Homeward Bound - Day 18

What a dream trip! Wish I could go home for a few days and come back and do more. After one last photo from a hotel window, we were off.

I think one smart move on my part was insisting that we take a van to the airport (here's a photo of me waiting for the van!) I just couldn't see starting an exhausting day being exhausted by maneuvering through the Paris subway, with luggage, on a Monday morning. We were pretty certain our plane would be taking off because the it was being reported that the strikes were calming down but we had no idea what we would face at the airport.

The Air France terminal was a zoo! Check in for each flight was assigned to a particular row of counters but there was only one line. As we got to each counter those assigned to it would break off into their own line. It was such a ridiculous system that at first we didn't understand it so Rick left me where we thought the end of the counter 3 line was. After he left to see if there was a better way to check in, some American women about 15 ft. behind me started yelling at me that I had "ditched" in line. They were so loud and angry I was afraid that they would start a fight with me so, "rule follower" that I am, I said I was sorry and started hiking way back to the end of the line. It took quite a while for Rick to find me and, the rule follower that he isn't, I think was pissed that I got bullied into moving.

Anyhow, it took more than an hour to get to our check-in counter during which we were able to observe the line standing attitudes of many cultures!

Other than being late, our flight to Detroit was uneventful. I sat next to a young man who was returning from spending 3 months taking care of his ailing mom in Morocco. He holds dual US/Moroccan citizenship, works in IT and was going back to his employer to see if they would let him telecommute from Morocco so he could continue to care for his mom.

When we arrived in Detroit, I had a text from Val (Rick's daughter) on my phone asking us to call because she had great news. It was great! She had gotten engaged the evening before to Boris (whom we got to meet at Katie and Robert's wedding). It was great fun spending our two hour layover talking with them about their plans.

Finally, we arrived back in Kansas City around 11:30pm. Daniel and Steve picked us up. We were exhausted but so happy to be home.

While I'm writing this almost 2 weeks after the fact, I can still remember the trip so clearly. I'm glad I hung in there with this blog so that I don't forget details and feelings. I still think the most important feeling I came away with from this trip is that I am a very, very fortunate woman and I am so glad that I appreciate every minute of being as fortunate as I am!