It’s good to be home. But there seems to be a lot to do.
The days are full of light right now.
I like the light, but it is too hot to enjoy it. I have to wait until it is dark, or almost dark to walk the dog
At least work is air-conditioned really well. It is too hot at home.
(okay that’s really a picture of the Joshua Tree Desert. But you get the idea. It’s hot)
Morning comes very early when you have to travel 9 time zones.
At least we knew we could sleep on the plane. But we had to stagger around through the maze of duty free shops until then.
What is the deal with spending hundred of dollars on hundreds of perfume? And alcohol? These are completely consumable.
I think it is much better to get jewelry. Even costume jewelry will have some value in ten years. Sterling silver is super cheap now.
How long to you think the Brittany Spears scent of the summer will last? And ALCOHOL? please.
We just wanted to get on the plane, and get under a cozy first class blanket. Fortunately, it wasn’t long.
Chris fell asleep almost immediately. But this was my chance to play with the toys.
They had a big selection of movies. Not just one! You know, every time I see a movie on a plane, it makes me cry. What is up with that? Why do they pick these sappy movies that pull me in and start the tears flowing?
I ended up watching the Pursuit of Happyness. Sniffled my way through it.
Chris slept the whole way. He had no interest in the stupid airplane movies. I got a some good hours of sleep too
New York arrived eventually. We went through customs, which was basically a forality.We returned to the admirals club, took a shower and killed more time. It was exciting to be around the news in English. As usual, not much happened during our absence.
It was also good to be back in a place where we could use a few dollars to buy cheap food.
We exited LAX at about midnight. I drove home, since Chris was weak. There was no traffic, of course.
The cat was very very glad to see us.
We were greeted by a new backyard, since the construction on our new addition had begun.
We wandered around in the dark to see what could be seen.
It was good to be home.
Chris was possibly even worse the next morning.
Bloodshot, drenched in sweat. Sick.
Naturally, he did not want breakfast.
I went down to the breakfast buffet at 7:30 to find Car Deal guy. He was not there yet, but I saw Shipcollector. Shipcollector was going to head off in another direction by train, so the fellowship of the car rental was breaking up.
He and I shared breakfast, and chatted over coffee. He is a very charming man, and I always enjoy talking with him.
But we were finished eating, and still no Car Deal guy. Shipcollector went off to check out, and get ready to meet his train.
I was trying to decide whether to call in to Car Deal guy’s room.
More ship people came by, though. There was greetings, a little more coffee drinking.
I asked people if they had seen Car Deal guy. No one had, and I just couldn’t tell if it would be appropriate to call his room.
Finally, at 10:00, I called.
He was asleep! but he thanked me for waking him before they cleared away breakfast, and rushed down to get some food.
I had a few more bites, and more coffee. We discussed ship things, and I told him Chris was still sick.
Here’s the thing. Our plane flew out at 8:30 PM that evening. Car Deal guy flew out the next morning, so he had a hotel room near the airport.
We had a day to kill. BEFORE the illness, the plan was to do a little sightseeing together. But now, that seemed out of the question. Car Deal guy was very sympathetic, and even offered to let Chris sleep in his hotel room until we had to leave for the airport. What a guy!
In the end, we asked the hotel there in Kassel if we could check out late, and Chris was able to sleep a couple more hours. He was much recovered, and we took off at 1.
It’s sort of amazing to me. Chris and I are special to each other. I suppose it’s the same with many husbands and wives (which we are preparing to be). Spouses can be less guarded with each other.
So, while Chris was limp and tired and pathetic while lying in bed in our hotel room, somehow he got some starch in him for the trip to Frankfurt. They way he’d been, i thought he might just prop himself against the side and semi-snooze.
But he sat up, consulted the map and discussed ships and directions the whole way. Miraculous. By the time we got to Car Deal guy’s hotel (one that Chris and I had stayed in when we were there last), he didn’t need to lay down.
What he DID need was food. No breakfast and no dinner the night before meant he needed some fuel. So we sat in the hotel lobby cafe and talked. We didn’t leave for the airport until 6:30.
Our flight was to Copenhagen. We were going to stay the night at the hilton hotel there, and then take off in the morning. Tomorrow’s flight would be back to Helsinki, then on to New York, and finally to Los Angeles.
But today, we merely needed to check in, get on the flight, and walk to our hotel.
Unfortunately, Chris deflated somewhat when we were alone again. I propped him up in a cushy chair with a ginger ale and went off to find some internet. It was the journey back, and that is when the pull of all the home things starts. What’s in my email now?
We made the flight no problem, quick trip to Copenhagen. It was about 10 when we got to Copenhagen. We only needed to find the hotel and crawl into bed.
But Chris was hungry. We passed all the usual airport food on on the way to the hotel. Chris thought we could do better. “Airport food is too expensive.We might as well get room service”
The hotel was beautiful. We settled put all our bags down and consulted room service. Room Service hours ended at 10:30.
NOW Chris was starving. We walked back to the airport, remembering a Burger King there.
Burger King was closed.
Everything was closed.
This is a reason to always always always pack a big supply of cliff bars for any journey.
I had eaten on the plane, and was not so hungry. But Chris’s brain was short-circuited.
I tried to come up with alternatives:
“Baby, we can just order the room service. It’s not THAT expensive.”
“They close at 10:30. It’s too late.”
“I bet they will have something.”
He couldn’t believe that nothing in the airport was open, and that there was nothing nearby. It was as if he knew it was true while at the same time thinking it COULDN”T be true.
I made him go back to the hotel room.
“You rest here. I’m done with you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You just stay here. I’ll handle it.”
I went down to the bar in the lobby, hoping I could talk them into giving us some room service. In the end, they gave me a hamburger with all the sides (a meal in itself!) to take up to the room.
I came back with a big plate of burger. Chris ate at last.
“You came back so fast, I thought you were going to say you couldnt’ get anything.”
“No, I’m taking care of you. You needed food.”
So we split the plate and then watched some TV to unwind after our day.
“Too bad we can’t enjoy this room very much. It’s really nice.”
“I know!”
“Good night, baby. Get good sleeps.”
“Good night….You got the wake-up call?”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
“thank you. Good night.”
“Good night.”