Leg One: Miami.

It's 10:48 pm here in Miami. And jeez was it a heck of a time getting here. And to here, I mean my carefully scouted seat in the waiting area of J16, Concourse J. Which actually wasn't so carefully scouted since I was the first one here because I went through security 5 hours before my boarding time. But hey, that just meant I got the prime choice of which metal bench with minimal cushioning. I even found one with an electrical outlet, which I'm now using to charge my bluetooth and laptop.

So I knew my trip had officially began when my Mom, Dad, Auntie May, Maddie and I saw the enormously long check-in line for American at SFO. I don't even know what time we got there, though it probably wasn't more than an hour and half. Of course, it's my luck that when mybaggage was getting checked, the wrong tag was put on my luggage, potentially sending it to Chicago instead of Lima. JOY. Luckily, the desk lady caught herself and sent one of the luggage helper guys on his way to chase my luggage and hopefully reapply the correct tag this time. Still, I won't know if he ran fast enough or not until I get to Lima, which will be in about...7 and 3/4 hours.

More fun ensued once I had to go through security. It was hard enough trying to separate my liquids into bags, electronics and all other metal items, plus my laptop into a bin, while lugging around my backpack and hiking boots which I had just removed. Next, they decide to stop me in order to rescan my backpack. The item of question? Well apparently my Icy Hot tubes could've made me a threat to national security. Yes, I know, I know, they're just trying to protect us. But still, it wasn't a fun way to start off my trip.

The flight itself wasn't too bad. I was seated in a window seat, 11F, next to an elderly Italian couple. I sat down, took off my hiking boots, and put on my wool booties. Can't have my feet swelling to the size of elephants, or go through thrombosis or anything horrible like that. The husband was polite, and I suppose the wife was as well. Still, she kept leaning over in front of me to try to look out the window. And looking at me as I was watching the TV to make sure I wasn't looking at her. Odd, I know. Anyways, I got to watch The Bucket List, which was pretty good, listen to my iPod, some of the radio channels, and pay 3 bucks for a can of chips. Which I should mention the wife examined when the flight attendant handed it to her, to hand to me. Once again, odd. Oh yes, I almost forgot, there was this crazy old Asian lady who sent me dragon death glares when I turned around and asked her to remove her bare feet from my arm rest. Blech. Turbulance-wise, there wasn't too much. Very minimal actually, even when we were "going over the remnant clouds of Hurricane Ike".

Anywho, this is the pretty pretty sight I got to see as we were flying into Miami.
















Well, once I got into Miami International Aiport, the fun and relaxation was stalled for a bit. I find out that my connecting flight to Lima is pretty much on the other side of the airport. About halfway through my walk, I make sure I'm going the right way by asking a security guard where Concourse J is. He was quite creepy...here's our creepy convo:

Me: Excuse me? How do I get to Concourse J?
Guard: You have very pretty hair.
Me: Uhh...thanks. So where's Concourse J again?
Guard: Oh wow, you're going there? It's all the way on the other side.
Me: I know.
Guard: Okay, well it's to your right and just keep on walking.
Me: Thanks.
Guard: Have a good walk. Have a good flight. Take care of your hair.

Thanks Grandma and Mommy! For giving me such pretty hair that I have an extremely awkward conversation with an MIA security guard.

Well after the odd ordeal...and a nice long amount of walking, I finally reach the LAN Peru desk. But first I decide to stock up on some Take 5s, my ultimate candy bar. When I finally can get the attention of one of the LAN Peru employees, I ask where I can find the boarding gate for the 1:45 flight to Lima. I also ask her about my baggage, making sure I wasn't supposed to pick it up from here and recheck it in. She assures me my baggage will be okay (though this may or may not be a lie, it calmed my nerves) and tells me to head on over to J16 after making it through security. So security (oh, my favorite part of travelling) is lame. Again. They check my backpack again, ultimately determining that I have to leave behind my facial moisturizer because it is 4 oz instead of the maximum 3 oz. I was about to bring up the fact that my hand sanitizer was 4 oz, but I opted to just lose one and not both.

I finally get through, put my shoes back on, and head over to the newsstand and cafe. I buy myself a Sudoku book, Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright (seems like a "For One More Day" type of book), and a Turkey and Swiss Sandwich with a Raspberry Arizona for my dinner, since all of the restaurants have closed. My gourmet meal? Right here.















Delicious, I know. Well, this is about all for now, so I'm off to finish watching Torchwood, watch more coverage of the election on CNN and wait, oh...another hour and a half to board. For everyone who's been calling me or chatting with me to keep me busy, thank you. And thanks for reading! See you when I write from Cusco. =]