I did not experience as big a delay on the trip home as I had on the way to Sweden. The first leg from Stockholm to Amsterdam was fine. From Amsterdam to Detroit was OK, but I do not think that there was an empty seat on the big 747. The flight was booked for KLM/Northwest, and the east bound 747 had a big KLM painted on the side. Going west, however, the plane was labeled Northwest, and the service was not as good as KLM.

Whoever said getting there is half the fun hasn’t been flying lately. On arrival in Detroit there was not much time between planes. I cleared customs (easier than JFK the year before), took a shuttle bus to the main terminal, and hurried to the gate noted on my ticket. But, it was quiet there, too quiet. After finally finding someone to ask, I discovered that they had changed gates. It was no longer C8, but B22. I ran as fast as I could to the new gate only to discover that the plane would be delayed a couple of hours. The regular plane had brake problems and they were waiting for another plane to arrive. The replacement plane was smaller than the original (which was already over-booked). After they managed to talk a few volunteers into taking a later flight (the next day), we made the short flight to Columbus. There I saw the smiling face of Diana, and was very happy to find her patiently waiting. Vacations are fun, but there is no place like home.

However, as I look back on all of the good times I had, the beautiful places I saw, and mostly the wonderful people who helped me have a great trip, I have to say that it was all worth the travel trouble. And, it probably wouldn’t take too much encouragement for me to do it all again.