International departure day is finally here. The last 11 days in Phoenix have been nice to decompress and leaving Tucson forced me to get my packing done early. My days in Phoenix were both relaxing and a bit of a working vacation. I had loose ends to wrap up at work and it took some time to get out of work mode. I was also house sitting and dog sitting for my parents which had its own duties to be completed.

This morning I dropped off "the boys" aka my parents minture schaunzers to Happy Tails where they will be vacationing the next three weeks. After that I came back to the house and did the final bag weighing. I have been feeling anxious about the trip, the recent terrorism threats, etc, so I felt a tension headache coming on and I took something for that. Then I just waited for my transportion to the airport. Thankfuly I didn't have to worry about parking.

I was amaze in Phoenix how quickly I got checked in and even more surprised that the TSA line was non-existent in Terminal 3. I figured all the Fiesta Bowl visitors wouldn't be leaving until the 5th, so that could explain things. Anyhow, I was all checked in and at the gate two hours in advance. Unfortunately, the inbound plane for my flight to Dallas was delayed two hours. The scheduled flight to Dallas after mine actually left before we did. It didn't matter though because I scheduled a long long layover in Dallas just in case.

Upon arrival in Dallas I was able to use a one-day pass to the American Airlines Admirals Club which was a nice place to relax before my flight. It was pretty packed the first hour and then when the London flight was announced for boarding the majority of people left. I ordered a blue moon beer from the bar and just hung out with the iphone surfing the net. The beer might not have been the best idea. It was good but I was already a bit on edge.

Fast forward three hours. I boarded my flight for Santiago. Since it was going to be 10 hours and overnight, I opted for business class. I'm so thankful I did. The sleeper seats were a dream and much needed. Since the beer, I hadn't been feeling well so I skipped the late night supper and just went to sleep.