Before leaving home this morning, my brother, Tom, calls from Iraq to speak with my mother and me. Thankfully, he is safe and doing well. He’s been in Iraq since February 2009, working 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week, so he’s really looking forward to a much needed vacation back in the states with his family in October.

My lovely mother takes me to the airport. I am sporting a large backpack and a smaller day pack. I decide not to check luggage, 1. – to avoid paying the ridiculous luggage fees, and 2. – to ensure that my luggage arrives with me.

While the airlines have a pretty good track record, over the years they have mis-directed my luggage on more than one occasion and for up to several days. It would definitely be a challenge spending a couple of days without clothes and toiletries in a foreign country.

American Airlines will take me from Austin, through Dallas (DFW) and on to London’s Heathrow Airport, where I hook up with British Airways to Athens, Greece. I will arrive in Athens late the afternoon of Sept 30.

At DFW, I am able to access the free internet kiosks scattered throughout the airport. They are quite archaic, with keyboards and monitors built into the desks. There are no instructions on the initial screen about how to enter the system, so I guess, and there is no signage warning of the 20-minute time limit when the entire system automatically reboots. Fortunately, my email service automatically back-ups the email in progress.

On the plane from Austin, to Dallas, I meet Marianna and Bob of Wimberley, a small town near Austin. They are also flying to London where they will rent a car to drive up to Wales for a leisurely vacation.

Flying from Dallas to London, my seat mate is Stephone, a 30 something gentleman. We share pleasant conversation off and on during our long flight, mostly about family and friends. But I can’t tell you where he’s from or what he does for a living or why he was headed to Europe as he was quite evasive. Hmmm! ~