This was a travel day, so we were up early and ready to go. We crammed everything into carry-ons again since we were worried about making it through Charlotte to connect to Kansas City in time. One suitcase zipper on an outer pocket broke, oh well! Our delightful breakfast maid, Shanti, said "Oh mama, you leaving today?! You come back, I take care of you!" with hugs and kisses on both cheeks. So sweet! Our concierge had arranged a car for us. It turned out to be a Mercedes minivan - NICE! Our Thai driver was very talkative. He grew up in Paris, had never been to the US and hated museums. After we quickly ran out of common ground it was a quiet ride to the airport in the dark.
The airport definitely looked more normal than when we arrived (deserted with abandoned luggage & chained exits on 26 December). Bill and I both lost items in security that made it through previously: my very nice, and little scissors I had forgotten about - they were buried in my yarn; and a small container of body powder. They were quite stringent, diligent and humorless. ("These are forbidden," she said frostily) Also, sadly, we lost a jar of fig jam that was too large.
Bill's POV:
The SwissTech made it through security from Kansas City via Charlotte and Paris and back to KC. Had it attached to my keys, no problem.
The fig jam I purchased in Paris, however, perished at the first security inspection. "Do you have jam?" asked the officious man in the blue blazer. I readily
It was a long flight, but still, much preferable to fly during the day (than overnight). We enjoyed the in-seat entertainment systems with movies, TV, GPS to follow the flight (fascinating!) and live international news texts. We read there was a major winter storm in the US Midwest, but that could mean anywhere from Ohio to Minnesota to Missouri...
We made it through customs and security once again in Charlotte. Bill's suitcase was thoroughly searched, probably because of the 5 Salt canisters he had neatly, but suspiciously, lined up along the edge of the main compartment. He had to repack the entire contents. We talked to Katie while waiting for our plane ~ it was Minnesota affected by the storm; she was snowed in at her in-laws home in Perham. Fortunately, Kansas City was spared! We had the most amazing weather karma on this trip!
After retrieving luggage and being shuttled to our car, Bill went to Hen House for deli chicken and salad. So, at the end of a 23-hour day (being awake) we were sound asleep on New Year's Eve by 10:00pm.
Happy New Year 2011!
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