Sadly, all good things come to an end, and this was the day to go home. We had intended to have a bit of a lie in. I had set the alarm for 8:30. However, we were both awake at 08:00. We got up, took turns to have a shower and got dressed. Then we went downstairs for breakfast. Graham had fruit, yoghurt, scrambled egg on toast and some oatmeal with almonds, dried fruit and brown sugar. I had fruit cocktail, Reese’s Puffs cereal with milk, sausage patties, bagel with cream cheese and some boiled eggs. We both had juice and coffee.
After breakfast, we briefly went outside so that I could take a photo of the little memorial garden as I had not taken a phot on the first day. when we come back in, I took some photos of the lounge area next to the breakfast area. Then we headed upstairs to pack for the last time this holiday. This did not take us very long and we had some downtime before we would be collected and taken to the airport.
The previous day, I had decided to book a transfer to the airport. About half an hour before the transfer was due, we gathered up our stuff and went downstairs to check out. We then went to sit on the bench near the antique stagecoach. Our transfer arrived exactly on time, and we had a fairly smooth run to New York JFK airport. Our flight was not until the evening, but this is one of the more difficult airport to get to and as much as I would have loved to spend a bit more time in New York, this was just not practical. When we got to the airport, we checked out the lay of the land and then we found some seats.
There is not a great deal of facilities landside at the terminal we were flying out on. Graham read and I alternated reading and working on my trip report. At some stage I needed the bathroom and went down to the arrivals level. There were a few shops there and I had a look around. They had a sweatshirt I really liked, but unfortunately not in my size. I went back to my seat and carried on reading and working on my trip report.
They opened check in slightly ahead of schedule. As soon as we saw check in was open, we headed over there. Check in if fully automated. They had the same kiosks that they had for EasyJet in Manchester with the same kinds of luggage tags, but even baggage drop was automated. It somehow manages to read the baggage tags without you having to scan anything. I had scanned Graham’s passport, and Graham had put my suitcase on the scale, and it told me that this is the wrong person. We switched the suitcases and then everything worked like clockwork.
The line for security was pretty long, but it moved steadily, and we had plenty of time. Eventually we got to the front of the line, and this was organised very well. Soon we were in the departure lounge. There were a lot of shops and food outlets. We found somewhere to sit and then I went exploring. There were a lot of branches of the shop where I had seen the sweatshirt I liked. Unfortunately, none of them had the right size.
I carried on reading for a bit, but ultimately the knowledge that somewhere at this terminal was one of our A380s became too strong of a pull. The aircraft had landed lunchtime, but was not due to leave again until later in the evening. The plane was not listed on the screens or on the airport website. I decided to head to the end of the area where we were. I was just about to give up when I saw the A380 moving towards me. They were moving her to a remote stand that was quite close to where we were sitting. I followed the plane until it was parked taking a few photos in the process.
By the time I came back, I was ready for a snack. There was a Starbucks not too far way. I got a white chocolate peppermint mocha for Graham and a sugar cookie cold brew for me. I also got us a slice of cinnamon coffee cake each. By the time we had finished our snack, it was nearly time to board. We moved closer to our gate. Soon boarding started and it was a pretty smooth process. It did not take long until boarding was complete.
When we were at cruising altitude, they came round with the drinks service. I had a gin and tonic, but Graham just had some water. Then they served dinner. We got a garden salad, which I actually quite liked, but Graham was not keen on. The main course was Mexican chicken with rice and beans. This was nothing to write home about. Dessert was something chocolate that was far too sweet.
I checked out the entertainment system, but there was nothing that took my fancy. I put on some music and went to sleep. I did not wake up properly again until they started to serve breakfast. We had a breakfast sandwich, fruit, juice and coffee. Shortly after breakfast had been cleared away, we started to start our descent into Manchester. We landed slightly ahead of schedule. We were about as far from immigration as you could get, but the line was not too bad when we got there and the egates worked for both of us. The wait for our suitcases was not too long and when we got to the station, there was a train due to leave shortly. When we got to the other end, we went down to the Metrolink station and there was a tram due a couple of minutes later. When we got home, we put our luggage in the living room and then we got some sleep.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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