Up, Up & Away

Having not boarded a plane since July of 2009, my travels to WV were long overdue. When all other options of vacation places failed (haha, sorry PJ & Kasey) & I decided to then come here to mountain country, I then had to decide which route I wanted to take to get here. Flying was obvious but should I go through Chicago or Atlanta? I opted with Chicago simply because the layovers were longer & I have a great fear of things going badly & my missing a flight. For me, the longer I have to catch a plane; the better. St. Louis was to get snow around the time of my departure & I was nervous that my flight might be delayed or cancelled. Thankfully, neither were the case. I made it to Chicago O'Hare just fine & all went smoothly getting to the next gate. I had a couple of hours to kill before the plane was slated to take off to get me here to WV. I joined many in watching the Bears vs. Seahawks playoff game. Being in Chicago made the intensity of the game a bit more exciting though I really had no preference as to a team to win. I was a bit surprised when over the P.A. system came an announcement that there would be a interdenominational Christian worship service in Terminal 1 at 11:30 a.m. Maybe all airports do this & I was just unaware? Had I not have been in a completely different part of the airport, it may have been interesting to go & check it out. I, however, did not venture that direction. While sitting there, I got teary-eyed when there was another announcement asking everyone to welcome back a Staff Sgt. that was returning from Iraq. They played God Bless America over the system & people began to cheer & clap for the soldier who had finally made it back onto American soil. I only wish I could have seen the celebration when he was reunited with his family. Having been at the airport for a while, it was time to use the facilities (aka, the bathroom). When Haley & I were kids, we used to inspect every bathroom everywhere we went & rate it. I remember my dad even making us up a checklist to carry around with us...guess he found humor in what we were doing. Haley would have LOVED this bathroom. I was fascinated by the toilet & honestly, I nearly got my camera out to video that which was before my eyes. Perhaps I just don't get out much & lead a shelter life but did you know they make automatic toilet seat covers? Yeah, not even kidding. I made my way into the stall dragging all of my carry-ons with me & immediately saw a sign instructing me on usage of the toilet. Wave hand over the sensor & when doing so, watch in amazement as the seat cover rotates. I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! Definitely the highlight of O'Hare. St. Louis is not so advanced yet. My flight was to leave at 1:49, boarding at 1:30. At 1:30, I was still sitting at the gate. Flight delayed due to aircraft delay. Rescheduled departure? 2:00. 2:00, still sitting there. Flight delayed again. At last, 2:10, I boarded the plane. A quick 1 hour & 3 min. flight to WV & we touched down on the runway & I saw the smallest airport I think I've seen to date - Yeager Airport here in Charleston, WV. Thus the beginning of my WV adventure.