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Published: May 8th 2009
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Springtime in TennesseeSpringtime in TennesseeSpringtime in Tennessee

It takes a lot of flowers to fill eight Jack Daniel barrels!
30 April. Well, the H1N1 alert is up to level five, so we’re in the room this morning, checking on airline tickets and possible refunds if we decide to head home. We both feel a bit like weenies, but we know ourselves well enough to realize that we’re not “que sera, sera” people. Being prepared and flexible are more important to us than sticking to our trip plan. We’ve seen so much already, and although Intrepid is posting warnings, they’re not yet cancelling trips. We’re both thinking about being in a mini-bus for two weeks with people from all over the world - and traveling through the rural areas of a developing country.

Tom’s checking ticket prices and they’re already moving up. Bless his heart, he’s decided that it will be “healthier” (yay!) if we go business class rather than coach. We need to let Intrepid know we’re canceling out of the last two trips.

2 May. It’s mom’s birthday, and we got up at 3:00 AM to catch our planes to Rome, then Newark, then Atlanta. The first leg (on Alitalia) was not impressive. The plane was dirty and the “first class” section was the first couple of rows of coach with big armrests that turned a three-seat configuration into two seats - with a Barbie doll size seat in the middle. Breakfast was in the tradition of our trip - we were served bread, bread, and bread. Rome was a zoo, with many long lines as everyone (1) got off the plane via the jetway, just to (2) get on a bus, (3) go up an escalator to another line through security, and then (4) get in another line to get on the train to another concourse - 45 minutes of lines, just to change planes. Luckily, we had two hours.

Continental has combined its first and business classes and we had comfy seats, plenty of space, our own TVs, gifts, and continuous food. They brought us drinks and nuts, then rolls, then a pasta course, then a main course, then a fruit and cheese course, and then dessert. Then just in case we were hungry after sitting for ten hours, they brought cheeseburgers! I was actually glad I chose the veggie option.

Now for the bad news: Newark. It took us three solid hours to get through immigration, customs, and security. One hour was spent just standing by the baggage carousel and another 45 minutes standing in the security line, and another line just to re-check our luggage into a corral of frantic baggage handlers who were trying to manually sort bags coming from and going to hundreds of places. Luckily, we had about 3.5 hours to get to our next flight, so we were OK.

Atlanta was less chaotic than usual, mostly because we’d already gone through customs in New Jersey. Our bags made it! We stayed overnight at the Marriott and rented a car to get us home to our log cabin on Bullet Mountain.

So - do we regret changing our plans? Nope. We found some business needing attention and a water leak -- both would have been huge problems after another six weeks. We also realized that stringing seven Intrepid trips together is just too much for us - the trips are rightfully planned to give the maximum benefit to a person who only has a few weeks off from work to see the world, so you go, go, go the entire time. We are 60 and after three months, we needed a break! Another consideration: we moved into this house on 26 December and left for the airport on 27 January. I’m still looking for things I unpacked and put away before we left.

What’s next? Learning to fly fish in the nearby Tellico River, getting back to the bicycles and the whitewater paddling, a little bit of gardening, and lots of time watching the hummingbirds, turkeys, deer, squirrels, songbirds and getting to know our neighbors - all four of them. We hope to head back to Alaska next spring and MAYBE to Asia again the following year. Who knows what the future will bring?


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