We woke bright and early today to get to the airport. We added extra time because of the issue with my boarding pass. Turned out getting the pass printed was as quick as can be, simply done at a kiosk. Then we went to the lounge to hang out for a rather lengthy amount of time, but it was quiet most of the time (eventually more people showed up, including some guys talking loudly about basketball. I haven’t a clue what they were saying, really, but I think one might have been someone who manages players or something and he was telling the other guy — not someone he was traveling with — about players. Exciting news, I know. That’s why I’m sharing it with you!).

We headed to security (I actually like it better when the lounge is after the security area because then I don’t worry about that line, but oh well). When I got through the machine that makes sure I’m not a dangerous person I was pulled aside and a guy checked the front and back of my hands, dragging some sort of thing across them. Then he put that in a machine. Thankfully I was considered okay, so we moved on.

After sitting for a short bit, it was time to board. A security person checked boarding passes and looked at mine and said I had to have my bags checked. Eek! I did NOT want to check my luggage. But what she meant was I had to walk over to a different location and have my bags checked for security reasons. Ah-hah! THAT was why my ticket was the way it was: it was a random security check. They made me open my bags up, pull out my computer, and then shoes came off. A woman ran the same thing the earlier person did over my shoes, my socks, my hands … and by this time I was just so tired of it all. They looked a bit at my luggage and then said I was fine. I had to pack everything up and race back to the line, which had moved quite a bit. Dan had already gotten through, but waited for me to be sure all was well. Then into the plane we went.

I tried to tell myself it was San Jose time already (thanks for the suggestion, Jan!), but I sure wish airlines would do the same and serve meals on the new time rather than the old. The breakfast they served sometime around 9:00 AM Paris time was huge! After eating I went to sleep. I actually did okay sleeping, and did so several times. More food was served later. I think they have decided to fatten us all up.

My diet begins tomorrow.

We landed a bit ahead of schedule, and went through customs via Global Entry. Getting that was so worth it — we sped through customs, met Carolyn (thanks!) outside, and came home.

So here we are. A bit discombobulated, but alive and kicking. I’ve done laundry, played English horn, put away clothes … and attempted to keep my eyes open.

I plan on writing a bit about where we went in one post for those interested. But that may take a while: first I have to get a few things done. (I would have at least posted a photo or two from today, but they are taking a long time to download since I’m doing the full trip on my computer … I’ll post them tomorrow, I hope.)

Ciao for now!