What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Day One and
Two – Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23rd
My
flight out of St. Louis to Chicago was scheduled to leave at 4:06 p.m. I only had a 55 minute layover in Chicago and
so I thought my connecting flight might be kind of tight. At first, I thought I would be flying into
one terminal and flying out another. So,
I thought I would have to go through security again. We checked before my flight and found out
that I would be flying into and out of terminal C so I was feeling better that
I would be able to make it. I am going
to be copying some of my Facebook posts so I don’t need to retype everything.
Flight from St. Louis to
Chicago
On board (not bored) my flight to Chicago. I have 55 minutes to make my Frankfurt flight!
Fortunately, I do not have to chance
terminals; just need to go a few gates away (C7 to C18)!
Here is a funny story for you... Got to United
baggage check-in and was adding ID tags to all my bags. I was waiting for an attendant to show up at a
station. A couple guys asked if I was
checking in. I said yes; I was waiting for an attendant. They said it was self service. Doh!!
In Chicago
I made it into Chicago but we docked at C1
instead of C8 so I had a few more gates to travel. I had about 55 minutes to make my Frankfurt
flight! Fortunately, I do not have to
chance terminals; just need to go a few gates away!!!!I was thinking C8 would
be just another normal gate but boy was I surprised. I guess I should have known that since this
was an international flight that things would be different. When I got to Gate 8, there was a huge crowd
of people. There were lines of people
for Groups of One through Six. There was
a flight board off to the side which I had to wade through the crowds to get
through. I wanted to make sure I was at
the right gate since I had less than an hour to make my first transfer.
I was relieved to find I was at the right
gate. So, I waited in Group 4 to get
funneled through security. When I
finally got up to the front of the line, I was told I needed to have my
passport verified and I needed to go through another line. I was glad to see that there was nothing
noted anyway that you needed to do this.
Typical airport friendliness. I
finally got my passport checked and went back to my Group 4 check-in. When I got back in line, the line was twice
as long as before stretching out into the main airport walkway. It seems that Groups 3, 4, and 5 were intermingled
since where Groups 4 and 5 were supposed to be lined up, they conveniently had
located a money exchange desk. More
typical airport lack of planning.
While I was waiting in line (again), I heard
someone say that Obama flew into Chicago around 5 p.m. and they had diverted
some flights!!! Oh boy!!! I am just glad
that my fight made it in ok. It looks
like my plane is here. Good news...I heard
one flight to Cleveland got cancelled.
With this long line to board, I know there is no way we are going to
make at 6:15 p.m. departure.
Flight from Chicago to
Frankfurt
On
board (not bored) my flight to Chicago. I am getting ready to take off will need to go
onto stealth mode. I will post more when
I can. We are still waiting to take off.
One of the back doors would not
"arm" so they are trying to find a maintenance man to check it out!!
Please stand by!!! I may be staying at
my next stop as I only have two hours and 15 minutes lay over. We are already 42 minutes delayed so my connection
maybe tight at Frankfurt, Germany.
They
are disarming all the doors and the pilot just announced that we would be allowed
to leave the plane. Oh, wait, the three
maintenance men just let the captain know that the door has been fixed and we
are getting ready for take-off. We shall see.
We are backing out now. Hopefully, we will take off shortly!! We are taking off 70 minutes late!! Make that 80 plus minutes! Well, we finally got off from Chicago 90
minutes late. So, this means, I will
have 45 minutes at the most to make my next connection.
In Frankfurt
I
finally got off the plane at 11:30 a.m. trying to make a noon flight. I found out my gate number and the guy said I
needed to get there ASAP. So, I started
racing off to my gate. I was not sure
how far it was but it seemed like half way across the world to me. I had two heavy bags with me. My laptop bag had two computers, two iPads,
and all the associated accessories and a few other items. My other carry-on bag had five pounds of
chocolate chips, about 6 pounds of coffee, a pound or so of gummy worms, some
books, my shaving kits and a bunch of other stuff.
I
raced and raced and raced to the other gate.
I was sweating like a pig and my heart was pounding. I finally make it to where I thought I gate
was to be but it just ended up being the train to my Gate and I just missed the
departing train. The next one was in two
minutes!! Also, about 10 minutes before
I had heard an announcement that everyone taking my flight should be on board! YIKES!!!
My
train finally showed up and I got off at terminal B. Then, I raced, and raced, and raced some
more. I thought I was going to die. I kept heading towards terminal B. Terminal B had about 100 different entry
points. I think Gates were divided from
1-21, 22-41, 42-49, 50-60, and then another set of 60 and above. I raced down the hallway towards the last set
of gates. Now, I ran and ran and ran
again. Finally, I got to the security
check point when they needed to rescreen all my bags.
I
took out each of my computers and iPad, then my money, shoes, belt, cell phone,
wallet, mint container, etc. I decided
to wear my money belt through since I knew it would be too involved to take it
off. My money belt set off the alarm and
so the security guy decided to “wand” me all over my body. He eventually did have me take off my money
belt anyway. Finally, I asked him if he
was going to have them hold my flight for me.
He said, OK go ahead.
Once
through security, I just threw all my stuff (belt, cell phone, money, watch,
etc) into my carry-on bag. I figured I
could get dressed on the plan. When I
finally got to the boarding area, they had to check my passport again. I finally got my ticket. When I handed my ticket to the ticket agent,
there was a problem with it and so he had to double check it. By this time, I think it was about two minutes
until we were scheduled to leave. I
finally go allowed through ticketing.
Then, I still had to go quite a ways down a couple long halls and some
stairs to get to the airplane. I think I
finally got my baggage stored and to my seat about 6 P.M. the time we were
supposed to fly out.
Again,
I was sweeting worse than ever. I had my
one carry on with me and when I got to my seat (the second to last on the
plane), I decided to get dressed. I put
on my belt and my money bag and loaded my pockets again. I had to keep wiping my forehead and neck to
try to mop up some of the sweat. It had
been really crazy but I had made it to my flight.
Interestingly
enough, we did not take off for about another 30 minutes.
Flight from to Frankfurt to
the Middle East
This
leg of my flight was to be only about five hours long. Once we got going, it was pretty
uneventful. I had supper and watched a
couple movies. We made it in only about
15 minutes late. I was not very hopeful
that my luggage would arrive since I had been 0 for 2 in my last trips. This time, it did not take too long for them
to unload the luggage. I also was
watching as I was making the long trip from where we got off to the baggage
claim to make sure I noticed where I had to go to claim my lost luggage.
In the Middle East.
I
had filled out my entry card to get into the country. The line this time was really short. There was just one lady ahead of me. I got in without any trouble. As I walked to the baggage claim area, I
noticed the counter where I knew I would be going to find a claim for my
bags. I waited for a few minutes but no
bags were to be found. I was about to
head out when I saw some folks who came with me from Chicago who had ALL their
bags. They encouraged me to go back and
look again. I went back and spent
another few minutes looking for my bags with no luck.
I
went to the baggage claim area where there was only one person ahead of
me. Things worked out pretty well (I
guess the third time is the charm) and it did not take me long to get the
paperwork I needed. When I was done,
there was a long line behind me. On my
last trip, I think this part took me 90 minutes. This time, I think I was done in about
15. So, something is getting better.
\
I
put my two carry-on bags on a cart and went out to find the Bentleys. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jodi and
Adela there along with Jodi. I think
Adela was kind of shocked but I think by the time I got out to meet them, she
was glad to see me. So, I finally made a
successfully completion of my latest long distance journey.
I
was able to sleep from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m.
I laid awake for about 30 minutes listening to the rosters, dogs, bugs,
and traffic. Then, things died down
some. I finally decided to get up and
work on my travel log. While I was
working on my travel log, I also copied 12 GB of TV shows and other material to
a smart drive to pass along. I am
finishing this up around 3:30 a.m. so I guess I will try to go back to bed. Today will be another big, exciting day with
the Bentley family. I have not heard
anything from Adela so I am hoping she will take a break from her normal
schedule and sleep through the night. J
Saturday, May 24th
After
I went back to bed around 3:30 a.m., I laid awake for a while. But the next think I remember was waking up
and looking at the clock. I think it
said 7 a.m. so I did get some sleep. I
forgot to mention that after we got back from the airport, Donnie had supper
cooking in the oven. He had some
chicken, potatoes, and tomatoes in one dish.
It was pretty good.
This
morning when I got up, Donnie said that he had gotten texted that my luggage
had arrived at the airport. So, we
decided to go get my luggage ASAP before traffic got bad. We left around 8 a.m. and headed to the
airport. It was interesting in that they
had closed the main highway going to the airport so Donnie had to find another
way to the airport. It did not take me
too long to get my bags. I had a little
communication problem with the security guy who kept asking me my Father’s
name. He finally asked my Mother’s name
and then let me in. (I think he just
gave up.)
When
I got to the luggage desk, the luggage area was still locked up. The guy at the desk said he would call
someone and they would be there in 5 minutes.
While I waited, I noticed a big line of luggage by the luggage
carousal. I thought about looking for my
luggage there but figured they had placed it in the locked area. Before I could check, the guy opened the
luggage room. I looked all around the
room and could not find my bags. Later,
the guy told me to look at the other luggage outside of the locked room and I
found my two duffle bags there. I loaded
them up and we drove back home.
We
spent the next hour or so looking through all the stuff I brought. The big hits with Adela was her new purse
which included a cell phone, coin purse, hanky, and sun glasses. Adela also got a small doll which she really
loves. The big hit was her kitchen
broom. Adela just loved sweeping all the
floors. She made a really excited
squealing noise which was pretty funny.
Adela also got a bunch of books she really liked but I think Jodi was
more excited. Jodi and I unpacked,
sorted, and then hung up all of Adela’s new clothing. Adela was really excited about a couple pair
of sandals she got and a pair of boots she tried walking around in.
Adela
took about a two hour nap before lunch.
We had a quick lunch and then went out for a short walk to a close by
“zoo”. Adela and I went through the zoo
while Donnie and Jodi went to the café there.
We walked home and later had pizza for supper. Jodi, Adela, and I made a quick run to the
store while Donnie was working on the pizza.
After Adela was put to bed, we watched a couple episodes of
Survivor. Also, during the last couple
days, we had some people drop by to pick up the stuff that I brought over for
them. Now, everyone is in bed and I will
head that way after I finish this up. I
was supposed to take a sleeping pill to help me sleep through the night but I
forgot to ask Jodi for it before they went to bed. So, we will see how things go. Tomorrow, we are supposed to go out site
seeing and will probably spend the night out so I am not sure when I will have
access to the internet after we leave tomorrow morning. I may take my computer so we can watch some
more shows so if we do that I can see about updating my travel log. I guess that is about it for tonight. So, I better head off to bed. It is after 10:30 p.m. which is pretty late
for me.
Sunday, May 25th
Today, we skipped church and did a trip to Batroun, a
small town north of here on the coast.
It is a smaller town, kind of out of the way but it had some really
interesting sites. We stayed in a really
great hotel right off of the beach. They
had an indoor and outdoor pool. We spend
most of our time on the beach. Adela
loved that. The weather was beautiful
and so was the scenery. We ended up eating at the hotel restaurant which was a
mistake. I ordered chicken cordon
blue. When it came out, I thought it was
a couple fish cakes. It had a fried
outside and a little chicken and cheese on the inside. We wondered why no one else was eating there
but we just thought it was early. For
lunch on the way, we had McDonalds. On
the way out of Beirut, I think we stopped and had some ice cream.
Monday, May 26th
We were able to stay in the hotel until 1 p.m. so
Adela could take her nap. We did stop by
the pool before we left so Adela could get some last pool time. Jodi was going to go in the water with Adela
but the lifeguard said she would need a bathing cap to go in the water. I checked with the front desk and they wanted
$4 to rent a cap so we passed on that idea.
We asked where a good local place was to eat. We went there but it was pretty hard to
find. It was up the mountain some and
off the beaten path. You had to know
where you were going to find it. We
finally found it and there was a very small sign by the restaurant. We had to park out on the narrow street to
get there. Then, we had to walk through
the neighborhood to get there. We finally
found the place.
We ended up ordering the sea bass, French fries, and
some other stuff. The fries were
great. When the sea bass was served, it
still had the head, tail, and bones. I
guess that is the way they get the weight up since you pay by the
kilogram. That was an interesting
meal. But, I had some of the best French
fries ever. They also had real
catsup. The hotel restaurant we had
eaten in the night before had little catsup packets where the catsup was very
runny and tasted pretty bad. The good
part was that there was not enough catsup in the packets for more than two
French fries.
We had a scenic ride home. We stopped and saw some castle ruins and a
local winery. The winery was closed but
the guy unlocked it for us and gave us a tour.
After we were done, Donnie bought a bottle of wine. We watched a couple episodes of Survivor
after Adela went to bed.
Tuesday, May 27th
Today, we visited Donnie’s English class with the
Syrian kids. Jodi and I actually helped
read a couple books to the kids when we broke up into small groups. The kids were really excited about school and
learning English. Jodi also took a short
video of the class as she is working on a video for Passport for the summer.
We visited some friends of Jodi and Donnie who are
planning on moving to the US for a year.
They have four sons and it sounds like they have decided on St.
Louis. So, Jodi and I were answering
whatever questions they asked.
We visited another friend of Jodi’s who lives at the
center and has two small kids. We also
visited a Muslim lady from Syria who lives a couple blocks away from us. I got to eat some special Syrian food, then
got some fruit and tea and finally some nuts.
For supper, Jodi make pizza. Donnie bought a piece of furniture from a
friend who is trying to relocate to the US.
Donnie brought the base over in his car and I helped him bring it up to
the apartment. They larger, top part is
supposed to be delivered by a truck probably tomorrow.
We watched a couple episodes of Survivor after Adela
went to bed.
Wednesday 28th
Today, Donnie and I ended up going and getting some
vegetables and fruit at the local market.
We also stopped by and got some nuts.
We had tacos for supper. The lady
friend of Jodi’s from Syria that we visited from yesterday, stopped by today to
visit. A bunch of stuff that people
bought was delivered to the center.
Donnie’s furniture top was delivered there. Not sure how that is going to get over
her. We were over at the center so Jodi
could baby sit for a friend who was teaching an Arabic class. We watched a couple episodes of Amazing Race
after Adela went to bed.
Thursday, May 29th
Today, at 9:30 a.m., we are supposed to be going to a
park with the Syrian kid’s class to the park to celebrate their last day of
school. The kids were really excited to
go to Yuppi Park. We took about 13 kids
there. It was kind of expensive but the
kids really enjoyed it. They had a zip
line, trampoline, and all kinds of things to climb on. Jodi and I left about 11:30 to bring Adela
back for her nap. We stopped to get some
ice cream on the way home. Adela got put
down now and so I am catching up on my journal and Jodi is working on some
Bible stuff. I think Donnie is going to
go to a movie and do some grocery shopping on the way home.
Friday, May 30th
In the morning, Jodi had her woman’s Bible study at
11:30 a.m. until about 1 p.m. Jodi baked
chocolate chips cookies for her woman’s group.
They were really good. We got to
eat the ones that Jodi left here for us.
While Jodi was gone, Adela took a nap and Donnie and I just
relaxed. I think Adela had about a three
hour nap. Donnie, Adela, and I were just
about ready to leave when Jodi came home so she was able to join us for the
Silk Museum.
We went to the Silk Museum which was not too far from
here. I learned a lot about silk worms
and how silk was made. The really
interesting thing was that the museum that we went to used to be a factory but
due to the war and economic conditions was converted into a museum. So, silk is no longer made anywhere in
Lebanon. Another interesting thing about
the silk production process is that to get the silk out of the cocoon that they
are boiled in hot water until they soften.
Then, you have to find by hand the beginning of the silk string. From what the lady said, this is still done
by hand today. In most cases, it takes
more than one cocoon to make a one silk string.
Sometimes, 7-10 cocoons are needed to make one string. The cocoons that are not used to make the
silk string are used to start the reproduction cycle all over again.
Speaking of the reproductive cycle, that is very
interesting too. After mating, the male
silk worm dies after about two days. The
female silk worm is born blind (which helps the mating process) and her whole
responsibility seems to be the laying of her eggs. After mating, the female lives for around 10
days. We got to see an old man running a
silk lave. We also got to see some of
the many different male and female silk fashion outfits. Adela got a free chocolate treat from the
lady in the store. Adela seems to get a
lot of free stuff where ever we go.
Friday night, the Bentleys hosted an English worship
service. It was supposed to start at
6:30 p.m. and I think most people made it by around 7 p.m. I counted 23 three at the beginning. A little while later about another 10 people
showed up. We had a good mix of men,
women, kids, and babies. We had a time
of singing songs and then a friend gave his testimony. In the middle of our singing, we were told
that the street out front was closed off.
A few minutes later, we saw a large procession of people stopped out in
front of the apartment singing. They had
a small statue of Mary and seemed to be celebrating some holy day.
After Jimmy’s testimony, we had refreshments. The Bentleys provided nuts, watermelon,
popcorn, juices, and water. Someone also
brought brownies which were a big hit. I
think most people left by around 8:30 or so.
We cleaned up and then we watched an episode of the Amazing Race. Donnie went to bed but Jodi and I watched the
final “Amazing Race” show otherwise Jodi would not have been able to sleep. So, we were able to finish up both the
Survivor and Amazing Race shows.
Saturday, May 31th
Today, maybe a long day. I went to bed last night at around 10:15
p.m. I could not get to sleep and then
around 11:50 p.m., I heard a large explosion and a burst of light. Someone had set off a huge fireworks
display. It was like something you would
hear after a home run at a baseball game.
I thought it would wake Adela for sure.
But, I guess, she did not hear it.
My windows were open while Adela’s were closed and her wooden blinds
were down so I am sure that helped. When
I asked Jodi about it in the morning, she said she had not heard anything
either. I think I finally went to sleep
about 1:30 a.m. or so. I woke up at 4:30
a.m. and then laid in bed. At 6:00 a.m.,
I closed one of the blinds because the sun was starting to shine in. I also closed the window. At about 6:30 a.m., I closed the other set of
windows and blinds. I laid in bed a
little while longer and then decided to get up.
Donnie made pancakes for breakfast so we are ready for the day. Then, Donnie went out and got an internet card
with Adela. Also, this morning, I copied
some Arabic BSF files that Jodi had gotten from a lady she knows. She wanted me to give them to Linda for her
new friends.
We are not sure yet what we will be doing today. We could go visit some friends that live an
hour or two away or we might just stay home and relax. Donnie is going to help a friend move some
off his stuff out of his apartment. They
need to be out today. Jodi, Adela, and I
are going to relax at home.
