but was sent through to the solitary confinement line where all the bad bins go. Oh yeah. Next time, take the laptop out!



The Flight on an Economy Airline



After being out $5.00 more for a small packet of Belvita cookies for Laurel and a bottle of sparkling water for me, it was time for us to transition from the comforts of the gate through to the boarding process. It has been a while since I had flown and the thought of this mammoth sized 12-day international experience lying ahead of me, I was feeling very nervous as this take off was the initial launch for Project Tokyo. The plane accelerated and lifted off the ground and became air-borne.

  The flight so far has been pleasant as well as the cabin crew and with very little turbulence.(I am in flight as I am writing). However, while being spoiled on the long international flights with complimentary dinner, a comforting glass wine and a movie, I was not sure what to expect on this domestic flight. At first I was delighted to find the snack menu that was provided at our seats.  There was a variety wines, spirits, snack combos and even Cup o Noodles were offered, but, uh, not complimentary. Of course now that I am already broke for the day I can't even afford to eat ramen which is $5 a pop!

  Ok, so now I know to plan ahead a bit more. I have discovered that these less expensive airlines are really better for shorter excursions with very few bags and I have also learned that it is a good idea to take your own food along. This experience was very informative that way. Though this may sound crazy but I love airplanes and airports. It's probably just a honeymoon phase that I'm sure will wear off at some point (likely this trip as we will have flown through 4 different airports with 5 take offs and landings). It's expensive and it can be hectic but it's just how things works in the vast world of the airline industry and I am still in the process of learning it all. I know it will get easier and easier. My only goal now is for it to get cheaper and cheaper for me the more I learn.
  


Dark Horse moment of the day:

The Toy Story quote: "To Infinity and Beyond!" resonated from Laurels mouth to the ears of those throughout the cabin as the wheels lifted off the ground for her first ever flight!



Spirit Airlines
NK #404
Airbus A320 (Sharklets) | Economy Class
Atlanta (ATL)
12:17 PM
Thu, Jun 06     4hr 49min
traveling to destination
Non-stop
    Los Angeles (LAX)
2:06 PM
Thu, Jun 06