There is that moment when you transition from preparing for the trip, to traveling.  For me, it usually  means chasing loose ends and watching the clock until it is time to walk out the door. Hopefully walking out without leaving something undone, or behind.  For this trip it starts with a one hour bus ride and a  7PM flight  from Boston to Liberty International in New Jersey, a 1 AM flight from Liberty to Hong Kong , and finally a 2 hour hop to Clark Field in Angeles City, Philippines. The plan is to arrive at Liberty from Boston at 8 PM, and then wait around 5 hours for the departure to Hong Kong.  I arrive at Logan by bus at 5 PM, and head to the gate. The wait for departure drags past 7 PM, then 8PM as a low cloud ceiling at Liberty is causing long delays. After 9 PM  goes by worry begins to creep into my thought process that the delays might put me in jeopardy of missing  my international flight. Waiting around one airport is as good as waiting around another, except that waiting around Logan too long means missing my flight to Hong Kong.  Finally, after 10:00 PM,we board. A further delay awaits us once boarded, but thankfully it is brief. We arrive at Liberty around 11:30, and my bag is one of the first on the carousel. Some helpful guidance from a couple of the ladies from the airport security staff  leads to a quick trip on the AirTrain and I am at the Cathay Pacific gate comfortably before boarding.   I signed up for Cathay Pacific’s frequent Flyer program, the Marco Polo club for the miles, but I am pleasantly surprised with an early boarding call as an added perk. Better still, as  I wait in my seat as boarding completes I realize I am the only one in my row.  Not a bad way to start an 18 hour international flight.  My plan is movies, movies, sleep. I never watch movies normally, so there are lots to chose from. Ghost Busters, the new version, is good to start. The latest Rocky movie, “Creed”, is excellent, and about a third of the way into James Bond’s “Specter”  the action can’t keep my attention and I’m falling asleep. I pull the blanket up  over my head, and doze. I wake up to breakfast being served three hours out of Hong Kong. The international airport at Hong Kong is clean, beautiful, and easy to navigate.  After a two hour lay-over, I’m boarding for the final flight to Clark Field, and somehow when selecting my economy seat, I missed that row 11 is actually be the second seating  row in on the plane. I guess they start at 10. Nice to have the extra leg room and be one of the first people off the flight. We  sail smoothly in sunny skies with the ocean blue and inviting bellow, landing at Clark 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Despite the initial delay leaving Logan, it has been an incredibly smooth trip. Waiting around one airport was just as good as waiting around the other, except maybe I think the food was better at Logan. After a somewhat uncomfortable wait at the baggage carousel  my checked bag appears  and I grab it, clearing customs in no time at all. Life is good. Outside I wait for my greeting party, but they are no where to be seen. After 20 minutes I am thinking my trip is about to hit that bump, but then as I move back towards the terminal exit, there they are, waiting, and this is now officially a smooth trip.