Spring break officially starts for me at 6:00 a.m. I pack my suitcase and carry-on bag, going through both about five times physically and mentally to check and see if I have everything I plan on taking with me. My roommate drives me to the credit union so I can take some money out for the trip. Then she drops me off at the College of Business to board the van for the airport. Due to the strong winds, I wait in the lobby for about 10 minutes, saying goodbye to everyone I know leaving the building. When Dr. Boose and Mr. Cunningham leave the building, I trail after them. My bags are placed in the Cunningham's station wagon and I hang out with the others arriving to board the vans.

When Dr. Boose pulls up in the university van, I claim the space behind the driver's seat. Brian Glasgow sits in the passenger seat, Todd Gorrell sits beside me on the middle bench, and Ashley P'Pool and Bethany Ullig sit behind us. Everyone else piles into the other van and Mr. Cunningham starts the station wagon. The two university vans and the station wagon head to Brazil to pick up Mr. Boose. Brian gets recruited to do various tasks on the way. First, he has to create a list of participants to keep track of who has checked in at the Northwest ticket counter. This gets passed onto Todd and me to check and finish. Other tasks include checking Dr. Boose's cell phone for a message from Dawn at I.T. Travel and finding Dr. Boose's sunglasses in her purse.

Ashley and Todd start playing the letter game. They have to spot words on signs and such with letters in alphabetical order. They cannot use the same words. Ashley decides to make it tougher by enacting the rule that the words must start with the letter to be acquired. She takes an early lead but Todd soon catches up. The game slows when we are close to the Boose residence due to lack of signs. We stop to pick up Mr. Boose and turn around to continue to the Indianapolis Airport. Once on the highway, the game picks up. I don't remember who won the game. We also have a conversation about Dr. Warfel, comparing experiences and stories. Sadly, those in Life Insurance this semester have been deprived of his talking calculator.

We pull up to the doors that are near the Northwest ticket counter. The guys help unload the luggage from the vehicles, something that will become a common sight throughout the trip. Brian gets assigned to help bring Boose's bags. When we enter the building, we see a group of blue shirts. Rachel Voss hands out yellow ribbons to be attached to suitcases so we can spot them as part of the group at baggage claim. We stand in line to check in and receive our boarding passes. Brian is in charge of checking off people. This task soon gets passed to Bethany. After a few of the group goes through, the airline personnel get into a rhythm and even mention to others to check off their name on the list.

Brian, Todd, and I head to the security checkpoint. At the x-ray machine, my carry-on is picked for a random search. It passes the test. We find our gate and decide to locate ourselves at the Budweiser Brewhaus. We get food and drinks. Very soon, Bethany and Ashley join us. Rachel then joins the conversation. Soon before meeting everyone at the gate, Billy Guy, Cody Cummings, Chad Cates, Michael Gibson, and Patrick Jordan join the group.

The group heads to the gate. We are instructed by others in our class to get our tickets checked at the gate counter. We settle in the seats to wait for boarding. While we are waiting, a few informational sheets are passed around the group. Soon it is time to board. We all head towards the door and get in line when our rows are called.

The flight is scheduled to take off at 3:15 p.m. Several of us are seated near the back of the plane. The plane is small and noisy. Pat and Diana Lund end up having a conversation with the flight attendant that was located at the back. We learn that there will be a movie, radio stations, and food on the plane. Some think that the most important bit of information is that alcoholic beverages are complimentary on international flights.

We land uneventfully at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport around 4:15 p.m. Brian, Rachel, and I head for a place to sit close to our gate. We pass several shops. Someone compares the airport to a mall. It is very similar to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. We end up at the Lake Line Pub. Pat, Chad, Billy, and Jackie Cunningham join us while waiting. We learn that Billy, Brian, and Todd are engaged. Eventually, we work our way to the gate to wait for boarding.

When we board, we realize that this plane is much larger. The window rows have two seats each and the middle rows have five seats for a total of nine seats across. Some members of the group play musical chairs trying to sit near each other. Some succeed and some fail. A group that succeeds is Todd, Angela Kemmerling, and Kellie Springer. The plane takes off around 7:05 p.m. During the plane ride, we sign up for our hotel rooms. Since the girls in my "walk-around" group were already sharing a room, I write my name down in an empty three person room. Bethany and Ashley end up occupying the other slots for that room.

I listen to the pop radio station for most of the flight. The meal is a salad, choice of pasta or chicken with rice and vegetables, roll, cheese, crackers, and dessert. I pick the chicken. It wasn't that great and I only had two bites. I finished the rice, roll, and crackers. After dinner, they show Intolerable Cruelty starring George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I keep starting to drift off during the movie, but the desire to see the movie wins out over sleep. Now I have another movie to add to the list to rent or own. After the movie, I catch a few minutes of sleep here and there.