Journey to Bliss......

Well I should have known that eventually it would be more than an effort to get home, sure enough.....

I left the comforts of the Rezayat compound earlier than expected. I should have known then that the trip would be snake bit. My call out was scheduled for 10:30, I had just gotten out of the shower toweled off and had just put on my jeans. I had been chatting with Diane for a while and told her I had needed to jump in the shower before the car got there. No sooner than i had buttoned and zipped up, and there was a knock at the door. The driver was 30 minutes early, i told him I hadn't expected him he said no problem i will be outside waiting. Well I quickly said bye to Diane and finished getting dressed and was out the door not 15 minutes later. We made a quick stop by the front desk to drop off my key and instructions to let my boss in to retrieve some items left by our new Piping Engineer so he wouldn't have to carry them back when he mobilized.

The trip to the airport was uneventful, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open and eventually faded off. I awoke as we were going through the checkpoint at the airport and couldn't believe it had gone by so quickly. As we pulled up to the terminal, apprehension set in as i loathed the long flight. Well I was really lucky, so I thought, as i walked through the doors the line had already formed for the check in so I thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Unfortunately my luck changed when i reached the counter. As the attendant took my passport, he looked at the screen then turned to the supervisor on duty and all i could make out was Houston from his Arabic tongue. The supervisor came over and explained to me that the flight had been delayed until 6:00AM and it was now just 11:00PM. Great now what are my choices. So he explained that I could be moved to the flight at 10:45 once I got into Amsterdam but If I made it for that one I would have probably made it for my 9:30AM flight as well. Oh well I have had issues before i guess I can deal with this also. I grabbed my bags after I checked in and told them i would take my chances once I got to Amsterdam. I breezed through Security in less than 15 minutes and was walking to the gate. Once I got to the gate, I realized that I know had at least 6 hours before the flight was supposed to be here. I found a nice Hard bench and got comfortable for what seemed to be a long wait. Gradually I drifted off only to be awoken by the ring ring of the loud speaker and the announcement of another flight. This monotony continued on and off for about an hour. The next time I woke was about 1:30AM and the supervisor that had been at the check in was now moving amongst the few who had stretched out to invite them to the pavilion for a snack on KLM. So I scrambled up and got my belongings together and trudged towards Gate 20. Once I arrived I selected a delicious Tuna sandwich and a diet 7-up. after a quick couple of bites and a swallow or two of drink and I had collected myself and my things and headed back to the gate.

I finally drifted off to sleep and was awoken around 5:30 by the increase in conversation all around me. When I aroused, stretched and sat up, i was surrounded by hundreds of pilgrims making their way to Mecca. I stumbled getting up and made my way towards the Mens room to splash water and see if I could wake up. I made my way back to my belongings and once I had removed them from the seats i had occupied, the seats were snatched up and I was left standing literally holding the bags. They all just starred at me blankly as I looked at them in unbelief. Well unbeknown to me, the gate had also changed while I was in a slumber. I grabbed my things and headed to the new gate. Thankfully when i got there only a few were still in the queue for the flight. Around 6:00AM KLM landed and was at the gate, 15 minutes later we were boarding. As I sat there looking for an opportunity to steal a row of empty seats so i could lay down, they closed the door and we were taxiing to the runway. About 10 minutes later we were in the air for the 6 hours and 15 minutes. As I calculated I realized not only would I miss my confirmed flight but i would also miss the alternate as well. Oh well I would just deal with it when i get to Amsterdam. I reached into my bag for my Advil PM and realized that it was n the bag I checked. The next best thing was regular Advil so i popped a few and settled in for the flight. Luckily by the time the beverage cart came around, I was ready to sleep and once again was able to close my eyes and fall fast asleep.

One hour to touch down and we were woken with hot steamy towels, and the smell of coffee brewing. That is the hardest part to waking up, trying to keep your eyes open long enough to wake up because you continually want to doze. Once the coffee, tea and juice was served, we had the choice of an Omelet or pancakes. I chose the Omelet and coffee as usual and enjoyed the tasty delights. Also included was a small container of Blueberry Yogurt, and a small dish of fruit. Now it was a matter of getting the dirty dishes cleaned up and prepare the cabin for arrival. 40 minutes later we were making our approach and landed 5 minutes later. The trip to the terminal felt longer than the actual flight, stopping to cross a runway where a flight was landing or taking off, minutes crawled by. Finally at about 10:45 AM we rolled into the gate and departed the plane. First thing was head towards the KLM lounge to see if i could get another flight. Since the last leg of the flight was Continental, they made me walk out to the terminal where Continental was located. Sure enough when I got there they had a flight available about 2 and a half hours later at 1:30 which would put me into Houston approximately at 5:30PM. I confirmed my flight and got on the phone with Diane. She was half asleep so it took a couple of times to get her to understand. Once she had repeated it I was sure she had it down and told her to go back to sleep.

I headed back to the KLM lounge so i could get a glass of Grapefruit juice and a cup of coffee. As I sat there sipping my coffee, I realized that I still had about an hour before i had to be at the gate, so I finished up and headed to the Hotel Mercure for a quick shower. This is well worth the $20 as I could get clean and feel a little more refreshed before getting on the last leg of 8 hours. 30 minutes later I was refreshed and heading back to the Continental terminal. I got in line for the short security briefing, only in Amsterdam, and once through the x-ray I was ready to get on the plane. Well they were still in holding so i stood close to the gate and waited for the call. While I was standing there, I saw what looked to be Shawn Horan walking towards me. I said Shawn, he said Stan, I never know who I am going to see when i am traveling, I just laughed. I relayed my nights events and he just grinned and said yep International travel so much fun. We talked until they called Business and First, he had the luck of flying in Business, I was stuck in the back of the plane with the chickens and the goats. Anyway it wasn't long and they were calling for Priority passengers thankful I was amongst them. I found my seat and settled in for a long 8 hours of movies and music.

The flight was uneventful and I dozed more than usual but I survived the flight and we touched down 30 minutes early. Diane had just gotten in the terminal and Josh and Cassie were looking for a parking spot. We were going to eat after I got my bags so she called them and told them to go find a place to eat and we would meet them. The luggage came quickly and I was out and smiling at my lovely bride about 15 minutes later. We hugged and kissed and headed for the elevator. The rest of the story is pretty boring so i won't bore you with it, we made it to dinner at Chuy's which was pretty good and an uneventful drive home. We made it home before 9 and I was in bed by 10:30 ready for a good nights sleep.

That's about it for now, needless to say I was in for a treat with the upcoming week in preparation of Kimber's wedding. That in itself is another story........