Flying to London

Got up early, opened the champagne and sat and had chilled soup leftovers with it. We weren't that hungry so we left most of it there. Checked out of the Clarion Hotel and caught a shuttle to the airport. Checking in as First Class was a breeze. No long lines to wait in. We still had to stand in the huge security queues, but after that it was great. We made sure we could use the "President's Club" lounge, found a comfy seat and made the most of it. Kat fired up her lap-top and used the Wi-Fi while I had a mimosa and ate some of their breakfast stuff.

We boarded right away, and then had to watch all the poor people in coach file past us. Our first leg of the trip was in a 757, so we had big chairs, but not the full sleeping pods. I watched "Date Night", although my headphone jack on the chair didn't work that well. The food was tasty and generous, scrambled eggs and ham and sausage and some sort of potato thing, plus sticky buns and juice and a bowl of fruit. Kat made me eat her mangos. Later we both had a free drink, mine was a whiskey and ginger ale, Kat had a G&T. They also brought us a warm cookie and some milk.

We arrived early in Houston and went straight to the "President's Club". More comfy chairs and no screaming children in there. Kat fired up her laptop again and started playing WoW. I had a free beer and some snacks. Kat was looking forward to our "goo-filled pods" on the next flight.

The "goo-filled pods" were what we had started calling the reclining seats in first class on the 777 plane. On the seating chart they look like little incubators and we had brainstormed that they must put you in hibernation in your own little pod filled with nutrient-rich goo that you float in and simultaneously consume. We imagined that you hatch at the end of your journey, sort of like a caterpillar coming out of a cocoon. Kat said she'd have insect wings and I said I would have those retarded spiral wings that the little lizards in Avatar have that make you spin around out of control.

We boarded with no problems and got to see our "goo-filled pods" for the first time. The seats were huge, with a big monitor in front of each that you could play games and watch movies on. While we got situated they brought us each a glass of wine before take off. We sat and played Bookworm and Alchemy for awhile and then we started to take-off. There was a fancy menu to order from for our dinners. We both chose the beef.

We ate too much and they brought us lots of wine. When they learned we were newlyweds they promised to bring a bottle of champagne at the end of the flight to take with us. The first course of our extended meal was a corn and poblano soup, spring roll with mango cutney, and coconut shrimp. Next had large green salad with blue cheese dressing. The we had our beef with vegetables, followed by a cheese and cracker plate and then a bowl of ice cream with our choice of toppings. We opted for hot fudge and caramel.

While we ate our way through the flight we both played a series of games meant to teach you basic French. We learned our numbers, the months, days of the week, time of day, useful words and basic phrases. Now I know how to say "There are 99 cats in the bedroom" in French. What fun.

After eating we read a bit before going to sleep. The reclining seats slide all the way down and stretch out to for a bed. They claim to fit anyone up to 6'6". I was able to fit comfortably, although you're pretty much forced to sleep on your back. The blankets and pillows they give you are pretty nice. You even get a little travel supply kit with socks, sleeping mask, ear plugs, and other toiletries in it. We settled down with our sleeping supplies and drifted off to sleep for a few hours.