THE LONG JOURNEY HOME
the problem with an afternoon flight is that there is a lot of waiting around .... i was mostly packed so i had little to do ....
i said my goodbyes to Mark, the Manager at Casa del Sol... it was really nice staying there ... and caught a taxi at 11am to the airport ...
the airport at Roatan is not very large, some of the major airlines just started flying in and out of there ... i imagine they will be enlarging their airport at some point to accommodate the extra traffic ... so, it's pretty busy, and the lines are long ... but since i have 'Priority Status' with my American Airlines Credit Card, i got to go to the front of the line ... that was pretty sweet :)
but i had a not-so-nice surprise when i got to Immigration. it seems the 'yellow piece of paper' that was supposed to be attached to my Passport was missing ... i looked everywhere and searched my brain for where i might have put it. .... i cannot imagine i would have removed a piece of paper that was stapled to my Passport and thrown it away ... but it was not there ... the only thing i can think of is that when i went to the bank (5times) to get money, i had to take my Passport ... at some point it must have fallen out ... the cost to replace this 'yellow piece of paper' ????????? .... US$170 !!! ....the nice girl petitioned the 'man in charge' to take pity on me, and got the fee lowered to US$80 ... still a huge unexpected expense :( ...do you suppose they split $60 and gave the $20 to the 'authorities' ?
i also have TSA PreCheck on my records, so i don't have to take my shoes off going through security screening, .... however, that didn't stop them from doing a 'pat-down' and scan on me ... and ... took my newly-purchased-water from me before i boarded the plane ... even though i purchased it after i went through security .... ack! ... the hassles of traveling ...
fortunately my flights were uneventful, ....going through Immigration and Customs in Dallas/FtWorth was uneventful, ... they have a new computerized system for Immigration ... you scan your Passport, answer some questions and you're through ... you never even talk to an Immigration Officer .... this kind of made me sad ... i always feel really good when i return from a trip out of the country and the Immigration Officers says, 'Welcome Home' .... but that doesn't happen anymore :(
my next flight was into Arkansas at 10pm, to an empty airport ... the plan is to sleep here in the airport until my 6am flight ... i've done this before, in fact, every time ... it's impossible to leave Central America in the afternoon and arrive in Chicago in time to catch the last flight to Kzoo ... so i have to spend the night somewhere .... so i search for a flight that gets in late somewhere, and leaves early the next morning ... so i walked through the airport looking for some comfortable chairs or benches to sleep on .... then i saw these ... aren't they cute ??????? ... this is perfect !
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| Cute People-Chairs |
long story short ...i could not stay inside the 'secured' area ... i needed to go to the other side and talk to the TSA Officer ... who gave me a cot, a blanket, and a pillow, with a pillow cover ... so i slept here .......
my alarm clock battery died, so i woke up about every hour, because i was afraid i would miss my flight, and then got up around 3:30am when things started 'happening' in preparation for the first flights ...
my flight into Chicago was uneventful as well ... i had some time to kill, so i visited their Aeroponic Gardens, this is a process similar hydroponics in which the plant's roots are misted with water ...the lettuce and other vegetables grown are served at airport restaurants ... it's impressive ....
if you find yourself with time in Chicago airport, check it out ... they also have very nice quiet tech stations set up, and a yoga/meditation room available ...
my wonderful sister picked me up in Kzoo and took me to lunch and then home ... where i tackled the chore of cleaning up the limbs, branches, and twigs still in my yard from the December Ice Storm .... :(
i'm home, safely, from my 2014 Winter Adventure, so ... this is my last post, and i agree, it's pretty boring .... sorry ... :(
thank you all for your notes and emails while i was gone .... it means a lot to me to get them ... and helps to keep me 'connected' to you all ...
until next time ... stay happy and healthy !
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