Destination: Winter Haven, Florida.

By the time I went to bed last night, it was past midnight. On top of that, with all the anticipation and excitement, I could hardly sleep. Also, had to get up early to catch the 7 AM Airtran flight to Orlando. Boarding has already started by the time I reached the gate. I was glad that there was no wait but, even though my bag was within the carry on dimensions, I had to leave it at the plane's entrance to be checked into the belly. Even after every one boarded, Pilot had to wait for the fuel truck to arrive! So, the plane left the Gate around 15 minutes late. I thought of posting to the blog using the iPod touch via the free WiFi on the plane as there was some promotion going on for two weeks but the gogo inflight internet wasn't working! :-(

During the flight, I also happened to notice that the cell phone was dead. I am not sure how that happened! I remember checking the previous day and I purposely didn't charge it because the battery strength meter showed full bars! Any way, the charger was in the bag and I expected it to be at the entrance when I deplaned in Orlando which is the usual practice but, I was told to collect it from the baggage claim! My instructor (Bill) would have been waiting for me. How in the world am I going to contact him? All the numbers are stored in the phone too. I had no other option but to wait at the baggage claim area until the bag showed up. Luckily, I found a power outlet in the airport to hook up the cell phone so that I could contact the instructor. Luckily he was still on the way as he got stuck in traffic. He showed up after 10-15 minutes. That wasn't bad. It all finally worked out. It was an hour drive from Orlando to Winter Haven. I was actually surprised to learn that he moved all the way from California to Florida last year just to join this flight school. California already has a few good flight schools. He joined this flight school since it was recommended by one of his friends. This gave me some comfort that I made the right decision. Bill has most of the ratings and is working on his Instrument Instructor rating. We were going to stop by the place of my stay to drop the luggage before heading to the flight school but, since both of us were hungry, we stopped at a restaurant called Crispers. There was another student waiting for Bill at the flight school so we headed there right after lunch.

The sign at the airport entrance:

Flight School's sign: