A Life Less Ordinary...: Flat Stanley Goes to Virginia (and Learns About Flying)

Hi everyone! Today was an incredibly busy day, and Meg and I spent the entire day traveling across the country from Los Angeles to Washington, DC. We're headed to James Madison University, where Meg went to college with Mary's mommy, Jennifer. They are having a little reunion with the Marching Band, and I am very excited to see what that's about. But first, let me tell you everything that happened on the way there!

We had to get up VERY EARLY this morning for our flight out from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The first thing I learned today is that every airport in the world has a 3 letter code. When we checked our suitcase with the airline, they had to put a tag on it with the right code to let the baggage people know where to send it so it would be waiting when we got there. Since we are headed to Washington DC's Dulles International Airport, you'll notice the white tag on our suitcase says IAD.

Then we had to go through a security process, with metal detectors and X-rays and all kinds of cool stuff to look inside the little suitcase we were taking on the plane. I wanted to take pictures of that, but Meg said the airport people get very upset because security checks are very serious and you have to pay attention. I want to make sure I get to Virginia, so I did what Meg told me.

Once we got through security, it was time for breakfast. Luckily, they have a Starbucks store here at the airport so Meg could get her favorite coffee like she does every morning. But they didn't have her regular breakfast sandwich, so we found a different one with egg and bacon on yummy sourdough bread. It cost $13, which sounded like a lot of money to me. Meg explained that food is very expensive at the airport because you don't have a lot of options and they can pretty much charge whatever they want. At least the sandwich was good, and we were sure hungry!

Then we went to the gate and waited until they were ready to board the flight.

When they were ready to load the plane, the nice people at Southwest put up signs so we would know which line to wait in. We were in A, which boards first, because Meg travels a lot and the people at Southwest like to let their best customers get on the plane first.

Once we were on the plane, the flight attendant encouraged us to read the safety instructions for the plane, so we would know what to do in case of an emergency. Our plane was a Boeing 737, so they have instructions for this specific plane and put the number on the cover to make sure you have the right ones.

There are a lot of things to know about planes, so I liked that they included pictures. I think I understand it, but I sure hope nothing bad happens during the flight because that would be scary. Meg said we would be fine and I believed her. After all, she travels a lot so she should know.

Once the flight got underway, the nice Southwest people came by and gave us all kinds of snacks so we wouldn't be hungry during our trip! I can get used to this flying thing!! The Chips Ahoy cookies were my favorite.

After a few hours, we arrived at a place Meg called Chicago, which is a large city in the state of Illinois. Chicago is so big, it needs more than one airport to get people there, and the one where we landed is called Midway.

Meg explained that we were not going to stay here long, because we still had to get to Washington and we were just stopping for a break here. Another plane was going to take us the rest of the way. But I had enough time to have a little fun here in Chicago.

Soon it was time to go to the gate to get on our next plane. Boy, am I glad to be traveling with someone as experienced as Meg! There sure is a lot involved in this flying thing.

I do hope the weather is nicer in Virginia than it is here, because from what I know about marching bands, they don't like to get wet.

One the second leg of our trip, Meg was really tired and decided to take a nap.

I was way too excited to sleep, so I decided to look out at the clouds since we had a window seat this time.

Finally, we arrived in Washington, DC., the nation's capitol. Our suitcase was waiting for us just like Meg said, so those magic airport codes really do work!

Then Meg made a phone call to Mary's grandparents, who live near the airport. They came and picked us up, because we are staying with them tonight and driving the rest of the way to JMU tomorrow. While we were waiting for Mary's mommy Jennifer to arrive, we went to dinner. Boy, was I hungry after such a long day, and I like seafood!