17. The Flight to Africa – August 1

The day before I was to fly out of Asheville was a busy and hectic day. There were lots of things I needed to do before I left my home for 18 days. I had bills to pay, emails to respond to, garden produce to manage, cleaning to do, calls to make, and last minute packing to accomplish. I felt some pressure and anxiety as I readied for the trip. My husband would describe me as somewhat irritable and that I was. On the way to the airport, we had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Biltmore Park to celebrate our anniversary as we hadn’t taken time to do that yet. We finished the meal with fresh strawberry shortcake and ice cream. Then we were off to the airport to check in, clear security and wait to board. Since you can’t linger long at the airport curb, we said a quick goodbye accompanied by a short kiss and I proceeded to the check in counter. The line was short so I breezed through to the waiting area at my gate with plenty of time to sit and wait. Ugh! I wish I hadn’t beein such a hurry to get there.

The flight to Dallas was just under three hours but was a bit rough from turbulence. It felt good to disembark and with about four hours til the next leg I used my time to have a nice Mexican dinner. Then I found my next gate and relaxed for a while. But with time on my hands and mountains to climb, I found a long staircase to ascend and descend at least three times, carrying my heavy carry-on bags. At last it was time to board my next plane. The line was very long and my coach seat was near the rear of the plane. I began nesting in my little zone by the window that I would be occupying for the next 14-15 hours. I had my shoes off, neck pillow out, ear phones ready, and was exploring the little amenities bag when a flight attendant stopped at my row of seats and asked if I was Lucreeta Moooore Pin Pin ta to which I said yes. He asked to see my boarding pass and passport. Oh no!! Was I being deplaned?! He explained that I was being reassigned to business class and to please get up and relocate. The thought went through my head that many were praying for me but I wondered why God favored me over the older-than-me woman wearing a neck brace and who’s jaw dropped with envy as I left her row. I thought about offering her the exchange for just about 2 seconds before proceeding to my new nest. The upgrade was magnificent!! There was a lot of room with a seat that positioned flat so that I could sleep fully horizontal, pajamas, amenity box with lotions, plush pillow and blanket and almost full privacy with a door that closed across the entry to the cubicle. I changed into the pajama shirt and had to smile as the outfit made me look ready to report for duty on the starship Enterprise. I had my own personal flight attendant who offered me just about anything I could ask for. But all I really wanted was to stretch out and sleep. About 7 hours later I woke up in a time warp. I had no idea how long we had yet to fly, what time it was or whether it was light or dark outside. I ordered breakfast consisting of fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, assorted breads, and strawberry smoothie. It was served on top of a cloth cover for the tray table and the elegance was completed by a little candle too. You can tell I only fly coach.

The next leg started by disembarking at the Doha, Qatar airport with a 10 hour layover. I had reserved a sleep cubicle hoping to get some sleep but the mattress was hard, the walls were thin, the pillow was uncomfortable, however, it did give me a private place to rest before the next leg. I got up at six o’clock and freshened up a bit. The attendant at the desk of the sleep-n-fly area told me the gate assignment for my next flight and I set off to find it. After walking a long way and taking a train, he was wrong. I had to go back from just about where I started, so I took off running to get there. Once at the gate, I linked up with Jo Simmons who is also on the climb and who had recently come to Asheville to hike with me. We boarded our plane without difficulty and had smooth sailing the rest of the way. There was a brief stop at Dar es Salaam and then on to Kilimanjaro airport. We landed on a strip that seemed to be a remote, dry area. There was no chance of a Kilimanjaro sighting as the sky was fully covered in clouds. The customs procedure was fairly easy and when done, our ride was waiting for us. I purchased a local sim card for my phone which took a lot of time to accomplish. Then we headed out for the hour drive to our lovely hotel where I am now fed, showered and ready to sleep. Enough of this tale for now.

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