Egypt - Day 1 - Saturday, August 1st

Today we begin our journey half-way around the world to Egypt! I can't wait to ride a camel, see the Sphinx, and cruise the Nile. It should be a fantastic trip! But first we need to get there. What a fun first day of traveling this will be!

We woke up early Saturday. Well, I woke up a little earlier than I wanted to because I slept with one eye open the whole night. We slept at Ellen's, who has 5 cats! Thankfully John stowed me in the carry on bag, so I didn't have to worry about a stray cat.



Ellen did have all of her cats sequestered in the back rooms, so I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But I digress ...

After posing for pictures with Ellen and John, we left for the airport at 7 AM.



First stop: Kathy and Mr. Stephenson's house (we're going to call him Mr. S. from now on, as it is easier!) Mr. S.'s friend Dee loaded us all into his SUV and we headed to the airport. After dropping all of us off (except Kathy, who unfortunately could not go with us due to a last-second medical emergency that kept her home. We'll miss you!) we checked in. I got to ride through the X-ray machine (they really should clean the inside of them every once in a while!) and then we waited for our plane. I passed the time by trying to steal Mr. S's ticket. I was a whole seat to myself! Unfortunately, he thwarted my plans and I was back in John's bag before I could get it in my beak. Drat!



It was going to be a long day. We would fly from Moline to Chicago to NYC-Laguardia and then take a shuttle bus to NYC-JFK where we would then board EgyptAir to Cairo. I'm exhausted just saying it! I would've flown on my own to Cairo, but that's a long way. And there are no pit stops over the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, I had John stow me in his carry-on bag for the entire trip. He left me with cinnamon gum and cinnamon Twizzlers to eat. Good thing I like cinnamon!

According to John, there were no problems at the airports. O'Hare was busy. LaGuardia was where they picked up their checked bags (John helped a woman get her bag off the luggage carousel - no, wait. That was Ellen. At least, that's what she says. And I trust her over John.) The shuttle bus to JFK was uneventful. At least I got to get out and stretch my wings on the shuttle!



They got their tickets (we're in the middle seats on the plane ... I wanted a window seat!), went through security (this time, I was in the bag, so I was unsure how clean the X-ray machine was), and then waited for Egypt Air to board.



They ate dinner at an Irish pub by their gate - I slept in John's carry-on bag.
They finished dinner and boarded the plane - I slept in John's carry-on bag.



They put their bags in the overhead compartment and got to their seats - I slept in John's carry-on bag. Hey, there wasn't much else to do in the bag other than sleep. I woke up in time to hear the take off. Then I fell back to sleep ... in John's carry-on bag.