DAY ONE - BWI & BACK. TWICE

The day started with much promise. The crew assembled at 8:30 as planned at F&H Headquarters and we headed down to BWI. Our flight was scheduled to depart for Detroit at 12:33pm, and to play it safe we planned to check in and straighten shit out by 9:30.

SCENE I NORTHWEST TICKET COUNTER

We missed the flight by an hour. Yes, we check in at 9:30 to find out the flight left an hour before. We catch an ear-full by the lady behind the desk. Who really expects a flight to be bumped four hours ahead of schedule? This does not bode well for Fools & Horses, and the anally detailed mind of Matt's. (This one disregarded detail burns in him like a soldering iron to the butt-cheek on a crisp, February morning)

Rap-atap-tap of the keyboard and we're booked on a Delta flight for Atlanta-Tokyo at 6:30 pm. Aimee, who has graciously sacrificed her Sunday off to get us down here has stuck around and carts us back home. We hit up a Denny's and stew over the morning's delay. We're comforted to know AFE has factored in a couple of days to get us to Tokyo before our first show. We're not at all pleased to still be in town though. We're able to check in at 2pm for the 6:30 flight and vow to do just that. We're not risking anything.

SCENE II BWI : ACT II

Conveniently, Northwest and Delta have been going through a gradual merger and they seem to speak a different language. The Delta folks are scratching their heads at our paperwork and send us back to Northwest for reissues. A really stoic gentleman (who we think will end up heading the company one day) took charge and got everyone on the same page. We present our baggage to gasps and wide eyes, and it looks like nothing of ours will make it on the plane. A very kind lady with a magic wand sprinkles some fairy dust on the staff and our baggage is weighed and deemed flight worthy. (This whole time Matt is throwing Jacksons at the curb-side helpers for dealing with our crap. They've seen us twice today).

We're told we could make the Atlanta connection and pay twice the cost for overage in baggage, or go home and take a 05:35 to Atlanta - Tokyo tomorrow. Always suckers for a laugh, we decide to take this option and head home AGAIN. We stop off at the Barn in Carney to celebrate our day's travels with the Hutchison patriarch.

The dry-run was a success. We now know where the airport is, and I think we know where we're heading tomorrow, but we fully expect to be told differently.