Thursday April 22, 2010
For a change, the morning started out later than I’m used to for travel. Was up at 6:30, but with a 11:00 a.m. flight to JFK, there wasn’t much to do other than watch one last episode of Babylon on TV and finish a little bit of last minute packing.
Since it was Earth Day (not really, but because I was being cheap), I took the Blue Line to ORD. Though MBB and SD were transported by RB Taxi service, we ended up at the Jet Blue counter at just about the same time. My baggage made it just under the weight limit (phew)! Johnny Rockets for two eggs my way. Love the eggs for breakfast. And yes, it is likely that this travel journal will discuss every meal.
Flight to JFK was uneventful other than the snorer right behind me. Really, if you snore like that, you should try and stay awake on the plane. But this guy had clearly embraced it. To the point where he used an eye mask on a 11 a.m. flight.
Got to JFK and survived the 40 minute commute from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1. And learned that at Kennedy, 1 comes after 3 – we don’t know what happened to 2. Found the Royal Air Maroc counter fairly easily, but check in didn’t open until 4 hours before the flight. There went our plans for a quick meal in NYC before we took off. We settled for the Terminal 1 food court, which almost felt like we were already in another country.
At four we went back down to check in. The line was ridiculously long, but moved fast. All of our seats got changed, and I lost my window seat. I’m hoping 24B is an aisle, but won’t know until I get on the plane.
Already clear that Moroccan culture is different. The woman at the Royal Air Maroc ticket counter wanted to flirt with her co-worker and not help figure out why my seat changed.
Made it through security and found SB at the gate. Woohoo! R joined us soon after, and then it was time to board. RAM does not seem to have any boarding system – instead everyone just lines up in a huge line down the terminal. I asked three different people for an explanation. TSA said they just worked for the government, the airport worker told me that he didn’t work for RAM and the RAM employees did not want to be bothered.
Looked like it was going to be a disastrous flight with a middle seat (so much for pre-assigned seats on RAM), but R saved the day when the emergency row seat next to her opened up. Plenty of leg room and room for M, SD, and SB to hang with us for some of the time. Definitely stories to tell though – like the baggage that almost fell on SD’s head , the guy with the mysterious air-sickness bag, and the water pouring in the emergency door as we landed, but in the end, we made safely.
