Stepping Out

Today was travel day...a VERY early rise to get into Glasgow Airport to try to get good seats on the flight.

Continental recently started a direct flight from Glasgow to Newark, and there's a similar service goes from Edinburgh to Newark (we used that flight in 2005), but since Glasgow's easier, we went from our 'home' airport this time around.

Our flight left at 9am, check in opened at 6am, and we were hanging around the check-in area from about 5.515am! My dad and Mark are both tall men, I'm pretty leggy for a lady , Dad and I both have knee trouble, Mark had back surgery the previous year so we were keen to try for emergency exit or bulkhead, which, mercifully we got, since we were second in the queue. It made the flight a lot more pleasant, meant we all got some sleep and arrived ready for the day orientating ourselves in the city.

Security for flights to the US from UK is really tight just now...there's a pre check in at the top of the queue for the desk. The four of us have all been to Dubai in the UAE a number of times in the past few years, my parents have also been to Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Oman on their current passports, and theirs were taken away for the security guy to have a confab with a supervisor. Mes parents managed to convince them they had only been for holidays, and we were eventually checked in.
It still amazed me too that the people beside us - despite warnings on posters, over the tannoy/ PA system and on video monitors around check in - still tried to carry a bottle of perfume through security!!! Maybe they weren't quite awake yet!

After a quick breakfast in the airport (bleurgh...the food places at GLA are NOT recommended: expensive and really bad food) we hit duty free and Mum and I picked up some perfume and cosmetics. The flight left on time, setting us up in good form for the trip ahead.

NOTE: I'd checked the weather forecast before we went to NYC. There were also reports on news bulletins of major snowstorms over the state in the couple of weeks before we left, up to 6 feet in some of the 'burbs, but the city had thus far been OK. Still, I travelled in a ski jacket and had two pairs of gloves and a few beanie hats with me. Mum thought she'd wait til she got there to buy a hat 'if she needed it' (the forecast was already saying minus 5C), Dad thought he'd be fine without a hat and scarf and Mark 'doesn't do hats'. That was all soon to change!