I Made It

I made it!! If you've seen the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles (and an co-worker in Charlotte needs to see it!) you kind of know what I went through yesterday to get to Beijing. The flight out of Charlotte to Chicago was delayed...first because of mechanical issues, then storms in Chicago. The plane was an hour late leaving, then circled St. Louis and eventually had to land in Springfield, Ill., to refuel. After a long delay there we finally arrived in Chicago...at 12:30, five hours on the plane!

Thankfully I had a four hour layover in Chicago which gave me 45 minutes to catch my flight. Of course the flight to Tokyo was delayed as well so my 12 hour flight was about two hours late leaving. The seat I had for that flight was in the first row by an exit door so I had PLENTY of leg room. My only worry...the 1 1/2 hour layover in Tokyo.

(Mountain range over Alaska during flight from Chicago to Tokyo)

When we arrived in Tokyo, a person with a sign greeted me at the gate, "Burton, Charles R, flight 0955, gate 41". The woman walked me through security and directed me to my gate. As I walked onto the plane, I met fellow APers Charlie Dharapak, Julie Jacobson, and Liz Schultz.















(Charlie, Liz, and Julie, from right, after arriving in Beijing)

In Beijing, we were met by a volunteer with a sign "Pre-AP". She led us through customs and accreditation, then to baggage claim and onto a bus to carry us to Olympic Village. After a bus ride that seemed to take forever, we arrived at the Media Village, got our room assignment and crashed in our rooms...after a couple of beers of course!

I left home in Charlotte at 5 am on Monday and finally arrived at the Olympic Village at 11 pm on Tuesday (which was 11am Tuesday in Charlotte). Total trip time....30 hours.