Day 1: The Trials and Tribulations of Michael Colin Dowd

Folks, it's finally here and our group has finally all arrived in South Africa 12 people strong.  That, however, did not come easy for my compatriot Michael Colin Dowd who struggled to make it here, despite essentially planning the entire trip.  Here's the log of the day for Colin:

1. We arrive at Sky Harbor in Phoenix.  Colin goes to check in, only to find that his tickets are not registered on the system.  A couple phone calls later, and we found that Delta still thought he was going to NY and then Ghana instead of ATL to JoBurg.  This crisis was temporarily averted
2. Security check:  Colin decides it's a good idea to leave his netbook in his backpack.  Needless to say, TSA was not too happy and we were detained for a bit.
3. We arrive in South Africa.  We go to pick up our tickets from the automated machines.  6 of the 7 people that flew in at the same time picked up the tickets without a hitch.  The one person that didn't: Michael Colin Dowd.  He forgot to bring the credit card that he purchased the tickets with, waits in line, but eventually works it out.
4. Rental cars: We arrived in the Eurocar line only for Colin to realize he didn't book with them.  He then has to try and remember which company we did book with.
5. Drive home:  Finally, we think we're in the clear.  We are attempting to form a four car caravan to drive back to the house we are staying at and Colin's car is out of gas 1 minute out of the airport.  We then struggle to get all the cars together for another hour before we start heading back to the house.

Luckily, we've all made it here.  The house is absolutely amazing.  Cammy and I have our own bathroom, vanity, and bedroom overlooking the pool and grass area.  Colin has his own room, Allie has her own room, and then the other guys are split between three other rooms.  Dave and Lou have been nothing but nice and accomodating, along with Lance, Vaughn, Roger, and Shadow (dog).  This  is already shaping up to be an amazing trip. 

Later today, England v. USA.  The biggest game of the trip.  Get excited!