Travel Day

Today Amy dropped me off at Miami's airport before 6:00 am. I tried to check my bike box at the curb but I guess that's been tried before. Inside I get to wait in line move a few feet wait. Luckily the bike box is sturdy enough to sit on with room for my duffle also. Just hoping to keep the legs fresh. Finally get to the front of the line and pay the $80 for the bike. I turn my stuff over to TSA and as I go for my screening I think will I ever see the bike or the duffle again.
I arrive at Dallas with enough time to dash from my gate to another concourse. When I get to the gate there is nobody waiting to board and I am one of the last to embark. I am sitting on the side of the plane that they load the bags on. I never see my things get loaded only reinforcing that baggage victim feeling.
Arrival at John Wayne airport a few minutes late but John is there to meet me. See picture below. He is bigger and sturdier than I imagined. What a relief when I see my duffle come on to the carousel. The bike box is at the special over size area, more relief. The shuttle from the hotel takes only a few minutes and I meet the first of my fellow riders Bill. After checking in as I go to my room I see a titianium Seven tandem($$$$$) negotiating the parking lot. The riders are really tall and the frame is huge, much bigger than our tandem.
I have a contact here in Costa Mesa, Joe is going to store my bike box untill it is time to ship it to Savannah. When he comes to pick up the box he takes me to a local bike shop to get some CO2 cartridges(no CO2 on planes).
I do get a 20 mile ride in with Bill and his friend Scott. They have already checked in with America by Bicycle and Scott is sporting the very nice A by B long sleeve jersey. I'll get mine tomorrow.
I briefly met Mike the tour leader, his wife Barbara, and Karen the co-leader. Things are shaping up.
One thing about doing the posts to the blog from the Blackberry is you can't put the pictures where you want them. The editing is very limited. So the pics either are at the top or at the bottom.
Tomorrow is zero day.... Check in and meet and greet.