28th March 2024
I think I made a big mistake travelling on Good Friday. First the coach fare was higher than I expected, and it was fuller than last time.
The most noticeable were the crowds in the airport.
Normally I can be seated quickly when I have my breakfast, not this time. Although only ten minutes I was not used to it. The kitchen staff were on full power, almost double speed.
The food was good, appreciated after the early start. Nicola and Colin had driven up from Martock in the really early hours to take me to the Bath bus station. I had managed a couple of hours sleep, so the look of death was not quite so bad.
The lady coach driver was a bit abrupt, telling me off for not handing my case in the correct manner. I didn’t know there was a correct manner. I had gone to the trouble of saving my ticket to my wallet on my phone, but after showing it to the driver there was just an “okay”, no scanning of the code or anything,
I said my thanks to Nicola and Colin, thank goodness they’re night owls, now they could go and catch up on some sleep.
At 5.01am precisely the coach set off(she was a minute late already) the arrival time was 7.00am, I was interested to see if she could make that minute up. It’s those sad things I think about so early in the morning.
We actually arrived at 7.06am so with adjustments it was late by five minutes, I noted that down in my black book of irrelevant facts, and dragged my baggage towards the terminal.
That is when I saw how busy it was.
The waiting area was like a refugee camp, people from all over the world encamped watching the monitors.
I had listened to Kelli’s voice messages, eighteen minutes of news and stories of things happening in America. When I reply I can hardly leave three.
The boarding of the plane happened quickly, I had decided to book premium economy for the trip back to see what it was like. It was much much better, the seats were wider and reclined more, and the food was actually served on china plates with real cutlery. Yes, this is what I choose in future.
Arrival at Chicago meant a long walk from the plane to the customs area, thank goodness for moving walkways.
The customs area were quite different from the last time, gone are the booths, now there are doors that close behind you. Now I was totally at the officer’s mercy. Instead of being led off to some room for further scrutiny, I was approved and let loose.
My case appeared on the carousel as I approached, my good fortune continued.
The train took me to terminal 3 meaning I had to go through security again. Shoes off, belt off, laptop out, it’s a drag. At the other end it’s then a scrabble to get things organised. Ensuring that the belt goes through all the correct loops, not cool if one gets missed.
Then there was a couple of hours wait for the plane to Grand Rapids.
I was lucky to sit next to Mr large chest, throughout the flight his shoulders and mine were in constant contact, not very comfortable.
That was only tolerable because Kelli was waiting for me with her beaming smile.
Another Lifetime to go 