Got up at 6, airport van picked me up at 8, at airport in Taipei by 9:15, through security and at gate 9:30 - amazing how much faster things go when you get there early - plane left on time at 11:38. Good flight to HongKong, got there about 12:30. Coffee from Starbucks at the airport with a little pie for HK$38. I have no idea how many HK $ for a US $, I hope it's about 10... Sat around until 4, changed gates twice, plane was on its way on time, 4:30-something. Now, when I originally left Boston and flew to L.A., I had such delightful seat companions - I paid for it yesterday... I sat trapped at a window seat with a couple next to me, husband slammed his body around the seat so it felt like I had a child kicking me in the back every time he moved, he coughed and sneezed without covering his face until I couldn't take it anymore and said something about it (lots of hand gestures, but he seemed to understand and did a little better for a while), he ate very audibly, and when he fell asleep and stopped coughing, he snored. When we had turbulence he refused to put his seatbelt on. The funny thing was, eventually his wife gave up on him and changed places with somebody else from the same group... Unfortunately I didn't have someone to change places with :( The flight attendant was clueless too. I'm chalking this one up as, I deserved one like this after all the excellent flights I've had, just to remind me to be grateful! But, it didn't feel like a worthy end to such a wonderful trip.
Meanwhile, somewhere over the ocean Tuesday was over and started up again - kind of like groundhog day, but without the deja-vue - and after 11 hours, at 1:15 P.M. (felt like 4:15 A.M.), I got to L.A. It's lovely to see the Dixonses for a day and a half and right away I was lucky to be able to be the volunteer "parent" in Elliot's preschool class this morning.
Did some laundry, afternoon nap, repacked, left the quilt behind (never was bored enough to pull it out, heehee) and packed extra items from Deirdre for Lisa's little ones and for Niamh. Somehow the bags got lighter. So maybe the suitcase got heavier... hmm... prepare for repacking tomorrow if it weighs too much... Deirdre printed my boarding pass, I booked the van for the ride home, ready for the last bit of the trip tomorrow.
I'll be home for a week and a day, Henk will get back in a week and then be home for a day, before the next trip to the Netherlands begins. I might keep the blog open for that, if I have enough time. After that trip we'll gear up for spending the winter in California, and we're planning on a different route. So do check back once in a while!
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