I had become so consumed with work and finishing before I left for Kazan, that I was out of the house by 7, and not back until 7. The people I was working for were so anxious to get their remodeling job done that they were more than willing to meet my schedule.

Like clockwork, the pieces fell into place, and by the 24th of August, 2005, I had more than enough money for the trip, money saved back, and a full day to rest before I would be on my trip starting at DIA.

Liliya and I had made a regular habit of texting or talking first thing in my morning before she left for work. I tried out some of the Russian words and phrases I had picked up with mixed reviews. She told me that I had an American accent. HaHa!!! Of course.

My flight was to leave at 2 pm on Thursday, the 25th, so I was out of the house at 6 am, so I could make the 4-hour drive to DIA and be 2 hours early for check-in. I was lucky to find a parking area with a shuttle to the airport, Canopy Airport Parking. They had 4.9 out of 5, so I was very happy with this.

I had never ridden in a shuttle bus before, so I was a little lost as to where my luggage went and where I was to sit. Thank God the driver helped me put my luggage on a shelf with a dozen other bags.

The drive to the airport is an adventure in itself. That's when I first saw Blucifer — a massive 32-foot blue horse with glowing red eyes staring right at you. Hard to miss and harder to forget!

Further down Peña Boulevard, I spotted what looked like a giant glowing ball on a pole. It turned out to be the Luminous Wind sculpture — a huge geometric sphere covered in hundreds of clear rods that catch the sunlight and throw rainbow patterns in every direction. At night, it lights up and puts on its own little show. Only in Denver!

I had been to Denver many times with my ex, but this was the first time I had been all the way out to the airport itself, so I was very grateful for GPS. Just as I was getting comfortable with the drive, I got my first glimpse of the airport with its distinctive design.

Once we drove under the canopy, the driver stopped beside the Lufthansa Airlines doorway and helped me out. The inside was huge, but after asking for directions, I was in line to check in.

When you start on a journey like this, you spend way too much time wondering if you brought enough pants, shirts, underwear, and socks. My main luggage was right at the limit for under the plane, but they took it. I was told to move on to security.

I was a bit apprehensive when the guard told me to open my carry-on bag and put it in the basket, then take off my shoes and belt. When all my pockets were empty, I walked up and through the scanner. I was good to go, so I gathered all my stuff and headed for the Lufthansa waiting area.

I had over an hour to wait, so I tried to find something on my phone. No signal. Great!! I grabbed a paperback I remembered to put in my carry-on, so the time zipped by. Before I knew it, they were calling on people in groups to come up and board. I was in the second-to-last group, but at least I was on board.

My seat was almost at the back of the plane, which was good; my carry-on was a little heavy and almost oversize. My seat was just in front of the seats the stewardess uses during takeoff, so there was room right behind my aisle seat to put my luggage.

I was more excited than scared at this point. I was taking my first flight overseas, and the thrill had me. I tried to look out of the windows on both sides of the plane during and after takeoff so I could see the mountains and the ground below.

Sadly, once we got to cruising altitude, I couldn’t really make out much on the ground. All I could see were major highways, rivers, and cities. Before I knew it, the sun was fading away, and the stress and excitement of the day took its toll. My eyelids were so heavy, and I dozed off only to wake myself snoring. When I opened my eyes, six angry faces were looking at me, but I had no idea what to do about it.

Over the next 10 hours, I tried to muffle my snores into my rolled-up jacket. It worked for the most part, but as I slept, the jacket dropped down, and by then, most everyone else was asleep.

I did wake up in time to see the outline of Scotland as we flew over. Then more ocean until we crossed over land again before swinging in to land at Frankfurt, Germany.

Next will be my adventure in Germany, as I waited for 6 hours for the next flight.