Day One

We've barely begun and it's already an adventure.  We got to the GNV with two hours to spare only to be called right to the gate.  The woman there said HURRY, here's your boarding pass, get on the plane!….what?…what plane?…where are we going?  We did as told but never got an explanation on why they pushed us (almost literally) onto this earlier flight but it certainly worked out for the best.

Then a few minutes after boarding our plane for the leg to Johannesberg I missed Caroline only to find her sitting in the pilots chair wearing his cap surrounded by all four pilots.  She was grinning like a 5 year old, bouncing up and down and moving the seat back and forth.  One of the pilots took her upstairs to show her the captains quarters….Austin said it sounds like Sandusky….

We were next up at the end of the runway only to have to go back for a medical emergency.  Apparently some dimwit got on that needs round the clock oxygen but forgot to mention this to anyone.  We have a 16 hour flight and the plane has 30min worth of O2 on board.  This took two hours, an ambulance and three paramedics to get her off the plane and get us back in line for our take off.  I said a little prayer that they remembered to top off the gas tank.

During the two hours which turned into a meet and greet Caroline made friends with everyone including the father/son couple that are on their way to Botswana to hunt elephants.  Apparently if you bag a big bull that will set you back $100,000 on top of the price of the trip.  Lordy. 

These new lay flat seats that Delta is so proud of are so incredibly…..uncomfortable….. unless you like sitting on a granite slab for 16 hours and I don't, Caroline did. 

We made it easily into the Intercontinental Hotel and had a dinner of Impala and Springbok.