This is the travel day (Sunday). I guess the worst part is that on Monday morning I have to be up and out of the house by 6:00 ....ugh!
My watch alarm actually woke me up at 5:00 am Poland time. After getting ready and all my bags packed, my taxi picked me up at 6:00. I bid farewell to Monika. She had done a fabulous job organizing and arranging the conference and all of our wants and needs. She is definitely a 'mover and shaker'! The 30 minute taxi ride was comfortable and I was ready to fall asleep again. I didn't have enough zlotis to pay and I had to pay by credit card. 142 zlotis = about $50! Yikes. I was WAY early to check in for the flight at 8:15. The line to check in was short and the line for security was even shorter. I sat and read the last part of my book, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. A very enjoyable read, especially since it is about DC and all the symbols in and around the architecture.
The flight to Frankfurt was uneventful. The Frankfurt airport did not list my gate number. My ticket did not list my gate number. So area A has 65 gates. The guessing game commences! 1 through 42 were Lufthansa - I was looking for United. So I had to actually ask! The person I asked said I was in the right place, but I still didn't see a sign that proved I was. Walking, walking, gate after gate you get that feeling that it will be the last one. Not this time. Gate 57 was easy to detect - lots of American looking people with American looking garb. I had to wait another hour and a half for the next flight.
The nine hour flight to DC was movie - rrriffic! The Time Traveler's Wife -cool movie. UP was a wonderful diversion! Inglorious Bastards I got tired of quickly. And another film with the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun. It seems I start watching these movies after the opening credits, so I really don't know what that last film was called. I will soon find out!
I landed in DC - Dulles - after watching with amazement that there was snow on rooftops! What happened to Global Warming? There was a medical emergency on board and we were asked to stay seated until the sick person could be evacuated. We had landed early and no one questioned that decision. After that it was out of the plane, down a maze of small hallways, on the tram, to the main terminal. Passport Control was quick and easy. Waiting for the luggage took the most time. Customs was faster still. I found Judy quickly - cell phones are great inventions when you are surrounded by hundreds of people in a large venue like an airport. We paid for parking, found the car, and Judy drove as I was feeling like it was 10:30 at night!
We made our way to the Outback in La Plata and ate real American food, all the iced tea I could, and shared our week apart from each other. We made it home to Mechanicsville by 7:30. It is always fun and exciting to go overseas. But it is always great to be home!
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