ATLiens

As Clark (bless him) drove us to the airport, it seemed like Nature was doing her best to give us a taste of the gray, rainy weather England is famous for.  I mean it was pretty; I like the rain; but it was early in the morning, and we had 17 hours of travel to look forward to, so weren’t at our most rambunctious.  There was this really nice flight attendant named PK who talked to us, found out we were all college students, and brought us a free bagel (menu price: $3) and a banana-almond butter sandwich ($6).  He was rad.  But it wasn’t until I woke up from my plane nap to the bright sun and the lush wooded hills around Atlanta that it hit me like an office linebacker, and I turned to Nate and Annie and said Guys: I’m Excited.

-W.

The Atlanta Heartsfield Jackson International airport is cool.  And BIG.  We rode the train to terminal A, then walked to terminal T, admiring the Zimbabwean sculptures on display.  It seemed an appetizer for our next leg of the journey, which will include bigger trains and more art!  We have been taking advantage of the drinking fountains, seeing as we won’t be seeing many in Europe.  Gotta go, Zone 3 is about to board for Delta #12, Atlanta to Gatwick!!

-A.

The Atlanta-Gatwick flight was totally bomb, actually.  I read Goose Girl and watched Crazy Heart.  Anne sat by a dude from Colombia.  The best part, though, came as a surprise.  A flight attendant came by with a meal tray and said, Vegetarian meal?  We were all like, no, none of us ordered that.  So she looked confused and took it to the back.  Shortly thereafter we heard a voice over the intercom announce, “Passenger Sand Holt, would you please press the button to call the flight attendant to your seat?  Your specially prepared meal is ready.  Passenger Sand Holt.”  So we called the flight attendant back, and it turned out Dad had ordered special meals prepared for us—curry!  It was way better than normal airplane fare, but the best part was the labels.

According to the labels on our food, Annie and Nate and I were Hindu, "Moslem," and Asian, which I guess is a religion now, and these meals had been prepared especially for us.  I suppose it spells good things for interfaith peace and unity that all our meals were identical.  

As we landed, we flew directly over sheep grazing in hedged fields.  It looked exactly like a scene from Babe.  Right next door to the airport.

--All right, B, J, and C: Our first leg of the trip is in England’s biggest city, home of the clock tower called Big Ben, the soccer team Arsenal, and the Beatles’ legendary recording studio, Abbey Road.  Be aware: Mind The Gap.--