Leaving North America

Tuesday morning, 0-Dark-30 (aka 2:50 AM PT): Monica The Saint drives us to Las Vegas International Airport.

5:50 AM PT: Bye bye, Vegas!

7:25 AM PT: Hello, San Francisco!

(& all this before Starbucks was even open to brew up the morning's first coffee!)

11:50 AM PT: Aaaand bye bye, San Francisco - we're off to Tokyo, and so it has begun!!

Safely to San Francisco

So glad for a sign that tells me where I am!

Nine hours after leaving Tokyo we landed in San Francisco - the flight was uneventful, even got a little sleep.

Enjoyed clam chowder and fish tacos while waiting for our final flight home... which is delayed!  The final leg of our journey is the shortest, but seems the longest ... probably due to sleep deprivation.  So looking forward to getting home.  Pat

Taking Off To Tokyo - Finally!

We knew it was going to be a great day when the Doubletree Hilton desk clerk handed over three more of their yummy, warm cookies at checkout. (Really, we barely mentioned how much we LOVE their cookies.) 

Making the best of our extra time in San Francisco included riding the BART and the historic F-line streetcar down to Fisherman's Wharf, where we watched the ships, and the seagulls watched US eating fresh fish and chips. (This seagull's name is Frank. His street name is Fearless Frank. Doesn't he just look like a Frank?!) 

(Small world moment: Our smart-alekky - but funny! - streetcar driver was originally from Butte and has relatives in my hometown of Missoula, MT. And if you know me or my sister, it doesn't surprise you at all that we learned this in a nice little chat during the 10ish minutes we were on his streetcar.)

But now we are SO excited to be heading out - especially as we each have a row of seats to stretch out in for the next 11-ish hours, since passengers are on the sparse side for this flight! 

The safety video is done, cabin lights just dimmed, and we're backing out of the gate.

Bye bye, San Francisco; Tokyo, here we come! 

Still Stateside - San Francisco, CA

Before we left the San Francisco airport this afternoon, Pat's health tracker app said her activity today consisted of over 12,000 steps in 90 minutes of walking and 6 of running. The running was to arrive at our connecting flight - 10 minutes after they'd finalized boarding. (To her credit, my big sis did not so much as cast a withering glance when I repeated - in all sincerity! - her earlier words, 'God is not surprised...'.)

Blessings on: Patsy G. for flight restructuring, Kincaid's for delectable water view dining, and the Doubletree Hilton for warm, yummy cookies and comfy beds. 

Good night, San Francisco.

Tomorrow we'll partake of your scenic charms until a mid-afternoon return to the airport for  our new overnite flight to Tokyo.

Wing And A Prayer - Waiting In The USA

Thus far today, we've had double  opportunity to build our patience muscles, with a departure delay in Las Vegas, and now gate roulette in San Francisco. Apparently, our arrival gate was double-booked, so here we sit out on the tarmac, 3-shot Americano-fidgeting until the little red ball drops on an open gate number. I'm hoping it's gate 94, right next to 95 where our connecting flight to Tokyo hopefully waits for us. It will be nip and tuck to make the flight, but as my sister said, God is not surprised by any of this. We'll keep you posted!