Four sunrises in three days, part 2

When we last checked in with our heroine, she had managed to hail a cab and make her way to the hotel in Chitose. Let's go back and find out what happened next. Liz?

"Well, I made it to the hotel without incident. It was a great little place...little being an operative word, but that was no problem since it was just me. The staff was really helpful - they arranged my taxi for the next day and arranged a take-out breakfast for me since I would be leaving before breakfast opened. The next morning, when I went to check out, I was surprised to see that the take-out breakfast was quite a lot of food!

My taxi arrived at the airport just as it was opening. I actually had to wait a while before I could even check in, as the JAL counter was not open yet. During this time, the sun rose. This was December 24, sunrise #2.

The flight to Tokyo was nice and uneventful. It was so interesting to watch the snow slowly recede to nothing. Before I knew it, we were in Tokyo. I had one final milk tea before departure, and before I knew it, it was time to depart for America. It was kind of interesting to watch the slow accumulation of people who looked and spoke like me...none on the train, a few in Sapporo, and a whole bunch in Tokyo. And several people in Tokyo spoke with southern accents! I think I heard someone randomly let out a cheer for the Saints (or some football team). Why not?

Once I boarded the plane, stashed my carry-on, and shoehorned myself into my window seat, I struck up a conversation with my neighbor. She was a very nice Australian lady who was going to visit her daughter on the East Coast. We had a nice chat until the plane was airborne. I really couldn't have asked for a better neighbor...well, I suppose Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome (and single) would have been nice.

I was really struck by the difference in the flight attendants on the JAL flight and the American flight. The JAL attendants were very uniform - they all were dressed in matching uniforms and had matching hairstyles. The uniforms and the hairstyles were much more on the formal side. The AA flight attendants were all wearing different variations of the uniform and had very different hairstyles. Some were decked out in Christmas decorations. It was really interesting to see the differences between the two airlines.

One of my favorite things about the international flight was watching the movies and TV shows on my little screen. I did watch one of the most boring movies known to mankind, but most everything else was pretty good.

The sun set relatively early on our journey east. It was a beautiful sunset way up there. Ahhhh. I highly enjoyed it. Then, we passed the International Date Line, and it became December 23 again. As we continued eastward, and time managed to progress, it became December 24 again. Changing time hurts my brain.

After what felt like quite a long time, we finally saw the lights of land. America! Hurray! Somewhere over the western part of the country, the sun rose on December 24 again - sunrise #3. It was simply an amazing sunrise - colorful and fabulous.

Well, here is about where I will have to end for this evening. Good night!"

Thanks, Liz! Everyone, be sure to tune in tomorrow for the next enthralling installment in our series!