My flight to Tokyo

 JFK to NRT | July 2013

As soon as I got the phone call that my grandfather died, I prepared for my trip to Tokyo.  My husband was very supportive of my desire to attend his funeral even though it was halfway around the world.  I called my mom, who was arranging her own flight from LA, and asked her if I could come. I know it's weird, but even though I am almost 35, I still don't impose on my mother without permission.

I went to work and told my manager that I would probably leave the next day and use my vacation if needed.  He understood, too.  It's actually a very odd coincidence that we, as a family, had decided not to go to London this week to visit my sister-in-law.  The flights were booked solid.  Had I been on my way to London, I would not have received the message from my mother about her father's sudden death.

We prepared to leave from Charlottesville (CHO) Airport.  I was supposed to take the flight to Atlanta (ATL) and fly direct to Narita (NRT) International Airport in Japan. But when I arrived in the morning, there was no airplane to take me there. The weather was too bad the night before for the pilots to fly to Charlottesville. Fortunately, I was re-routed to LaGuardia (LGA) Airport in NYC. From there, I took a shuttle bus to JFK International Airport. Then, I took a direct flight to Japan.

It was a very long day, but you want to know what? I got upgraded to First-Class - Upper Deck, baby!

Delta's First Class / Upper Deck JFK to NRT | July 2013

I need not tell you how wonderful the upper deck is. The pod is almost completely private. It's like an office cubicle with everything you need within a hand's reach.  I was greeted with an offer to take my coat and a glass of champagne.  Then, I reclined and enjoyed the ride.  I watched the movie "Silver Lining" which is a comedy starring Bradley Cooper and the girl from The Hunger Games. I don't want to ruin the plot.  I will tell you that 1) I laughed out loud, and 2) it is rated R for maturity.

And what would be a good blog post (or part of my life) without a photograph of what I ate?  For lunch, the flight served Japanese Soba noodles with fresh fruit.  What a nice preview of my upcoming trip to see my family in Japan. Even though, it's a sad reason, it will still be wonderful to see those whom I love so much.