06/24/2006

We woke up at 5:30. I spent some time reading/writing email from the blackberry. It's

nice to stay in touch, but boy is that inefficient. Hopefully in the future we can get

some wireless access from the apartment -- if we intend for our off-hours to be productive.

Otherwise, I want to find some interesting places -- seeing Dave walk around in his

underwear is only amusing the first time. ;)

I called Eriko while Dave showered and then we ate breakfast at Cafe Manya. I had

pordrige, omlet and bacon, and two lattes. I successfully ordered water in Russian

for the first time. That was pretty exciting. We went back to the apartment and I

finished packing. We went downstairs to wait for Vladimir about 9:20 - he was already

there, waiting for us. I said my goodbyes and admired Vladmimir's driving skills

through Moscow.

Arriving at Moscow airport, the arrival ramp was congested, so Vladimir let me

off about a hundred feet from the door. Immediately in the door is security.

Once through, I used the large electronic billboard in the middle of the

terminal to locate Delta flight 47. It indicated gate 1, which was to my left.

I walked through the gates labeled "nothing to declare" and found myself in a

very long line for the Delta ticket agents. I had a plesant conversation with a

woman from Layfette, Louisiana.

Near the gate agent, I went through security again. I then answered a few

questions about packing my luggage and had my bag hand-examined. Through some

"mis-communication" I ended up with one less chocolate bar. The man indicated

that he wanted to look at my plastic bag with 5 chocolate bars, so I opened it

for him. He then took one out and set it on the floor. He immediately ceased

looking through my bag and put things back in. I probably could have retrieved

my chocolate but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. It sure felt like a

bribe...

I retrieved my boarding pass and checked my luggage. I passed through

emmigration with no issues and found myself in duty free. I walked around a bit

and then purchased some chocolate to replace that which dissappeared. This

chocolate is for Eriko, after all. At the gate, I went through security again.

They examined my carry-on bag by hand.

I waited at the gate for about an hour, next to a very annoying child who kept

asking his mother what time it was, when we were boarding, etc.