Finally on Our Way!

Greetings from Tashkent!

I am writing this post from seat 14G on a TransAero flight 2222 from JFK to Vnukovo Airport in Moscow. If you can't already tell from that sentence, today's the day we left NYC for Tashkent. Our flight out of JFK was at 2:25p so we didn't have to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn. We woke when we woke. I had to check the weather. Yep, it was 26 degrees this morning. It's suppose to be spring but it's obvious the weather gods did not get the memo!! I checked the weather for Tashkent for Tuesday, the day after we arrive.  It'll be in the 30's by the time we wake up.  Cold.....very glad I got my down jacket!

We had a light breakfast and then Pat had a few last minute things to take care of before we left for the airport.

She's like me in that I'd rather be at the airport early and wait there so we decided to head out around 10:15a. Yes, that's more than 4 hours before departure but neither of us was about to miss this flight!

Because of the weekend work that was being done, we couldn't catch the E Train from 8th Ave and 24th Street subway station as we would have. Instead, we took the train from 8th and 28th, downtown, to 8th Ave and 14th street stop. From the 14th street station it was on to the E Train to Sutphin Blvd where we transferred over to the AirTran. Even though our trip took us about an hour and fifteen minutes We arrived in to JFK with plenty of time to spare.

Enjoying My NYC Layover.

I woke up early.  I waited for Pat to get up before getting ready for the day.  We had breakfast - it was nice to have a real NYC bagel with cream cheese, washed down with freshly brewed coffee!  Pat and I sat around and chatted for a bit. 

Heading for NYC.

The alarm was set for 7:30a but my internal travel day click had me up at quarter past 7. I was too antsy to stay in bed so I got up and prepared to leave. I did all the last minute tasks including shutting off the water main and putting away the dishes.  I checked the weather by stepping outside my front door.  It was a cold and chilly day.   Where is spring?!?!

I had booked a taxi for 8a and anxiously waited for it to arrive. I am always relieved to see my ride arrive on time. It was a short ride to the Metro station and from there to Union Station.

And away we go! First stop. NYC!

I had come up with a grand plan for the day before I would leave for Morocco. I would try and go to bed at about 9pm and wake up at 3am. That way I would get at least 6 hours of sleep. But as usual, I was too excited to sleep. I kept waking up every hour or so. Not surprisingly, when the alarm went off at 3:15a, I was feeling tired. Instead of getting up, I cat napped till about 5:30a and then it was rush to get ready. For some reason, I always manage to find a bunch of little things to do in the last few minutes before I leave.
 
 "The Anxious Passenger"
SuperShuttle had called the day before and left a message telling me that the driver would be there to pick me up at 5:57a. I don’t know why they ever bother being so precise. But, lo and behold, the driver showed up at 6a. I was feeling good since my flight wasn’t leaving til 9:05a. I had told Soon that I would meet him at the airport at 7a. Luggage stowed in the back and me in the front passenger bench seat, we headed out of my neighborhood.