We have arrived!

We have arrived! 



Our long journey has taken us from New Martinsville, West Virginia to Amman, Jordan.  We have traveled through Pittsburgh, PA, and New York City to finally arrive.  Our journey began in New Martinsville, WV at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 15, 2013.  We left Pittsburgh about 4:00 p.m. and arrived in New York about 5:30 p.m.  

                                                  (New York- Manhattan Island below right)

We took off from JFK International Airport in New York at approximately 10:00 p.m. Our airline for the international flight was Royal Jordanian. We had a good flight, little to no turbulence, and every seat had their own television with movies, television episodes, games, and IN FLIGHT tracker (photo above)  in which we could see on a map exactly where we were.  We boarded the plane and took off about 10:45 p.m.  Once we were in the air, they served us dinner.  This was actually at around 12:00 midnight!  After dinner it was time for everyone to try to sleep.  The flight was supposed to take about 11 hours. 

Sleeping on an airplane is not very comfortable.  The seats are not very big, there is just a small amount of room at your feet, and you can recline your seat slightly.  They do provide a blanket and pillow, and a sleep mask.

I slept for about three hours, and then dozed for about two hours.  By now the time in USA is 5 a.m. and I have slept through the majority of the flight across the ocean.  About 7 a.m. they turned the cabin lights back on, and started serving breakfast. 
                                                                                   Renee Goddard
                                                                                       sleeping                                                                       (with permission to post photo)

We had a smooth landing in Amman, Jordan at 8:50 a.m. Eastern USA time.  BUT the time in Amman, Jordan was 4:50 p.m.!  We were then taken through customs and then got on another bus to our hotel.  Once we all were checked into the hotel, it is time for DINNER (we missed a whole meal with the time difference). After dinner it was up to the rooms to get a good nights rest before our big day in Petra tomorrow. 


Royal Jordanian International Flight Information:
During the international flight our maximum height was 39,000 feet and when we were that high, the temperature outside was -81 degrees F, and we were traveling at 606 mph ground speed. 
We traveled the majority of the flight at night, and when we woke up for breakfast there was cloud cover.  We finally got to see parts of Israel and Jordan before landing. 
We all agreed that the flight was smooth, with a smooth landing. The trips through all the airports were pretty speedy, and that is great, considering our group has twenty people. 
Everyone we have met so far are very nice, and we look forward to getting to know them better while we are here. 
Tomorrow we travel south from Amman to Petra, the Rock City.  We have a bus ride initially, and then we ride horses and carriages into Petra.  I can't wait!

night all!

 

  Patty Goudy
Renee Goddard
 Jennifer Eller
Hotel Lobby on the right.