After 19 hours of flying we landed in Denver around 5:30pm. Our ride was stuck in traffic so we sat out on the curb for about 20 minutes waiting to get on our way home.
The first flight at 10:30pm Denver time on the night of the 11th was delayed an hour so we sat on the tarmac for 1/2 hour before our journey home began. Next up was Frankfurt where we had about 2 1/2 hours before boarding for the U.S. We finally got on and settled in only to find we were surrounded by a plane full of Russian women on their way to the U.S. The misses was sitting next to the lady who was in charge of the group. It was made up of 50 education people or teachers that were splitting up into 10 groups of 5 going all over the country to visit how we teach our children. Most if not all of these women had never been on a plane and it was quite obvious. They strolled up and down the aisles for what seemed like the whole flight, even when the fasten seat belt light was on. They clearly had a different way of doing things. At one point I looked over to the misses and said “what stinks” only to find out the lady behind me was taking a sponge bath in her seat! The next time someone wonders why I go out of my way to maintain my elite status (flying a minimum of 50,000 mile per year), try sitting in coach with a bunch of smelly Russians for 9 hours!. We finally landed in the rain in Washington D.C. and cleared customs and were off to our gate for our last flight home. While boarding their was a man trying to check a bag and he was getting no attention from the gate attendant. We were at the front of the line due to our elite status (we get to board first) and after talking to this guy found out he had Parkinson’s. I told him to stay with me and board with us and I would take his bag and carry it on and put it by my seat and then carry it off for him. He was very thankful and couldn’t stop thanking me in his southern Virginia drawl. When he met us getting off the plane he continued to thank me and told the boys what a good man their dad was. I gave him my card after he said he needed a new neurologist as I thought maybe whatever my Mom was taking might be better than what he was, who knows.
Anyhow, home at last and the dogs were super happy to see us. We showered quickly and were all asleep by 7:30pm. The misses, the little guy and I (all prompted by the little guy) woke up at 3. It’s now about 4:30 in the morning. Back to the dogs, it seems Aunt B bought the dogs new beds, dishes, toys and exercised them a bunch. I’m not sure they wanted us to come home! Thanks so much, it’s a big relief when you can go away knowing your pets are well taken care of.
We are going to write up a separate summary of the trip for everyone complete with pictures that will hopefully be done by next Monday. Today will be filled with laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping and work. One thing we have to say is how different, and we think better, everyday life is in Europe. No one watches tv much n’or are they consumed with the every day news cycle like we are here. They pretty much get up and take care of living life each day ignoring most of the drama going on in the World. It seems it’s all about family and being happy and of course good food with fresh local ingredients. What a difference. One other point, everyone is happy living in small spaces that are set up to be very efficient. Kitchens especially are smaller than ours but set up better. Everyone also recycles everything, not much waste. We could all learn a thing or two from them.
It’s now 4:40 and I need to shower and head to the store for some eggs and fresh coffee from Starbucks but am doubtful it will be anything close to the great coffee and milk we had over there. The misses and I are determined to change our family’s diet to include more fresh veggies and fruit in all of our diets. We have to try to get off the chemically stuffed pre packaged foods our country is full of. We’ve always tried to eat well but need to do better. So much of what we eat here is just not good for us. Ok ok, I’ll stop before I go off on a rant. We didn’t miss politics at all and surprise, nothing much changed. Maybe I need to give up all the politics watching all together. It’s just so “in your face” here. I’m going to try though, wish me luck.
Take care and sorry about the inconsistent posting, we’ll get back on track, promise. God Bless,