Greetings from 34000 feet!

Today I got up at 0500 because we had to be down in the lobby at 0600. Of course when I went down there the plan had changed and now we didn't need to be in the lobby until 0900. So I ate breakfast and then went back up to my room to take advantage of a couple more hours of sleep in a comfortable bed.

We finally left for the airport. The drive to the airport was really pretty. Alaska is definitely a beautiful place and I definitely want to come back for a longer visit. Preferably with Michael and not in January!

Once we got to the airport, it was like no other airport experience. Some guy met us at the entrance to the airport and then took us through some door and we were practically at our gate. There was no checking in and no going through security.

I am currently on the plane writing this blog and will post it later. I mention that because when I started writing this blog it was 1445 and we just passed the international date line and it is now the next day at 1245!  I just lost almost a whole day in one blog post. It's also worth mentioning that the current outside temperature is -79 degrees!  Thankfully the plane is somewhat heated...

Approximately 8 hours has passed since I wrote the first part of this blog and it is currently 1309...that's right, the clock has advanced only 24 minutes!  It is very weird to travel forward in time but backwards at the same time. (if that makes any sense)

When I look at the map on the television, we are flying over places that I cannot pronounce and also ones that I have never heard of. I thought it was cold outside earlier, but when we flew over Siberia (not one the previously mentioned places that I cannot pronounce or have never heard of) it was -94 degrees outside.  Now that is freaking cold!

The food on the plane hasn't been too bad. They definitely keep us fed, as they probably realize a plane full of hungry Soldiers and Marines would not be a good situation. I've had French toast, a cheese omelet, lasagna, and sweet and sour chicken. They have also provided many different snacks and even hot towels!  The only thing that would make the flight more enjoyable would be if I could have a glass of wine, but that's prohibited nor do they even have any alcohol on board.

I think that we have about hour left on the plane. It's really hard to tell though as the clock on the tv keeps turning back to 1245 every hour or so as we cross another time zone. But since my phone is in airplane mode the clock isn't changing and according to my math we have been in the air for a little over 9 hours. Plus our little plane on the screen is getting pretty close to the destination diamond.

So once we are on the ground it will be approximately 24 hours after we left Alaska but only about 10 hours will have passed.  In other words, I think that I am going to have a serious case of jet lag at some point.