flight plan

Don gave me his upgrade to first class. I rode from Orange County to Atlanta in first class. I've never heard the words, "would you like something more?" so much in my life. The flight over the desert was amazing. The rest of the day made up for it. Even that wonderful leg of the trip left the runway an hour late. But that was nothing.
We boarded in Atlanta at 6:50pm. We sat on the tarmac until 8:40pm waitng for a light bulb to be changed. While we waited, storms moved into the Charlotte flight field. So we flew our 37 minutes to Charlotte and circled around until after 10pm and had to land in Raleigh to get gas. We sat on the plane in Raleigh and finally took off at 11:30. We landed in Charlotte at midnight and finally got our luggage at 12:45am. Granted, that's 9:45 Pacific time, but it's still a 13 hour trip from Orange County to Charlotte, and then we had to drive to Columbia. Have you ever had to stop and refuel on a flight from Atlanta to Charlotte?
Summary comparisons: The trip from Atlanta to Charlotte took longer than the trip from California to Atlanta. The wait for baggage took longer than the flight time.
We could see lightning bolts beneath the plane. A lot of potholes over Charlotte. But we're back. Back in the land of thunderstorms and humidity and 100+ degree days.
Larry said to be sure and blog this harrowing day. I said I was too tired to think. He said go ahead and just give an account, so there it is. Nothing ever goes as planned. Didn't I just say that the other day?
Please turn off personal electronic devices and stow them and be sure your seat and dinner tray is in the upright position and that your seatbelt is fastened low and securely around your waist. We will begin our initial descent within the next 48 hours.