January 17

Last night Wnenk kicked me out of his room. Shortly after, Natalie called and begged me to come back. I was up until 2:00 getting everything together and doing a final load of laundry. Amanda was still up doing homework when I finally cashed out.
I woke up this morning at 6:50. It was hard to believe it was finally departure day. I guess the excitement overpowered my need for sleep. I ate some cinnamon toast for breakfast while watching Drew Carey on the Price is Right for the last time in a few months. I stopped by Wal-Mart to check out the book aisle and some sleep pills. Then I had a final meal with Wnenk and Natalie at Arbys. Dad picked me up from Stauffer in the red Heritage van and we didn’t stop until we reached the airport.

We arrived at DSM at 13:45. I already had boarding passes so I just needed to check my luggage and go sit and wait. At 14:30 we said our final good-byes and I headed up the escalator. Security was quick except for the extra screening on my wrist brace. Apparently it looked like it housed either explosives or drugs.
The flight to Chicago was routine. We were hardly in the air long enough to warrant drinks, but they were provided along with a 55 calorie pack of pretzels. Once in ORD we had to make our way from terminal one to terminal five for our international departure. The route was poorly marked so we ended up walking by an information desk two or three times before asking for directions. We eventually found our way and proceeded to the transit system followed by additional security including re-screening my brace. By the time we found M16 not only had our group doubled in size, but our hour and a half lay over had nearly expired.
By the time our flight reached cruising altitude, I was so hungry it was making my nauseous. The chicken teriyaki dinner did anything but settle my stomach. The first half of the flight was much worse than the second. Once I accepted the fact that I would not get any sleep I was much better off. After watching Eurotrip on the iPod for inspiration, I listened to a few tunes until they turned the cabin lights on. I then pulled out Angels and Demons and read about Langdon and Vittoria’s experience at the Pantheon trying to foil the Cardinal murder. After splitting up, Langdon tries to ditch the overly helpful historian while Vittoria discovers they are in the wrong place. I read the minutes counting down to the supposed murder as the plane was descending through a bit of turbulence. It added a level to the suspense.
Upon landing at our gate we had to wait in the plane as they unraveled a problem with the ramp. After walking from our arrival gate at MAN to the meeting point we decided it may have been faster to walk to Bangor. We had to wait for Tecwyn quite a while, and we waited some more after he arrived. We finally made it to the bus and enjoyed the rainy weather along a very scenic drive into Bangor. We are about there. I was hoping to find out if a Cardinal was murdered or not, but that will have to wait until later. We are about to check into our rooms.