June 7-8, 2025

This morning was spent last minute packing. I wasn't ready to go at 1:30, so we left at 2. I was able to check my bag in quickly and got through security fast. 

I talked to Emily, Grandma, and Tisha on the phone. I flew to Houston. There was no one in my row. I got two small cans of tomato juice and three snacks! 

I watched the real people Snow White. We landed at 6:40 instead of 7 but taxied for 20 minutes. I got to go to the United Club as a guest of Tammy's parents. It was fun! They had lots of free food! I had grapes, cheese, an Asian stir fry on rice, and a small Caesar chicken sandwich. We found out that we had to get printed boarding passes. They had a United desk in the lounge and a nice man printed them for us. They had a decorative suitcase full of mints on the counter so we took a few. We went to find our gate. When we got there, we found out that we had to have Turkish Airlines print our boarding passes. We waited in a long line and then someone told us that we were in the wrong line. We got in a much shorter line. When we got to the counter, the man looked at a paper and we saw our names on the list. Tammy asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He said it was good! That list was all the people that hadn't gotten their boarding passes yet. We took a photo with Gene O and Julia, who are in Tammy's bible study and are going to Turkey for a mission trip. 

As we boarded, we had to walk past a line of intimidating security police. The whole line of people had to do down an escalator and the line got backed up right as we were coming down. It was a little scary because there was nowhere to get off the elevator! We made it on our plane. We sat next to Kostidim "Kosti" who was originally from Bulgaria. Tammy had the window, Kosti had the middle, and I had the aisle. We got fancy zipper bags with a toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, slippers, an eye mask, and ear plugs. 

Before we took off, three was a lot of drama. One woman did not like her seatmate and was demanding that she move. Multiple flight attendants came over and tried to resolve the situation. They told her that the flight was full so the wasn't anywhere to move her. The lady kept insisting. Finally, she sat down. However, she pitched a fit when the flight attendant wanted to put her four-legged cane in the overhead compartment. She said she would need it to get to the bathroom. The flight attendant calmly explained that he would get it for her whenever she needed it and he could help her to the restroom. She finally agreed. Then a different woman was arguing and yelling at a man two rows behind her! We had already taxied to the runway, but she refused to sit down. Four or five flight attendants came and tried to calm her down and implore her to sit down. She wouldn't. Finally a flight attendant told her that she needed to sit down or he would have her taken off the plane! She still stood there arguing. He said, "I need an answer. Are you going to sit down? Yes or no?" She must have sat down because the flight attendants immediately took their seats and we headed down the runway! The coolest feature on the plane were the cameras. We could watch the view from the front or bottom of the plane.

For dinner, I chose penne with pesto Alfredo and Tammy had beef stroganoff. Our food was wonderful! We also had a roll, salad, hummus, and chocolate cake. I watched Wicked. It is a long movie (almost 3 hours). I stayed awake for the whole thing! The lady who wouldn't sit down had a small dog with her. She was walking around holding it and I think the flight attendant told her to put the dog back in the carrier. She got mad and was arguing with him again. The whole team of flight attendants came over and she did put her dog away. We felt really sorry for the man who got stuck next to her! I brushed my teeth, put on an eye mask and attempted to sleep for 1.5 hours. I woke up a lot. I got up at 4:10am Indiana time and ate the rest of my PBJ and an apple. A different lady started arguing and yelling at a man behind her. Again, multiple flight attendants convened. This was such a crazy flight! We felt extra grateful for Kosti!I stood up for about a half hour. Kosti had told us that they have snacks in the gallery in the middle of the flight. I walked back to see. They had juices, coffee, tea, water, cheese sandwiches, little chocolate bars (think Kit Kat) and a salty snack mix. I watched My Penguin Friend for an hour before getting tired and pausing to rest. I woke up before they turned the lights on and went to the restroom. For breakfast, I chose scrambled eggs with cheese, spinach, and potato. The spinach and potatoes were served on the side. There was mixed fruit (melon and grapes) and tart yogurt. They also gave us a roll. I wasn't very hungry thanks to my 4am snack. I finished my movie and went to the bathroom again before they turned the fasten seatbelt light sign on again. We landed a little before 5. We ate a Crunchy (South African cookie) that one of Tammy's relatives had made. 

We met up with Tammy's parents and went through customs. They took a separate taxi to their hotel and we took our own. Our driver was crazy! He was texting and watching videos on his phone with one hand while the other hand was sticking out the window. It's a miracle he doesn't get in accidents every day. Lots of people (men) smoke here. Thankfully he asked if he could smoke in the taxi and we said no. He turned on some music and he focused more on the road and less on his phone. We went through two mountain tunnels. 

The taxi ride took almost an hour. 

We made it to the hotel and checked in. Turkish Airlines had cancelled my reservation, but the clerk was able to fix it. We dumped our stuff and went out for a walk. We bought an Istanbul Card for the metro and walked to Galataport which is a fancy boardwalk on the river that divides the modern side of Istanbul from the old city, as well as the European side from the Asian side. 

We saw cat hotels and lots of street cats! This one looked like it was doing yoga!

We went back and explored the hotel and then went to my room to plan for the next day. I showered and organized my stuff before going to bed at 10:45pm.