The journey begins...

Alright, I figured that I will probably tell my stories several times for people, so I might as well write them all down.  This will also help me remember everything. :)  So, whoever wants to read this, go for it.  

Traveling started on Wednesday the 9th.  I met up with Nicole and Catherine, my traveling buddies, at the Lindbergh terminal around 11am.  We hugged our parents goodbye, some crying more than others (mom...), and started our journey.  So, here's the deal...  We had scheduled a 1pm flight from MSP to Milwaukee, about a two hour layover to leave from there at 4:10pm, and then finally leave for Shannon, Ireland at 10pm from NYC.  The first flight went easy and quick.  Our Milwaukee flight was delayed about a half an hour, and then it took forever to actually park at the gate and get off the plane.  In New York we actually had to change from LaGuardia to the JFK airport...we learned our lesson about that.  When it came down to it, we had an hour and a half to claim our luggage, get in a taxi to JFK, check-in, and make our flight.  Needless to say we were stressing out a little bit...  When we had claimed our bags and actually got loaded into a taxi it was 8:45.  We told the cab driver to get there as fast as he could and he actually made it in 15 minutes...which was awesome!  The first terminal we went to was completely abandoned, so we crossed the street to the next closest terminal.  We run in there with our stuff and ask if we can still check in for our flight at 10.  This was probably at 9:07.  The lady just made a face and said that we were very late and that we wouldn't be able to check our bags for the flight, so she sent us to the ticketing counter to schedule us for the flight the next night...  Our hearts sank and we didn't know what to say.  At the ticketing counter, God blessed us with a miracle.  The lady we got was determined for us to make this flight.  She called a few people and pulled some strings.  She personally escorted our luggage to the right spot, and we hustled through security and right onto our plane. I was still carrying my belt while finding my seat.  As we settled into our seats we couldn't believe that we had actually made this flight and were on our way to Ireland. :)