Getting there is half the fun - July 15 and 16
Monday
We got to our meeting place about 12:30 as planned, and I transferred my bags from Mike's car to Daddy's. David drove us to the airport, and we got there in plenty of time to get through the short check-in line and wait for our flight to be called. While we waited we heard the announcer say "Binod Singh, you have 5 minutes to get to your flight, or it will go without you. Since I know someone by that name, and the gate they directed him to was just across from where we were waiting, I wandered over to see who would come running. Nobody came, so I wandered back. Then I saw someone arriving at a run, who was probably our neighbor, but I was too far away to tell for sure.
The plane was loaded right on schedule, but then we sat around for about 15 minutes, then instead of taking off from the runway we were close to we took the scenic route over to the other side of the airport, waited in a long line, and finally took off about an hour late.
We heard later that our terminal was shut down right after we got on the plane, because of a suspicious package, but I don't think it had anything to do with our delay.
The flight from LAX to London was interminable. If you want a good night's sleep, don't try it on Air NZ's cheap seats. Eventually we got to London Heathrow, where they thought it was about noon but it was actually bedtime. What do these Londoners know, anyhow?
Tuesday
One interesting thing I noticed flying over various countries. You can tell from far above which country you are over. In the US the patchwork quilt of irrigation, roads, and other signs of civilization has its own character. The land is parcelled out in nice neat squares, unless there's a clear reason for there to be other shapes. And all the squares are the same size and similar colors.
In England the patchwork is a crazyquilt. All sorts of shapes and sizes, and no two the same color. Also, they are frequently separated by rows of trees or other plants. Where there are houses they also look completely different, but I wasn't able to pin down the difference. But what do you expect from people who drive on the wrong side of the road?
When we got over Holland it changed again, this time much more regimented than eother England or the US. The colors were as varied as in England, but the shapes were just so. Not necessarily squares, in fact rarely squares, but never random shapes. Always very geometrically correct.
After our scenic tour of LAX we weren't surprised to get a similar tour of Heathrow. We landed way out in the middle of nowhere, and took a bus (coach?) to the terminal transfer building, then waited 10 minutes for another coach to take us to the correct terminal for our next flight. That was just like a trip to a studio back lot, with construction, and back views of all the fancy bouldings, and exciting detours down various side streets, with everyone going TOO FAST, and ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!
When we finally got to the correct terminal we were in time to wait again for half an hour or more before we were allowed to board the flight to Rotterdam. Cute little plane, compared to the big one we took from LAX.
I figured out that adults in Holland probably don't drink milk. When the stewardess asked me what I wanted to drink I asked her if they have milk. She seemed surprised and said, yes, did I want some? When I said yes, she asked, really, and went to get me some. Then she pretended not to be watching me to see if I would drink it. So I didn't, at first. She and a co-worker were seen talking about me, in Dutch mumblings and smiling. I caught the word american but not much else.
Click here for my pictures to date.
Lucien met us at the gate, after we walked through without being stopped by customs. He took us for a short driving tour of the area, then we went to his house to meet his family. They are all very nice, and I'm tormenting them with my puzzles.
I haven't slept in a day and a half, so I think I should probably turn in soon, and maybe by tomorrow I'll feel human again. Or not.
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