Kathy: A journey of a thousand miles...

...begins with hours of Internet searches to find a decent priced flight with an itinerary that this picky traveler can live with.

Our flight planning began months ago when we got word that the Philippines government had formally matched us with Leah May. As is my wont, I did extensive searches of airlines, travel sites and last-minute ticket consolidators to compare prices and itineraries so that we could find the perfect flight. After our disastrous flight with Northwest to the Philippines in 2007, we weren't taking any chances! I picked out a terrific Japan Airlines flight that flew nonstop from Chicago to Tokyo and then onto Manila. On our return trip home we planned to spend the night in Tokyo to give David's back a rest and to break up the 24-hour trip.

When we got word last week that Leah May's visa was issued, I set about to purchase the plane tickets I had so carefully researched. But as life would have it, my laboriously researched itinerary was missing one teensy detail: Leah May, who will be traveling on a Philippines passport, would not be able to leave the airport in Tokyo without a visa for Japan. So much for planning.

This revelation by our travel agent sent me scrambling--frantically--to find our flight. Though it's far from perfect, I realized that beggars can't be choosers when trying to buy last-minute plane tickets during peak travel season. I settled on a Continental flight that takes us through Honolulu and Guam, a route that David finds strangely exciting. In the picture appearing with this blog entry, Rene proudly displays our flight itinerary.

So with less than two weeks to go, our travel is all set. Leah May, here we come! We're sorry you won't be able to see Tokyo this time around, but you can go back someday when you're a U.S. citizen...and I promise the next time we'll get the flight we really want.