A very early start!

The packing (and double, triple checking of everything) took me until midnight, and I dragged my bag and carry-on to the front door all set to load into the car. After a quick shower I jumped into bed, but my thoughts kept me awake--and too soon it was 1:30 when the clock radio chimed in. Time to get up and get moving for my 2:30 pickup. Yep...just 1.5 hours of sleep. An early morning. A VERY early morning. Driver Les Anderson was prompt and we loaded my suitcase and sped off to grab Jane. As we all drove north, a lightning show kept us enthralled, yet it never rained on us. We got to the airport and through boarding-pass printing and TSA Precheck by 4:30. And then came the wait--flight to Philly wasn't until 6:50, and there we'd have a six hour layover. Oh my. Four others from the trip eventually found their way to the gate, and we re-introduced ourselves, eager to get on with our Greece adventure.

Tired, quite cold, we were happy to get on the commuter jet, but froze the entire way to Philly. There was no way to shut off the arctic blast blowing on us, and this flight had no blankets. When we landed, both of us were in need of coffee. Determined not to be cold again (and fearful I would be on the Philly-Athens leg), I bought a fleece blanket and lumbar pillow and stashed them in my carry-on.

We were the first bodies at the gate for the Athens flight, but eventually we needed to celebrate our adventure with wine and appetizers. No problem--a wine bar was just down the corridor.

Then on to Athens. Flight was full, but I was warm with my blanky and all. My movie screen didn't work, so I took that as a sign I should just rest. And rest is all I could really do--no sleep. We pulled into the Athens gate right on time, were met by a travel rep, and taken to the hotel.

Rooms weren’t available yet, so what does one do? Up to the rooftop cafe/bar for a bite and a bottle. Is this not a gorgeous view?