3/12/97 - Wednesday - Little Rock
We were up at 4:30 this morning.  I complained all the way to the airport about all the things that could STILL go wrong and remembered things for Sarah to do before she leaves tomorrow.  She's about had enough of my pessimism.  I think I crossed the line when I said her four bottles of suntan lotion would not be enough.

It took about 10 minutes for the ticket agent to process our tickets, but he did NOT say all those things I expected - about how I had not jumped through the right hoops and would not be able to go on the motherofallvacations vacation.

We stopped in the coffee shop for coke and coffee and I started pumping Will full of drugs- Dramamine.  I figured 1/2 pill would settle us both down a bit.

Will was really excited about getting on the plane.  We did manage seats together and Will by the window.  But as soon as we got settled, Will started getting really nervous about the take-off.  He found the "discomfort bag" and practiced putting his mouth in it "just in case."  I started thinking I should have given him two whole tablets of Dramamine instead of 1/2.

I started talking as fast as I could about anything I could think of to get his mind off the flight - to no avail.  He shut the window shade, closed his eyes, and said, "Dad, I really don't want to talk about that now."  But I kept talking through take-off which was smooth.

As soon as we got in the air, he said, "I thought it was going to be rougher than that," and quickly settled down and even returned the "discomfort bag" to it's place.

We watched for the Mississippi and were excited to spot its flooded waters as we crossed it.

Time for the stewardess to serve breakfast.

3/12/97 Wednesday  10:07 Arkansas time/ 11:07 Atlanta time
Well, we are in the air again.  We made it on the flight to St. Thomas, and on the first try!

Will and I hustled through the Atlanta airport to gate A17 and waited.  Will got sausage biscuits and eggs while we waited.  I was too nervous to eat.

So the ticket people finally arrived at gate A17.  After I waited in line, the agent said the gates had switched and the flight to St. Thomas was leaving from gate B14.  That's where we just came from!

So we hustled back across the airport riding the escalators up and down and the moving sidewalks in the hallways.  Will was taken by the Atlanta Airport and the dazzling rides and really wouldn't mind if we didn't make it to St. Thomas.  He had gotten over his fear of flying after only one time up and was having a big time now.  But I was getting really nervous.  The big moment - the final reality of the motherofallvacations vacation, the dream of Lo! these many years - just might possibly be coming true.  Could it be?

Hurry up and wait.  So we checked in at B14 as I held my breath.  The agent assured me that everyone would get on board, but I knew better.  "You mean everybody but me," I thought to myself.  Will was guaranteed a seat, but I was still stand-by.

I tried to make myself calm down by thinking about other things.  My heart was pounding.  This is the moment of truth.  Ii just couldn't bring myself to believe that IT (the BIG IT) was really going to happen.  But IT did.

As I handed off my boarding pass and headed for the plane, I finally and for the very first time believed I would make it and started getting excited.  The big worries are behind.  Only Sarah and Andy to worry about now.  But Will and I WOULD DEFINITELY make it to ST. THOMAS!  The dream of Lo! these many years will come true!
 

This time Will took the take-off with nonchalance while I was the one in shock.  He was the old pro now.  After all he has survived one complete take-off and landing.

The first thing I noticed was that there are lots of empty seats.  Lots of them.  Probably 10-15.  Sarah and Andy should have come with us.  But of course she had work and Andy had work and school to worry about.

My anxiety level will go up again tomorrow when it's time for them to arrive.  But hey!  I'll be worried IN ST. THOMAS!!  I can take that.

And another miracle occurred right away.  Will got out his notebook and started writing in his journal.

He writes:
"37,000 feet in the air.  Flight from Atlanta airport to St. Thomas airport.  Air pressure lowering, the city is disappearing, the plane shakes.  The stranger next to me is writing suspiciously in his notebook with a green and gold pen.  I repeat A GREEN & GOLD PEN!  Right as my ear pops he stops writing, looks around and, then he starts writing again.  The funny thing is that I just realized he sat next to me on the flight from Little Rock to Atlanta.  He owns a suspicious black bag, red white and blue bag, the colors of England's flag, and a bag cart type of thing-a-ma-jig.  We turned the page at the same time.  A snakey river lurks below.  Who knows?  There may be an underwater missile launcher lurking below this snakey river.  The food cart goes down the row, the plane shakes.  Someone says, "I think that's Cape Canaveral."  The plane shakes again, but this time the shake is bigger than the last one.
"After an hour of playing cards and eating lunch we fly over the Bahamas.  Parts looked like a green-blue flower.  The stranger gets up and goes to the restroom.  Several minutes or seconds rather he returns with something in his pocket.  He pulls it out and it's the mysterious green and gold pen.  I fall asleep (not really, I just imagine).  I'm woken up by a loud noise.  The stranger throws the pen and it breaks the window sucking me out into "the air."  A place not only of sight but of sound.  Oops, sorry.  Wrong show.  A place where hats fly and people are happy.  Is this the graduation?  Sorry, wrong speech.  A place where people get hurt very badly or even... KILLED(!) because of the fall, (Yeah, this is the right speech) but wait!  I hear a noise.  Man!  It's only a thunderstorm:
                                  BAAM!!
I got hit by lightning.  I stop falling 6 feet from the ground.  "Nothing is touching me," I said.  I was flying like a SUPER HERO!  I fly as fast as I can BACK TO THE DELTA AIRPLANE, and I get my luggage and I went on to St. Thomas.  The funny thing is when I went to the airport the plane never showed up."

How about that kid?  Writing a super hero story!

We are now passing over the Bahama Islands and they are the most beautiful site I ever saw.  The water among the islands turns a light green with obvious swirls where the currents flow.  I wish I could adequately describe how pretty these island are from the air.  Gotta sail those islands some day!

Will and I are playing poker.  I'm just glad it's not strip poker, or I'd be naked by now.

More poker.  Still not winning.  We are now over the open ocean.  We have spotted two ships already.  Ohh!  I NEED to be down there on a ship far, far from land.  Gotta do that and sometime soon.  Maybe I should just pursue a new career as a ship's hand so that I could get this wanderlust out of my system on the deck of a 600 ft. ship instead of a 30 ft. sailboat.  Man, the ocean is BIG!  It's amazing to see it go on and on right out of sight from this far up!

The Preacher's Wife is showing as the in-flight movie.  Neither Will nor I were interested.  Not enough blood and guts.  No chick movie for us!  Now Sarah.  Sarah will jump at the chance to see another tear-jerker like this, and she'll cry all the way through it.

3/12/97  Wednesday  8:45 p.m. - St. Thomas

What an adventure!  The Bahamas were breathtaking, but flying in low into St. Thomas was even better.  We had a great view out Will's window of the shallowing waters, the brilliant white breakers crashing onto beautiful islands.  And several of the islands out our window rose in sheer bluffs hundreds of feet from the ocean.  Will and I snapped several pictures out the window.  We had a great view of a tanker ship heading north from the islands.

The houses scattered up and down the hillsides look wonderful with their switch-back roads zig-zagging up the hill.  And the emerald green water in the bays is unbelievable.

The plane settled closer and closer to the water.  And just when you were ready to yell for help, dry land and the runway appeared out of nowhere.  I just couldn't believe we were really here!

Will and I went to the Best Western at Carib Bay instead of the Best Western at Emerald Beach.  But a short taxi ride and we were at the right place at last.

I looked out the front window of the taxi, and there was Pat and Darl sitting on a bench - waiting.  Waiting anxiously as it turns out.  Since we were the last ones off the airplane and then went to the wrong hotel, Pat was in a panic that we didn't make it.  The first thing she said was, "This is the last time I am going to be totally responsible for somebody else's dream vacation!"

So we put our stuff in the room and headed for the beach for a nice walk among the breaking waves.  We spotted a two foot long iguana which Darl declared to be smaller than the one lurking around his dock in Miami.

After the walk we settled in on the balcony for awhile, but I was just too hyped up, so I went for a walk by myself over the mountain.  Thought I might get a good view of Charlotte Amalie from the other side.  Turned out that I only saw the industrial district of St. Thomas.  But it was a nice, refreshing walk after being cooped up in airplanes all day.

When I got back, Will was in the swimming pool with Pat and Darl watching.  I rushed him out so we could head for dinner before it got dark.

After a brief taxi ride into town, we had dinner at The Green House which was satisfyingly tropical.  The front of the building was open to the bay with the smell and feel of the ocean blowing in.  After the traditional appetizer of conch fritters, we enjoyed meals of fried snapper, mahi mahi, shrimp scampi, and BBQ ribs.  All were delicious.  Pat and I ended by splitting a Key Lime Pie which was wonderful.  What a great meal in a great setting.

Then we walked along the street by the storefronts a way and came across a pay phone where I called Sarah and left a message on Marti's 800 number.

Back at the hotel, Will was anxious to put his kite together and try it out.  It worked fine on it's first test run.  Darl pronounced it properly aerodynamic, so Will was satisfied and eager for the next day of fun in the sun with a kite.

If only Sarah and Andy were here already, we'd really be having fun then.  Sarah is anxious about her flight tomorrow, not because of the connections, but because they are expecting thunderstorms tomorrow morning.

END - DAY ONE - MOTHEROFALLVACATIONS VACATION