Feb 6, 2015

Well....this journey is over and a new one is about to begin. After a 40 hour trip home where sleep was an elusive commodity we've all recovered and are ready for our respective next steps. The Amsterdam airport was probably the most memorable (not in a good way) part of the journey home. We had a 7 hour stop there and were hopeful that we would be able to find a corner to curl up in and catch a little shut eye but that is easier said than done in such a busy airport! Lynda and I checked out a hotel in the airport but it was way too rich for our pocketbooks so we found a corner where the floor was the same temperature as it was outside the airport! minus 1 that is!!! We stayed there as long as we could (ie: until the cold seeped right through the layers of clothes we were using as beds and into our bones) and then we were off and walking again. Did you know the Amsterdam airport has NOWHERE to sit??!! Gail and Darlene were much more resourceful than we were and they managed to locate a free lounge where they could at least get off the floor and curl themselves around and under the arms on the benches (that were padded - lucky girls!!) so they didn't experience the bone chilling trauma Lynda and I did. Calgary airport was much more civilized and Darlene's daughter, Cheryl, met us (with a sign so we knew where to go-LOL). We were able to sit down, have a coffee (Timmy's of course) and a visit before the final leg home to Kelowna. We must have looked pretty done in as we came off the plane as one of the greeters in Calgary even called out to us to give us a ride through the airport on their little cart. And to tell the truth....by the time I got home and looked in the mirror I can imagine just why he might have done that! Basil and Becky were there to meet us in Kelowna and it sure felt good to finally arrive home an hour after that. It was a wonderful adventure and we all feel so fortunate to have been able to share it with one another. We'll be able to relive this adventure over drinks on the deck for years to come! In the end...we all survived and a new record has been set in my books for the longest journey home. Previously 37 hours was my best but this one outdid that by a mile! Yes folks...3 hours at the end of 37 is a mile!!! Till another adventure calls, Darlorlynga