CONCLUSION

Tuesday November 29 to Nov 30, 2005

In conclusion let me just say that leaving yourself plenty of time is crucial to having a fun successful trip. If your flight leaves (domestic) at 7:00 am plan to be at the airport at the very least by 5:00 am. I would shoot for 4:30 am since I am extra cautious. There are so many things that will hold you up, accidents en route to the airport, slow taxi, police, the check points at the airport, missed bus, wrong terminal, bathroom break, helping other travelers, the list goes on. And, if you arrive early, the worst that can happen is you will have to wait. By the way, the 7:00 time is when the plane leaves. About an hour before the flight you will be preparing to board the plane. Before you can do that you must check in. 2 bags to check in and 1 carry on is the normal, but you can check with the airline or read your tickets.
Okay, I had date with Alexandra. All went well. It was about 12:30 am and I was packing and expecting the driver (taxi) to arrive at 3:50 am. He was on time and got a good tip. The ride was from Yalta to Simferopol. Driving through the mountains at night was awesome. We got to the airport before they opened. I was early and my trip back was starting out good. While waiting at the gate, I conversed with a new aquaintence, Svetlana. She was from Yalta as it turned out, and it would also turn out to be good that I met her!
The airplane was a propeller plane, and I was surprised at the amount of power and room on the inside of the plane. When we arrived in Kiev, we were at the wrong airport! It turned out that the fog was too heavy to fly into Borispol airport, so we landed "nearby". My new travel companion, Svetlana, and I agreed to split the cost of a taxi rather than wait for the bus. I got to see Kiev. And no offense, but it was cold and dirty. But maybe it looks nicer in the spring?
We got to the plane eventually, but not before meeting an interesting man from Stockholm, Tom. If I may interject at this point, I know that everyone in this story has impacted me, but I cannot place the "impact results" yet on Tom. He was very nice, and very interesting. This means that the impact will soon come, and it will be good. I will keep you (the world) updated.
I also learned a good trick. Tell the waitress she is absolutely beautiful. Say it sincerely (I was) and the service you get is much better! Now if it is a guy waiter, you're on your own.
Our plane left Kiev 2 hours late. Which means it arrived in New York City 2 hours late. You would think that the pilot could step on the gas a little and make up some time. We were only going 535 miles per hour in a 600 mile per hour zone! Aerosvit Airlines.
Well, I still went to the Delta ticket counter, knowing that my plane had already left. The lady was helpful, and for about 150 dollars, I got to spend 8 hours in the dumpiest high end hotel in the city the Radisson. I did get some sleep finally, and that was important!
About 2 am I got out of bed and prepared myself for the trip to Atlanta, then Dallas. Nothing significant to report except that later I found inside my luggage a tag that read, "Thank You your bag was inspected by the TSA. If you nwould like some packing tips, visit our website".
In conclusion, I got to meet a girl who might become Miss Universe. I met so many helpful people. And I think I might have met my future wife. I won't say exactly who it is yet, because if I later decide on the other person, I will need more than a Guardian Angel to help me!
After the trip I stayed in contact with the 2 candidates. E-Mail, SMS (text messaging), and the like will be something you need to set up, or gather info while you are in their town. This will be when you learn more about the ladies. And you can plan another trip, or as Svetlana suggested, "have her come here". Do the Fiancee Visa thing with the intention of seeing what the girl is like in my own environment. We shall see.