Day 1 - Depart Columbus for N.Y.,
Mets-Braves Game
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Aug. 9, 2007

By Laura Childerson, Sr, F, Alliance, Ohio

Last call for boarding the bus en route to Columbus Airport came at 2:30 AM Thursday morning. Near 35 excited players and family members showed up ready to get the show on the road. The bus was freezing, but we made good time and arrived at the airport with plenty of spare time before check-in. Baggage check went smoothly, with the heaviest bag award going to Barbie, whose luggage weighed in at 49.5 pounds. (The limit was 50 pounds) We boarded the plane and departed for JFK Airport at 6:00 AM.

About 15 minutes into flight the captain announced that the part of the plane that controls the air pressure was broken, so we couldn't cruise at the altitude which they usually did. We quickly descended, and proceeded on the journey at a slower speed, which was necessary due to the decreased altitude. Unfortunately, they air conditioning was also controlled by the same system, so the plane ride became increasingly warmer as time rolled on. Luckily, the plane landed fine, and we arrived in JFK around 8:00 AM.

After landing at JFK, we proceeded to baggage storage. The airport only had one worker in baggage storage, so it took around an hour and a half to get all the luggage stored. We then left for Shea Stadium to see the N.Y. Mets play the Atlanta Braves. We traveled to the stadium via the Airtran and the subway. It was an interesting experience getting all 40 or so members of our group successfully on and off at the right stops. More than once, a player had to push their way through the tram doors, often disturbing unknown passengers.

The trip to the stadium took a total of about 40 mintues. The weather in New York was great. We went in groups to get food at the stadium and enjoyed hot dogs and chicken fingers alike. Our seats were pretty high up, but luckily this meant they were in the shade. We also enjoyed a nice breeze. Several of the players succummed to sleep as the game wore on. The Mets ended up being down by a few runs, and we left the game around the 7th inning in order to make it back to the airport in time for our flight.

Back at JFK, we found our way to our gate and boarded for our upcoming seven hour plane flight which was scheduled to depart at 6:00 PM.

After boarding, the plane sat still for at least an hour waiting for clearance to leave. This delay caused issues catching our later flight from Madrid to Munich. The plane had eight seats across, and looked like it had been around for several years. The temperature was a little warmer than expected, and nobody decided to use the blankets provided for us.

We were served two meals on the flight, one for dinner and one for breakfast. For dinner we had the choice of chicken or beef. For breakfast we were served a muffin, a creasant roll, and some fruit. A movie was playing, but it was on a small screen, and nobody seemed that interested. We flew through one storm, but other than that, the flight was pretty smooth.

We landed in Madrid at 8:30 am Spain time, which meant 2:30 am USA time. Our flight from Madrid to Munich was scheduled to depart at 9:00 AM, which meant getting from our arrival gate, through customs, security, and across the airport to the correct terminal for departure required a sprint up stairs and through the airport.

Fortunately everybody made it, and we boarded our last flight exhausted and a little more sweaty than planned. Despite all of the crazyness, we were all managing to have a great time.