The Americans are Coming, the Americans are Coming!

There has been some activity regarding my trip to Germany this fall. Two of the couples on the trip are going over a day early, but the rest of us are traveling on the same day. The trip coordinator found flights for the rest of us that will take us all from our hometowns to Charlotte, and from there to Frankfurt so that we will be on the same flight to Germany. That way no one has to wait around in the Frankfurt airport for additional flights to arrive. Yesterday I met with the couple from the genealogical society so that we could plan our flight together, on the off chance that the rest of the people decide to take a different route. I had previously done some research and found that the best price was going directly through the US Airways website. Once we identified the type of plane we would be on (thankfully an Airbus) we went to seatguru.com where you can see a review of the seats on the plane. What a find! You can make sure ahead of time that you aren't seated by the bathroom or in a seat that doesn't recline. This will be particularly important on a flight that lasts 8 or 9 hours. We arranged our seats so that the three of us are together to and from Charlotte, since the seat configuration on the plane is three and three. From Charlotte to Frankfurt the seating is two, four and two in each row. Since we didn't want to sit in the middle of the plane, I have a window seat in front of them on the long flights. So at least if we want to talk a bit on the plane it is doable. Now my last major decision is what type of travel insurance I want to take out. I have several policies to review to make sure I get the best coverage. I don't want to take any chances should I need to cancel my trip for any reason, and I also want some health insurance coverage while I am there just in case.

Yesterday I was able to get Jim to go to the botanical garden with me to see the cherry blossoms. Usually he would be on a motorcycle ride, but he had one set up for today instead. I am so glad we went as I think we hit the peak of the cherry blossoms. Since it is supposed to get very windy this afternoon, the blooms may be all blown to Illinois by the end of the day.

tulips

cherry blossoms

more cherry trees

I guess I didn't mention that we went to opening day of the St. Louis Cardinals. The game started out pretty good, but then went to hell in a hand basket towards the end. I took some ribbing from my Cincinnati relatives since the Reds pretty much creamed us. They were silent after the Cards took two of the three games in that series. Who's in first place? That's right - the Cardinals!

Cardinals Opening Day

Flag on Cardinals Opening Day

Fredbird and me