Home Sweet Home

I write this in the Newark airport with our last flight in front of us.   The day started awfully early with a 1:00 a.m. wakeup call to get us to the airport for our 6:35 a.m. flight.   Why so early?   There are 3 major airports in Moscow and ours was the furthest.   Traffic was incredible for this time of night, and it turns out that big semi-type trucks are only allowed out on the roads from midnight to 8 a.m., so guess what was clogging the roads?

We got to the airport about 3:40 a.m. and Swiss Air didn't open until 4:30 a.m., which was good as it took us a half hour to find where Swiss Air was (and only did find with Cheryl asking someone at British Airways).   After getting checked in by 5:30 a.m., and a couple missteps finding the gate, we made it on the plane for our trip to Geneva . .  . about a 3 hour flight.  And, once there, we had less problems getting on our United flight to Newark and that's where we are at this moment.

A couple thoughts on the trip will be the last post . . . Russia is a magnificent country.  It's hard to believe the turmoil they've lived through with the Revolution and World War II (not to mention the centuries of strife before that!).   And, only 20 years or so into the conversion to capitalism there are some shining bright spots and some problems to work on (e.g., traffic).

The people were lovely . .   friendly, charming, trying so hard to speak English to us, and admiring us as Americans.  They make political jokes (a positive sign) and yearn for the same things we do . . . a good life, love, and success.   I believe they're well on their way to everything they want and will be eagerly watching their continued transition.

To be there with Cheryl made it extra special.  I'm certainly blessed to have her as my partner and to be able to take vacations like this.   Next spring is spoken for . . . . Jenny's wedding in England, a stop in Liverpool for the Beatles immersion, and a few days in Ireland.   After that . .  . ?   Thanks for following us over the past couple weeks.