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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The final "leg"

I'm happy to report that everyone has made it home safely...and sad to report that the trip is all over.  Other than some jetlag, I think that everything went really well and that dad had a great time.  It was really fun to explore a new city and the connections couldn't have gone any smoother. 

The overall trip back was as long as I thought it might be - but our fun seats in business made it very comfortable.  We were up early to get to Terminal 1 at Heathrow, only to find that the flight was delayed for 2 hours due to a late arriving aircraft.  Great.  Going back to sleep wasn't really an option, so we stayed up, packed, talked, and eventually headed out the door to check out.  Except...that the arrangements I had made for our hotel room never got communicated to the desk staff.  So after some haggling and no resolution, I left the details for another day and we headed to check in.  Having some time to burn, we walked to the Star Alliance Lounge for some breakfast and free internet.  The food was good and I was able to keep up on our flight while responding to some emails. 

About 20 minutes before official gate opening, we started out for the gate - a much longer walk than one thinks to the other end of the terminal, but we made it with plenty of time and waited until the boarding started and the crowds began to cram.  It always amazes me how people "gate creep" and don't listen or read their boarding passes - we had people in Group 2 and 3 trying to board with the first class people and nothing holds up a line when the agents have to kick people out of line because they don't listen.  We got on no problem - our same seats were ready and soon we were off.

The flight was smooth - food amazing.  Dad tried the tenderloin and I chose the chicken.  And we both had ice cream sundaes for dessert.  The flight attendants in our cabin were thoroughly amused at the "father and son team" they had, and came and talked to us often. 

Upon landing at Ohare (8.5 hrs later) we made it through security and off to find dad's bus back to Milwaukee.  We just missed it at Terminal 5, but seeing we had 20 minutes until the Terminal 1 departure, we made a run for it...and made it with 5 minutes to spare!  Couldn't have timed it better.  A quick hug and goodbye, and dad was off to Milwaukee...and I was off to 4 hours of layover until my flight to San Diego.  Which went fine once we left, but I was completely worn out after all of it.

My top list of fun things from the trip will be coming soon...but for now I will sleep.

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