After a very long flight from Accra to Amsterdam to Detroit to Denver, we found our way to Amy and Tony’s house in Windsor. This was my first taste of flying coach internationally (with the exception of Mexico). Since Dave was on business, his seat was in Business Class. He and I were paying for my flight out of pocket….so….I was back in coach. Business class is far more comfortable, and I’ll leave it at that.
As we walked through the Amsterdam airport in search of our next connection, we immediately appreciated the cleanliness of the facilities and the fact that things “worked.” It wasn’t mad chaos (of course, it was 6:30 a.m.), plenty of air conditioning, and security appeared to be on top of things, unlike in Accra where bribes can get you through quicker. It was modern and smelled good!
While Dave was at work in Denver and Devil’s Thumb, I primarily worked from Amy’s house. We were able to take in a round of golf, visit with friends (Chris and Craig) and family, and enjoy some home cooking with quality meat! The night before Dave flew back to Accra, Amy, Alex, and I drove to Denver to spend the evening with him. We ate yummy Italian food, bowled (makes me wonder if there is a bowling alley in Accra!), and enjoyed our last night together before his flight left the next day.
After 12 days in Colorado, I boarded a flight bound for “home.”
Unfortunately, home just wasn’t quite home anymore. Yes, our house is still at 1259 Dotta Drive. Yes, our Toyota Tacoma is in the garage. Yes, my cat (Marty) quickly came over to greet me. But, no….home just isn’t home. It’s now Daniel’s home, and he’s attempting to make it his own. Virtually all of the pictures are off the wall, with the nails still firmly in place. He has moved into our bedroom, and so to the “guest room” I went. The bed is hard and uncomfortable. But the worse thing? Marty wouldn’t come and sleep with me the first night. He went right into Daniel’s room.
I took in a long overdue “Body Pump” and yoga workout at Gold’s Gym, and then made my way to the school district where I planned on getting some work done during my time in Elko. Hours after I officially left the school district on April 1st, my desk, computer, files, and personal effects were moved into another room. Nothing like having the door kick you on the way out after more than 18 years of service! Walking into the office that last day of May was bittersweet. There were a few people I was anxious to see, but sensed that I was no longer truly a part of the school district. My dad has given me advice over the years, but one piece has always stuck out in my mind. “Don’t burn your bridges.” As a result, suffice it to say that I kept mostly to myself, took advantage of the quick internet connection, a printer, my assistant, IT folks, and the accounting department. I was able to get some important work done while in Elko, but I was eager to get back to the strictly online variation of my job!
I was able to visit with my Elko family, hosted a bbq for my book club ladies, finally convinced Marty to sleep with me, and even had a Mother’s Day dinner with Benjamin! I enjoyed my time in Elko, but I was also missing Dave. It had now been three weeks since we’d left Accra and I’d only seen him a couple of times during those three weeks.
But….off to the next adventure. My sister-in-law, Lisa, and I flew out of Elko bound for Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C.
My niece, Paige, was graduating from high school and I took advantage of the opportunity to stop on my way back to Ghana, to share in her special day.
By using a few of the miles Dave and I have saved up in our travels, I was able to include Lisa. Amy and Tony made the trip, as did my parents. We all met up in Virginia, where Tony and Toni live – in a beautiful decorated home on the 4th hole, I believe! While we weren’t able to take advantage of the golf course, we spent plenty of time exploring Washington, D.C. and the historical sites.
Since Lisa had never been to the D.C. area, we took in all of the sites via a tour bus. We walked “the mall,” although the reflection pond was void of water as it is under repair. There is nothing like the view down the mall while standing on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial.
After three visits to Washington, D.C., I finally got to tour the inside of the National Cathedral. This awe-inspiring church is a “must see.”
The three weeks I spent in Colorado and Nevada included cool weather, and even snow in Elko, while Virginia and DC both experienced record high temperatures during my visit. Guess it was Mother Nature’s way of preparing me for the African humidity and heat!
Before I left the east coast, I had one more piece of business to take care of….and that was to buy some meat to take back with me. Yep….I bought a cooler, hamburger, pork chops, bacon, kielbasa, and some hot dogs to bring back with me. My brother helped me with the dry ice and packing of the cooler. 45 lbs. later, I was ready to head to the airport for my trip overseas.
I was wondering how I was going to haul two suitcases, a backpack, my purse, and a cooler through the airport, but the people at Budget Rental Car were great. They helped me haul my belongings into the bus, and back out again. At Dulles, a gentleman was standing just outside of the bus, and he quickly loaded my things onto his cart and took them upstairs to the Delta counter. As I was attempting to print out my boarding passes, I ran into problems. There was a change to my itinerary, but I couldn’t see where there was a problem.
I finally was able to get a Delta employees attention, but he was having difficulty as well. After hitting the monitor at the kiosk several times, he moved over to the counter and again tried to log me in. He then said, “Oh, your flight to JFK has been cancelled.” I looked up at the monitor and was confused, as the monitor indicated the flight was on-time. He told me that the gal at the counter would help me rearrange my itinerary, and then he vanished.
The lady hardly spoke to me at all, and just had her head down, typing away. After several minutes she handed me my new itinerary and a taxi voucher. I was headed to Reagan National Airport in DC. She told me that the flight was scheduled to leave at 5 p.m., but that it had been delayed until 6 p.m. She assured me I would reach New York City in plenty of time to catch my overseas flight to Accra, which was scheduled to leave at 9:30 p.m. What she didn’t tell me is how in the hell I was going to get downstairs with all my baggage! Thank heavens we bought new luggage with four wheels, as I was able to push my suitcases, place my backpack on my back, and haul the cooler with the handle. I thought my arm was going to break off, as pulling 45 lbs. of meat is harder than it sounds!
A little side story here. While I was standing at the Delta counter waiting for the Delta gal to rebook me, there was a lady to the right of me in the same predicament. I overheard her say that she and her family were scheduled to fly out of NYC for Accra that evening and how could she get to New York in time to catch that flight. The Delta employee asked for her name, and her reply was, “Hinton – H-i-n-t-o-n.” I couldn’t believe it! My maiden name! I wanted to talk to her, but we were both a tad bit busy.
After a 40 minute taxi ride (and a $75 fee paid by Delta), I arrived at Reagan, and was taken to the first class line. (By the way, during my taxi trip, I looked at the Delta voucher, which indicated that my flight was “oversold,” not cancelled as the Delta employee informed me.) I told the Delta guy at the counter that before I taped up my cooler, did he want to look in it, and he said, “No, but the TSA people might.” So, after he printed out my boarding tickets, the skycap took my bags to TSA. When we arrived at their location I asked one of them if he would like to look in my cooler before I wrapped duct tape around it, and he said no. So, off to the side I went, where I began sealing it up. When I was almost done, another TSA gentleman came over and said, “We’ll probably just have to tear that tape off.” I looked up at him and said, “What? That guy over there told me he didn’t need me to open it. Do you or don’t you?” He just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. My patience was wearing a little thin by now. I was tired and hungry! I left my bags and cooler with the TSA and hoped to hell I would see them when I went to retrieve my luggage in Accra.
Finally! Time to eat. I had about an hour to spare before my flight departed, so I made my way to McDonalds for a truly American meal, ordering up a Quarter Pounder with fries. Yummy!
Shortly after returning to my departing gate, the airline announced that our flight was further delayed due to weather conditions in NYC and it would leave at approximately 6:40 p.m. I would still make my flight. At 6:30 p.m., another announcement. The flight probably wouldn’t leave until 7 p.m., and the flight was an hour and a half; meaning, if you have a 9:30 p.m. flight, you may be hard pressed to catch your connection. Travelers were told that if they thought they would miss their connection, they needed to go to the Gateway Counter (down the hallway) to have alternate arrangements made. Off I went, to encounter a line of about 25 people. I knew that if I stood in this line to rearrange my flight, I would miss the flight to NYC, so back to the gate I went.
Just as I arrived at the gate, another announcement. We would be boarding in just five minutes. About 30 seconds later, we started boarding. While in line, with a few of us a little exasperated at the confusion and seemingly unorganized announcements, I turned around and ran into the lady from Dulles! I asked her if she had been at Dulles, and when she replied “yes,” I asked her if her last name was Hinton, and again she answered, “yes.” I told her that I was standing next to her in line at the Delta counter at Dulles and overheard her say she was going to Accra and gave her last name. I told her I was on the same flight and that my maiden name was Hinton. She told me that she was from Oxford, England, and then I had to make my way down the gangway as she waited for her family.
Before our flight departed, the pilot informed the passengers that this was a mere 45 minute flight (not an hour and a half flight as was previously reported), so I felt comfortable that I could make my flight. But, the air traffic controllers didn’t care. At one point it felt like we were returning to DC, but rather, we were circling. Many, many planes had been delayed because of the weather, and now they were all trying to land at the same time. This added another 20 minutes onto our flight, and I was getting very concerned with my connection.
As we were waiting for the doors of the plane to open, I noticed that the Hinton lady’s husband was standing behind me, and so I introduced myself. I told him the story about meeting his wife. He asked me what I was doing in Accra and I told him that my husband worked for Newmont. He said, “Oh, we have a very good friend that works at Newmont. He and his wife’s name are Jennifer and Michael Hendrickson (sp?).” It’s a small, small world. Jennifer is the woman who introduced me to the Royal Seed Orphanage!
The doors opened, and there was a mad rush up the ramp. I was obviously not the only one needing to make a connection. As I exited the ramp, I found a Delta employee and asked her where the gate for the Accra departure was located. I was just sure it would be in a completely different terminal as we had flown in on a commuter plane, and were departing on an international flight. Nope…the gate was just around the corner. Luck was in my corner this evening.
Even though it was after 9 p.m., passengers hadn’t even started to board. Evidently, there was maintenance being done inside the plane. Anyway, after a long day of travelling, I finally boarded my flight for Accra. I was able to upgrade to a “premium economy,” for an additional $90, which basically means I had more leg room. I felt like it was worth the additional cost.
After leaving Tony and Toni’s house at about 1 p.m. EST, I arrived in Accra at 12:30 p.m. GMT (9:30 a.m. EST). I was tired, but when I walked into my house, I just breathed a sigh of relief….and laid down on the bed for a quick nap (but not before I transferred all of my meat from the cooler to the freezer - yea...it made it!).
I was home….until the next trip.
