Remembering quotes from Camus, I realize a couple of things.  First, I am about one hour outside London, and second, I really don't have any idea what date it is.  I think it is the 15th, but we are about 24 hours into our 34-hour journey to Barcelona.  The flight has been relatively uneventful: Ashley slept for much of it, while I read more than 200 pages from various books.  My sleep has been anything but regular; I have had no more than three hours a night for the past five days or so.  I had to leave Portland with a "bang"!

Jumping back slightly, Ashley and I left her apartment at 4:00am and got on the MAX.  At 3:45 I called Sarah, a friend from New Zealand.  It was good to hear her accent again.  Soon we were at the airport, early enough to make it through the very long security lines.  Our first flight went well too.  St. Louis was amusing, with a four-hour delay that became six.  Low turbulence, straightforward flying: a smooth trip so far.  Let's hope the rest of the journey goes as planned.  In St. Louis we met a woman named Dawn, who was travelling from Florida to visit her 18-year-old daughter in Rome.  We talked for a while about travel and life.  She happened to be on the same flight to London and is sitting in row 38 (we are in 35).  She became a mother at 17 and seems to have raised an amazing daughter with whom she has a close relationship.  The perseverance of so many people is remarkable.  But alas, the food just arrived, and there is no keeping Kelvin from that!