Johnny and I wake up early, 4:45am. We have a plane to catch--a rather small plane which the thought of has probably kept Johnny up all night because he believes small planes crash, not fly. The plane we are taking is the sixteen-seater twin-otter, which is flying from Kathmandu to Lukla at 6:30am.. This tiny aircraft will land, hopefully, at 7 o'clock on Lukla's piddly sized landing strip, which sits between a cliff and the edge of a mountain. This flight is the last thing Johnny wants to do on his birthday.
'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHNNY,' I scream. He looks agitated. We gather our backpacks and head for the airport. We wait...and....wait...and wait--the plane is delayed due to bad weather. After two hours, we hear the boarding call. Johnny is miserable.
I present Johnny with a large 'Birthday Boy' badge and a good luck charm, and we then walk slowly and apprehensively to the aircraft. We smile at each other bravely and don't discuss the duck tap holding the plane's wing together, or how flat the tires are.
Within minutes after being seated, we are up in the air, flying high across the giant mountains that were beyond our view in Kathmandu. The snow topped peaks are revealed from the clouds...the Himalayas. We have made it. We are on our way to Base Camp Everest.
The plane lands successfully. We make a cheesy high five in the air. Johnny surprisingly states, 'That flight was awesome'. And, it truly was.
'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHNNY,' I scream. He looks agitated. We gather our backpacks and head for the airport. We wait...and....wait...and wait--the plane is delayed due to bad weather. After two hours, we hear the boarding call. Johnny is miserable.
I present Johnny with a large 'Birthday Boy' badge and a good luck charm, and we then walk slowly and apprehensively to the aircraft. We smile at each other bravely and don't discuss the duck tap holding the plane's wing together, or how flat the tires are.
Within minutes after being seated, we are up in the air, flying high across the giant mountains that were beyond our view in Kathmandu. The snow topped peaks are revealed from the clouds...the Himalayas. We have made it. We are on our way to Base Camp Everest.
The plane lands successfully. We make a cheesy high five in the air. Johnny surprisingly states, 'That flight was awesome'. And, it truly was.
The Trek begins...
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