Travel from Houston to London - we're at Heathrow now!

Well, I have my first funny story of the trip.  There was heightened security while boarding Flight 194.  After we were already heading down the gangway to board the plane, we were stopped in groups of 15 or so, told to get against the right hand wall side by side with our luggage in front of us.  The next thing I knew, there was a nice lady in a police type uniform with a German shepherd going down the aisle, sniffing each set of carry-on bags.  It spent about two to three seconds on each bag until it came to me.  The dog showed heightened interest and wouldn’t leave my bags until ordered to do so.  One lady in my group had a similar experience and we were both ordered to go to a table where all of our stuff was thoroughly searched.  I thanked the TSA personnel for what they were doing and they said most people get upset.  I said I was glad they were doing a good job and that my guess was the dog was either fascinated by the smell of my long-haired Calico cat or wanted some of my snacks.  It was probably a little of each, as they said the dog had a sweet tooth.  I always bring some Payday candy bars and some bags of Teriyaki Beef Jerky with me to tide me over during our busiest days at the clinic when we may not be able to break for a proper lunch.  Sure enough, everyone got a good laugh when they saw cat hair on my camera bag (Fluffin likes to lay on it for some unknown reason!) and when the snacks were uncovered.  I thanked everyone again for taking our safety seriously and was one of the last ones to board the plane.  Pastor Kevin and the rest of the team liked my story about the sniffer dog with a sweet tooth.  I am writing this at 35,000 feet as we pass over Little Rock Arkansas, a little less than an hour after a 4:36pm takeoff.  We’re on a newer British Air plane, with USB ports for charging up small devices and a nice interactive entertainment system for the 8.5 hour flight.

We just finished dinner, the choice was between a beef dish and pasta.  I took the pasta, since I had eaten a huge Swiss cheeseburger at the airport around 3pm.  We are now approaching Toledo, Ohio at about 2 hours into the flight.  Soon, it will be lights out in the cabin so those that wish to sleep can do so more easily.  I just discovered that this plane also has power taps, even back here in the cattle car section.  This is the first time I’ve ever been able to both use and recharge my devices in economy class.  I am an American Airlines frequent flier and have occasionally been bumped up to business or first class on fairly empty flights, but this is a new level of amenities for the common man.  Three cheers British Air!  I am hopeful I’ll get a wifi signal in the morning at Heathrow so I can post what our travel experience has been so far.

We’re about an hour out from London now.  I was able to get maybe 2 hours of sleep total over the last 7 hours or so.  Flight was very bumpy, especially over Nova Scotia and not very conducive to slumbering.  It was much more just resting my eyes with an eyeshade on, listening to music and various podcasts and a little pecking away at this blog than sleep.  I’m afraid I’ll end up napping a little too much on the next flight as a result and the first night’s sleep in Nairobi may be fitful as a result.  Oh well, it is what it is.  We just were served a breakfast of a croissant with strawberry jam, a granola bar and some Craisins, which are sun-dried cranberries.  It was actually much better than it sounds and a step up for British Air.  We used to joke about their tasteless cardboard biscuits for breakfast on past journeys.  I chased it with some black coffee and will be asking for some juice or water soon.  On these long travels it is very important to stay hydrated, particularly since our final destination will be at about 6,500 feet of elevation.  This is similar to traveling to the mountains in Colorado, but includes the extra kicker of the ease with which you can get behind the curve on hydration during two long flights.  I’m always like a mother hen on these trips with my team, driving them nuts with asking when was the last time they had something to drink.  It beats altitude sickness.  Over the years, several people have fallen ill on these trips that haven’t kept up on their fluids, but never on one of my teams.  The proof is in the pudding!

We’ve made it to Heathrow with about an hour to spare before our gate opens.  Everyone is freshening up or trying to send a quick email to family and friends to let them know we’ve made it this far.  More to follow from Nairobi.