Day 36 - The Long Way Home

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One of the drawbacks to traveling to far away places is that it takes just as long to get back as it did to get there. From Augsta, Shawn, and Kai's villa to my home in Columbia, MO, it took about 30 hours. The trek home went from Bahrain to London to Chicago to St. Louis (after a brief landing in Des Moines to drop off and pick up some passengers). I had about a four hour layover in both London and Chicago... and when I'm not on a business trip where I can expense my meals, I really don't like it. The food at airports is generally low quality and very overpriced (that is my experience having travelled through over 20 airports in the past two years, as well as having eaten at probably well over a hundred restaurants in the same timeframe. I felt trapped one of the worst of tourist/businessman traps.

In London, for instance, I wandered around the terminal about five times to entertain myself... and most of everything costing more than I could easily buy for outside of it... including the tax (duty) free stuff. Not only that, it is mostly vanity related products... overpriced clothing, perfume, jewelry, etc. And of course, a large variety of cigarettes and alcohol. Nothing new, I guess, but it really grates on long layovers. And NO Internet cafe! There were some telephone/Internet terminals, but they aren't very cheap or convenient. And wi-fi (which I can get on my PDA), is usually kind of expensive, too. One of the few airports I've been to offering free wi-fi is the Springfield, MO airport (hopefully, they haven't yet sold out to T-mobile or one of their competitors).

One of my most favorite things about the airports, though, are the moving sidewalks. In one terminal, I started off on a very long one going maybe 300 meters... it was great 😊... until I realized that I had to double back through an exit hallway and go back through security. The security guy saw the date stamp on my ticket and noted I had been through before... I gave a sheepish smile... then I got a pat down by security. But, I got to strech my legs from walking around so much (I like to walk fast on the moving sidewalks... it just fun to do).

Chicago O'Hare was as it usually is... busy and big. Flying into it I first saw a few tall buildings north of Chicago along the coast and for some odd reason thought it was the Chicago skyline (I've seen it well a few times before) and thought "Um, that isn't nearly as impressive as I remember it." and "For a city known for its architecture..." But then the real Chicago skyline came into view with the huge Sears Tower jutting up out of it... and the awe came back. I think if I had to pick which mega-city to live in (e.g. NYC, Hong Kong, San Fran, Philly, etc.) to live in, it would be there. The one week I've been there, in just seemed normal, where most big cities seem too high-strung or out of sorts. Though, London was nice.

It was great to be back in the U.S. The first thing I did after clearing customs was go outside and sit on a hill of green grass and soak up some sun in the beautiful spring weather. Oh, it felt great. The U.S. has many faults, but I think it is still far and away the best country to live in (though, I've heard good things about New Zealand). We are free. Yeah, there is so much crap. But there is so much freedom to live life the best it can be lived. And we have, by my count, three mountain ranges, a few deserts, tundra, tropical islands, about every type of beach, great rivers, huge lakes... the list goes on and on... it is a beautiful country.

Along the way home, I also got mini-addicted to a game on my PDA called Bubble Breaker. Kind of like a reverse Tetris. I also spent a lot of time reading the most recent issue of "Photography" and learned a little bit more about, um, photography.

Coming into STL, I had a wonderful view... a view I've seen many a time before... of the St. Louis Arch. It is always a relief to see and lets me know I'm very close to home. Plus, I like St. Louis (especially the St. Louis Zoo, Forest Park, the Rams, and the Cardinals). My mom and dad met me right outside of Security. It was great to see them and be back home. And it was kind of surreal getting back home after not only been gone for five weeks, but having traveled so extensively in a short time... visiting East and West Europe as well as Bahrain.

Since being home, I've settled back into regular life... gardening, reading, spending time with family and friends, and hitting the gym. But, when it is all said and done, I still have a bug to travel as much as I had the bug to come home. Who knows where I'll go next or when I'll do it but God? For now, though, I'm delighted to be resting back at home and going forward, as usual, in life. 😉

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