Airports & airplanes, part 3

The third and final leg of our journey to Dublin started with a five-hour layover at O'Hare. Fortunately for us, Matt is a member of the Admirals Club, which is an amazing place: a fully stocked buffet and bar, dining area, several quiet places and sleeping areas, workstations, showers, and a big TV-watching area.

We hung out for a while, then ate dinner, then watched three episodes of Veronica Mars Season 1 on our tablet, and then at about 9:15 pm we started pulling ourselves together so we could mosey over to our gate for our 10:15 pm flight. But then Admirals Club announced that our flight was boarding, and so we ended up hustling instead of moseying.

Our flight was on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and due to Matt's many many miles, we were in Business Class--which is made up of pods that look quite a bit like office cubicles. Here is Matt, checking out all the gadgets in his pod:

The seat contorts into several positions (if you can figure out the interface), including one that is almost horizontal. Of course, both of us were taller than the space truly allowed. But with the ability to be at least somewhat reclining, and with the Dreamliner having access to both fresh(?!) and humidified air, we probably got more sleep than we would if we'd been in regular seats. The only other downside (in addition to not quite fitting) is that it wasn't all that easy for us to talk to each other.

The space included a monitor that displayed announcements and instructional videos, and you could also use it to watch movies, play games, and track the flight. Here's what the 3D visualization of the end of our flight supposedly looked like:

They gave us travel kits that included eye masks and socks--and the pod came with its own pillow and blanket--so after more food was delivered, and the windows were magically adjusted to be more or less opaque, and the interior lights were dimmed to a tasteful level, we sorta-slept much of the way to Ireland.

About two hours before we landed, we received breakfast and coffee. The windows were magically adjusted to be transparent, and the lights slowly came back on. 

Here is our first view of Ireland:

We landed more than 30 minutes early on Friday, July 26, but there was a plane at our gate, and--because of a closed runway--a lot of traffic on the field. For example:

After 45 minutes of idling, we were able to get to within 200 yards of our gate. But then we had to stop again so that a crew could clean up an oil spill where we needed to park. The pilot told us that there were about ten people out there watching one guy with a broom. But even that exercise was finally completed, and we pulled into our gate--about 30 minutes late.

After about 19 hours of travel, we are here!