Day One - Getting There

(Written June 18 - No internet access)

After no sleep, my brother gets me to the airport at 6:30 am, two hours before my scheduled departure time. Ticketing and the security check were relatively quick and painless. I get to my terminal and find that my plane has been delayed almost an hour to about 9:30. Within the next hour and a half, the flight gets delayed another four times, pushing my flight back to 1:31 pm. I decide to call my brother in hopes that he's awake, up, and willing to go grab a bite. Check. Check. Check. He comes to pick me up and we go to a place where dreams are made, to experience the great American breakfast: Denny's. Our fine dining expectations were gracefully met by none other than Grace, a curly mullet-sporting, over baked, underpaid gem from the greater Midwest (of the Salt Lake valley). Breakfast was short and sweet but it was nice to get out of the airport for a bit.

I made it back to my flight and slept the entire way to the twin cities' airport in Minnesota. After a small, overcomplicated journey from one terminal to the other, I find myself at Fletcher's Wharf having a Sam Adams, writing the first page to a hopefully complete story that will eventually just be remembered as summer 2009.

I'm being called for boarding. Next stop: Reykjavik, Iceland.