Tuesday 9/5/07 6:00 Eastern Standard Time.

My first couchsurfing experience was a great. Our hostess, Lori, was terrific. We met her in Chinatown for dinner at a superb Thai restaurant. After dinner was completed and she decided we were harmless, we made our way to her beautiful row home near Capitol Hill. After a day of walking around DC with nearly 80 lbs of weight on my back, I was ready to crash. Brian and I both noted how quickly we felt at home with our new friend Lori (and her dog, Chili and cat, Evil). This whole idea of Couchsurfing is fascinating to me. It is a perfect example of what can happen when kind, good-hearted individuals come together. This morning, Lori headed off to work. Brian and I wanted to tour the US Capitol but knew we wouldn’t be able to get through security with our packs. Lori entrusted us with keys to her home so we would be able to leave our packs and come back to shower prior to our flight. Thanks Lori! I can’t wait to have a flat in Ireland so Brian and I are able to put our couch up for grabs and meet fellow travelers.

I’m in a plane right now heading to Charlotte. We have a quick one-hour layover before boarding our seven hour and fifty minute trans-Atlantic flight to London Gatwick. We’re laid over for about two and a half hours before our brief flight to Dublin. We’ll be in Dublin at about 12 local time. Lets just hope our packs make these transfers and are waiting for us when we arrive in Dublin.

I’ve managed to catch some sort of a cold in the past couple days. Vitamin water (full of B6) and Airborne will hopefully keep the cold from getting any worse.

Seven fifteen in the morning, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. I awoke to a view of the sun rising over the ocean – it really was beautiful. I took a picture, though I don’t feel as though it captured the true beauty of the scene. I actually feel quite refreshed. As soon as I got on the plane, I set my watch ahead five hours. Although it was actually 7:45, I set my watch ahead to 12:45. After this, it seemed perfectly normal to eat my airplane meal (quite good actually!), pop a Tylenol PM, and try and get some shut eye.

I’m in Dublin – it seems to be a busy, yet amazing city. It is 4:30 local time. I’ve arrived safely and with my luggage. I just checked into the hostel and am ready to crash.