I'm Back!

Winter in PA isn't as pretty as January in Indonesia.

Well, I made it back to the United States.  Apparently, it was "iffy" for awhile as to whether or not JFK would be open because of a pending snowstorm but the snow stayed mostly east of the city and north so we had no problem landing.  I'm really glad that I didn't know about this storm until I got back because otherwise I would have been really worrying.  The Commander and my friends were spending a lot of cranial energy trying to figure out where my flight might end up being diverted to if JFK was shut down.  Thank goodness this didn't happen.  Some of the possibilities were apparently Chicago and Toronto.  That would really have been a drive to get home after a long flight.

My time sitting around in the Hong Kong airport went quickly because I had free WiFi.  Yay!  I could surf the Web, write my blog, and watch people going in and out of the fancy shops in the concourse and that really made the time go quickly.  In fact, by the time I wandered down to my gate, my section was already boarding. 

The flight was long but non-stop.  I had thought it was going to fly over Siberia, Russia, the North Pole, and Europe.  Instead it flew in the opposite direction, flying over Japan, then across the Pacific Ocean, just skirting Alaska and then following the Canadian/American border until about Michigan where it cut down across the state and over into New York state and finally to JFK. 

We got two dinners on the flight and then it was lights out and most folks tried to sleep.  I didn't have much luck since I had another aisle seat so I think I might have gotten about 1 hour of sleep total from Jakarta to JFK.  I'm feeling it now.  I spent most of my time watching movies and TV shows.  I saw quite a few episodes of the "Big Bang Theory" and each one was good for another 20 minutes or so used up out of my total flight time.

When we arrived at JFK, we had no delay but came right in on time and then taxied right up to the gate.  As we walked into the airport itself, I kept hearing an announcement on the loudspeakers about being sure to pick up your luggage on carrel #1 or it would be staying at JFK.  I wondered why they weren't identifying which flight this was referring to.  Well, when we got to the Baggage Claim area, I was astonished to see that we were the only folks waiting to claim luggage.  The airport was practically deserted. 

True to form, getting my bags off the carrel didn't go smoothly.  The first big suitcase of mine was stuck up higher behind another suitcase so it wasn't right against the rail.  I grabbed it and tried to wrestle it off the moving track and finally got it, only to trip over the luggage cart that I was using.  I fell down plop right onto the cart.  A nice Asian man grabbed my one arm and a lady on my other side grabbed my other arm to help me up.  Then as I got to my feet, I dropped my purse.  As I bent to grab it, the lady also bent down to get it for me and we ended up banging our heads together.  Oh, my!  Talk about embarrassing.  The gentleman said to me, "Now when your next bag comes you, you be sure to point it out to me and I will get it for you."

That was really sweet of him.  Unfortunately his bags came out before my second bag showed up so he left the area and I was still on my own to try to get the bag.  I saw it coming around the bend this time and decided that I would get a running start.  I met it several cart-lengths away from me and gave it a mighty tug, dragging it over other suitcases which were in the way until I was able to slam it down next to my cart with a flourish.  Hopefully my display of brute force redeemed me somewhat in the eyes of my fellow travelers after my earlier klutziness.

Winter driving makes for very dirty cars.

 Another trip through the Customs area and then I was walking down the hall where I saw the Commander waiting for me.  Bless his heart, he had a bag filled with warm scarves and mittens for me to choose from, knowing that I hadn't taken any with me when I had left.  It didn't take us long to get the car loaded with my bags and to head for home.  I found out from the Commander that JFK had announced early in the morning that they were canceling all the domestic flights as they awaited the predicted snowstorm.  That's why there were so few people at the airport.  There were also lots of shut-downs and cancellations around Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York which made it an easy drive for George.  There was very little traffic out on the roads.  The great thing was that the snow never really hit as predicted.  There was just a few inches that fell but the bulk of the storm ended up hitting the New England States.

Home, Sweet Home!

We arrived back by 5 p.m. and I had the Commander go into the house first so that he could put the dog out into the backyard before I went in.  I knew that Fresca would be very happy to see me and I didn't want her to forget herself in the house.

Mommy's Home!

She sure was happy to see me.  I don't think she knew what to do first, give me a kiss, smell my bags and clothes, or just snuggle up against me.

Ah, pepperoni pizza!

I couldn't resist calling in an order for pepperoni pizza for supper.  I've been craving pepperoni and Italian sausage pizza ever since I got to Indonesia.  However, I found that I could only eat one slice before I got really full.  Guess I'm just not used to eating as much any more.

After supper, I went to take some pills and told my husband, "Oh, you can't imagine how nice it is to be able to just pour a glass of water straight from the tap and be able to drink it."

Won't be long now before I head up to bed and my own comfy mattress.  Oh, boy!  And I won't have to keep one eye open, looking for a darn lizard nor will I have to rub "Deep Woods Off" all over me before I fall into bed.  Thank you, Lord.