March 24, 2020



The Long Road Home – Part 4



After walking all over Terminal C at DFW, I decided to have Chick-fil-a for lunch.  I ate over by the charging station so I had a flat place to put my food and could charge my iPad at the same time - all of the seating in the restaurants was closed.  A TSA agent was sitting across from me and she started a conversation about the virus and how parents will now have a much better idea about how their children really behave.



There were machines where you could make changes to your reservations so I traded my mid-row seat for an aisle. 



Boarding was supposed to begin at 5:55 but just a couple of minutes before that an announcement was made that there was no First Officer.  A few minutes later they announced they were looking for a replacement First Officer and hopefully would know something within 30 minutes.  At about 6:30 the announcement came that there was a First Officer and boarding would start soon.



Boarding did not take long since there were less than 40 people on the flight (plane holds 170).  When I got to check-in my seat had been changed from 29C to 19C (no idea why).  Most everyone had a row to themselves except in First Class where all (16) seats were full.



We had a drink and snacks soon after we took off and after that I slept for about an hour and a half.  I woke up when we started our descent.  We came in only about 15 minutes late.  We were virtually the only people in the airport besides those meeting people from the flight.



My daughter and granddaughter met me and my two bags came out quickly (not much luggage with only 40 people).  I was home by 11:15 pm.  I watched TV for a bit and went to bed about 1:15 am and slept for 13 hours. 



I called my favorite restaurant and ordered take-out for dinner so I have still not had to cook.  My daughter bought me bread and peanut butter and jelly, so that may be dinner tomorrow.



I have emptied the suitcase and duffel I brought home with me and washed, dried, and put the clothes back into the cruise closet for next time.



My next cruise is supposed to be 31 days in Europe starting in late August.  I am fairly certain that this cruise is unlikely but it has not been officially cancelled yet and final payment is not until sometime in May, so we will see.



I thoroughly enjoyed my 2/3 of a world cruise (even with the two interminable days of flying and killing time in airports) and am already planning for the 2022 Grand World Voyage.



Thanks for following along.

Some pictures from the way home

Perth airport

 interesting ATM that dispenses four different currencies

delicious pizza and local beer for dinner 

Sydney Airport

 Down under M&Ms

 this McDonald's has the food prep on the upper floor - watch the video below

An empty DFW

Smooth sailing until next time!