Hello folks, welcome to my Early Summer 2025 Trip to St. Maarten and Dubai. So in this first part of the Early Summer 2025 Trip, I will be heading down from 
St. Louis to St. Maarten 
via Washington DC Ronald Reagan , and the 305 Miami. Therefore, this will come in three parts. So in this first part of the St. Louis to St. Maarten trip, I have completed the first leg of the flight going from St. Louis to Washington DC Ronald Reagan on the American Airlines Airbus A319. So the next leg will be in part two of the St. Louis to St. Maarten trip, going from Washington DC Ronald Reagan to Miami on the Boeing 737-800, in which I will post the next day and so forth with the final leg, going from Miami to St. Maarten also on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, American Airlines. I hope that you enjoy this first leg of the St. Louis to St. Maarten trip.
So, before the Early Summer 2025 Trip, on Wednesday I drove around St. Louis, driving past my schools that I went to, my Granddad’s house, and even the City Museum, where that school bus was, sticking out, whereas hanging out from the top of the building. Then on Thursday, I went to the movies to watch Lilo & Stitch. Then on Friday, I went over to my Granddad’s house before driving around, driving past the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis Zoo before making my way home, stopping by Schnucks to buy Popcorners, Kettle Corn and Snyder’s Pretzels 
and Mentos Gum to snack on the plane. Then having made my way home, I started packing up my carry-on luggage 
such as my swimming trunks 
, and a beach towel for St. Maarten, and obviously enough clothes for me to wear at St. Maarten and Dubai 
, and my personal item 
. Then I went to bed 
, woke up, grabbed breakfast 
, lunch 
, took a shower 
and gotten ready for me to take a Lyft 
to the airport @ 1:30 PM, to get me to the airport @ 1:45 PM to catch my 3:47 PM flight to Washington Ronald Reagan . So here go the shots, once again I hope you enjoy.
First Flight: American Airlines Flight 3209 - St. Louis to Washington DC Ronald Reagan
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Origin: St. Louis Lambert Int’l Airport (KSTL)
Destination: Washington DC Ronald Reagan National Airport (KDCA)
Flight Time: 1hr 53mins
Date: 5/24/2025
Server: Expert
Alrighty so, I took a Lyft
to the airport @ 1:50 PM and got there at 3:05 PM. Getting inside the airport, I checked in at the Kiosk, printed out my boarding pass, and then proceeded through the security checkpoint, before I finally made my way to Gate C18 and here I am at Gate C18 STL airport, my aircraft for this flight, parked, getting the plane cleaned up, cabin filled up with catering that will be given out during cruise, before being ready for us to board this flight to Washington Ronald Reagan. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard American Airlines Flight 3209, service to Washington DC - Ronald Reagan. Let’s get this trip started.
Alrighty, we pushed back from Gate C18 @ 3:50 PM, started up our engines and even played the safety video, and here we are, taxied to RWY 12R for takeoff out of STL airport
Then we crossed RWY 6, then when we got near the ending of the runway, the captain announced, “Flight Attendants, prepare for takeoff”, before we lined up on RWY 12R for takeoff.
And off we go, we tookoff RWY 12R from STL airport, on our way to Washington Ronald Reagan. C ya later St. Louis.
Then we climbed up to our cruising altitude FL350, flying past the Mississippi River, after banking slightly left, heading east over to Washington DC. Then I started, taking out my AirPods
, listening to Gamezi Palace 
en route to Washington Ronald Reagan .
Then we leveled off at FL350 where the seatbelt sign was turned off, flying over Laughery Valley in Indiana
, taken at Seat 18F 
, before we made our way past Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport before reaching Virginia and then started our descent onto Washington DC . So, the AA Flight Attendants started prepping for complimentary snacking and beverage service. So we were handed out AA Mini pretzels and a choice of beverage. So I got the AA Mini Pretzels in the Green Bag that says PHX at the bottom right of the bag and a cup of Sprite 
. Plus I took out my Popcorners Kettle Corn snack to eat along with those. Then later on, trash 
was collected before I started chewing my Mentos Gum for the remainder of the flight.
Then we began our descent, where we flew over Washington Dulles Airport
before we turned left downwind, aiming for RWY 1 at DCA airport, in preparation for landing. So the captain went “Flight Attendants, prepare for landing”, meaning me putting away my AirPods , and still having my phone handy for taking pictures of the flight before we have touched down into DCA airport.
Alrighty folks, here we are on short final RWY 1 before we landed at DCA airport.
And we have just landed into Washington Ronald Reagan airport. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport. And just like that, we had the shortest taxi, straight to Gate D45 for arrival, so literally right after we exited the runway, Gate D45 was literally right there.
And there we have it, we arrived at Gate D45 DCA airport. So, time for me to grab my stuff, exit the plane, and take a quick shot of this aircraft that I just flew before heading over to my next Gate which perhaps, my next leg from DCA-MIA got delayed to 9:29 PM as it was originally scheduled to depart DCA at 9:00 PM and was scheduled for us to depart from Gate C25. Now, scheduled to depart from Gate C29, down to the
305 Miami and will be arriving there by midnight on Sunday. So, let me start heading over to Gate C29 and have my 2hr 20min layover here at DCA airport before catching my next flight to Miami .
That completes the first leg of the St. Maarten Trip. I hope that you have enjoyed it and stay tune for the second leg of the St. Maarten Trip, which will be on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Without further ado, be safe and have a blessed night and see y’all in the skies.