Transitions

Turn Around

He looked at me and nodded, "Yeah, I know that feeling a little too well. It will be okay. We can always come and visit; maybe we can sponsor a trip for the kids from the shelter to come see us on tour next year."

"Yeah, that would be cool. It just sucks leaving everything I have ever known."

The drive to the airport took about an hour. It was still early so there wasn't much traffic. When we finally got there, we piled out of the van and stood in line with our documents in hand and luggage ready to be tagged and sent to the plane. The line moved quickly. Once we reached the pedestal for our airline, the attendant looked at our passports and our flight tickets and scanned them in his computer, printing out luggage tags. He slipped the paper luggage tags through the handle on each suitcase and placed them on a cart. We were directed to go inside and make our way to the terminal. Ashton looked at his watch and discovered we still had an hour and a half before we had to actually be at the gate. The airport here in Providence had a lot of shopping and food. We finally made our way through security and into the terminals. I started to hear shouting and turned around to see where it came from. Running towards us were a group of people with big cameras and loud voices. I nudged Michael to alert him of the mob coming towards us. I don't know how the paparazzi knew we were here but I was started to get scared.

"Mikey. You might want to turn around."

He turned around to see the mob of photographers charging towards us. His expressions went from mellow to very angry. He grabbed my arm, while motioning for Ashton to pick up Mackenzie and run to hide. We ran past a TSA agent, to whom I mouthed the words 'paparazzi. Get them out of here.' The big burly TSA agent pulled his walkie talkie to his mouth and alerted other nearby agents to control this crowd and get us to safety. We snuck into a corner away from public eye and watched as the agents in blue shirts charged at the photographers yelling at them to get out of here. After about 20 minutes of hiding and watching them shoo away the press, we were told it was safe to come out. I held Michael's hand tight while we made our way into one of the shops to get some food for the flight. I tried to pull away to wander through the shop to get a few magazines and some snacks but he wouldn't release his grip.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight. Just tug me in the direction you want to go and I'll follow you."

I pulled my blue haired partner in the directions I needed to go, gathering all the items I wanted. I dropped everything on the counter and handed my money to the cashier. She bagged up all my items and wished us a safe flight. We walked out of the store, and stopped in a few more places to get breakfast and then went to sit at our gate. I always forgot that the chairs in an airport are so uncomfortable. The monotone voice over the loud speakers announced different flights and called for people to meet their party somewhere. My camera was hanging around my neck now so I walked over to the windows and watched as our plane pulled into the gate and let its current passengers leave the plane. I snapped a few pictures of the sun rising on the horizon while planes are taking off and landing. We finally got the chance to board, and since we were first class, we got to board first. I was a little bummed that we had two different layovers, but after learning that we had to switch planes, I was excited because I got to see the airport in Philadelphia as well as famous Los Angeles International Airport. The layover at LAX was 3 hours, so it was enough time to do some people watching as well as find our next gate. As we walked onto the plane the flight attendant directed us towards the special section dedicated to first class flyers. We found our seats and sat down, since this was a short flight, I figured it was not worth it to take a nap. Michael was sitting next to me, while Mackenzie and Ashton are in the row behind us. After a demonstration of safety measures by the flight attendants, we were finally ready to take off. I powered down my phone and got as comfortable as I could. I felt the vibrations of the engines starting up as we made our way to the runway. We had to wait a few minutes for a few different planes to go up and finally it was our turn. The plane turned onto the runway and I could feel us racing forward and slowly making our way into the clouds. Once we reached 30,000 feet, it was okay to turn our phones back on. I allowed my phone to connect with the Wi-Fi on the plane and shared my headphones with Michael to listen to some music. Mackenzie was behind me freaking out, as she has never flown before. I pulled my little flip camera out of my bag and turned it on, pointing the lens towards myself and my blue haired companion.

"I'm documenting this trip because it's the first of many once in a life time adventures. This here is my blue haired companion, Mr. Mike-Ro-Wave! Behind me you will find my wimp of a little sister, Ms. Mackenzie Conway and her trusty sidekick SmAsh! We are on our way to save the world with Dr. Fluke and Cal-Pal."

We went on to talk about how we were going to save the world and what madness was to come overseas. I had to stop recording at one point because we were all laughing so hard. After another hour of giggling and filming, the pilot's voice came over the loud speaker.

"Ladies and Gentleman, we are getting ready to begin our descent into snowy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If you are travelling with American Airlines into Los Angeles and on to Sydney, Australia, your flight is waiting for you 3 gates to the left of where you will be let off to fend for you own. Please, turn off all electronics, and all that lovely stuff. You know the deal, trays up, trash out, seats up, butts in seats."

We started laughing at this man's fail attempt at humor, while putting our garbage in the bag that the flight attendant was coming around with. The plane landed and pulled into the gate. We stood up, grabbing our bags, and made our way off the plane and up the jet way. Michael pulled my 2nd boarding pass out of his bag along with his as we made our way to the next gate. This plane was also waiting for us, but I decided I needed to use the restroom before doing anything further. After taking care of everything in the bathroom, I fixed my hair and makeup before going back out to the gate where the rest of our little posse was waiting. After a few minutes, there was an announcement at our gate stating they were getting ready to board. We got in line and handed the gate attendant our passes before going down another jet way onto a different plane. I sat down in my seat and watched out the window as they placed our luggage on a conveyor belt from one plane to the other. Everyone filed onto the plane and took their seats. There were kids laughing, crying and everything. There was even a family wearing matching Disney shirts since LAX was the closest airport to Disneyland. Once everything was settled and the 2nd safety briefing of the day, we were ready for takeoff. It was about a 6 hour flight over to Los Angeles, so I chose to take a nap. I needed to wait until we were up in the air to be able to recline my seat. Once we reached the cruising altitude, I reclined my seat, pushing the button on Michael's to recline his as well. I rolled over and drifted off to sleep. I woke up to a nudge from Michael alerting me to put my seat upright and get ready to land in LAX. I pulled my seat into the correct position and put my seat belt back on. We made our descent and landed on the ground. The plane pulled into the terminal and we were allowed to wander freely through the airport as our layover lasted about 3 hours. This time, our gate was on the other side of the airport. I picked up my bag off the ground and stood in line, waiting to file off the plane. The boys were right behind me, and Ashton was carrying Mackenzie since she was still asleep. We navigated through the airport, looking at all the signs and interesting sights. Once we finally found our gate and memorized in our minds where it was, we set off to find food. There was a pizza and burger joint that caught our eyes and had a short wait. Ashton woke up my sister and placed her on her feet. We stepped up to the host station and there was a blonde haired girl showing people to their table.

"Can we have a table for four please?" Ashton asked the hostess.

I could tell she knew who he was because her faced turned bright red, "Yes. Right this way Mr. Irwin and friends. We are happy to have you in our beautiful city. Please, take a seat and your waitress will be with you shortly. Here are your menus. Enjoy!"