Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Leaving Germany

All good trips must come to an end and so did this one on the 22nd of March. I was missing my family and friends at home and so on the 2nd day of Spring, I arose to put my suitcases in my car and found that there was a bit of snow around.


After scraping off the windows and loading the car (both trunk and back seat), I began my journey to the airport.

Looking at the on-board GPS, it appeared that Autobahn A63 was a clear straight shot. Hmm, it looked a little different out the windows, but I cautiously increased my speed to a prudent level: eager to get home and all.


Somehow, I missed several exits to the airport in Frankfurt mainly because I was worried about finding a gas station on the right side of the road that gave Green Stamps and took credit cards. After a quick U-turn (translation: less than 25 miles out of the way), I made my way back to the correct exits, got gas and turned in my car to the rental agency who acted somewhat surprised that the car was in perfect condition.

It was a good thing that I arrived early. There are many lines to stand in at the airport and I think there is an international conspiracy to develop more lines. I had to stand in a line to pay for an extra bag after standing in a line to check the bag in. When I got to the front, they said I had to go back to the other line to get the bags weighed first, then come back to the line again to pay. Now why wasn't the guy in the first line knowledgeable about that? Anyway, there was no way that the lines were going to dampen my spirits when I was on my way home. I flew home in a 747 which remained quite clean for the long flight across the Atlantic. I landed at Dulles International almost an hour early. The person responsible for picking me up actually heeded my advice and arrived 45 minutes after my scheduled arrival so that he would not have to wait for my to clear Customs and Immigration. There is an urgent need for baggage watchers for people traveling alone when they have much too much luggage and there is an urge to use the facilities after being on the plane that long. I was 2 minutes away from declaring an emergency when my ride arrived and thus, the headlines in the next day's paper were again some mundane thing about elections, or some other silly thing.

It seems that the last leg on the local Beltway seemed to be longer than anything thus far on the day's journey. After a long time I finally got home to kiss my bride:


It sure is good to be home...


6 comments:

Great Grumpy Z. said...

After viewing your latest post, the Grand Mother opined, that you may not be long for this world. Now, after looking at the post myself, Grumpy is inclined to wonder whether the Grand Mother meant because of the indicated airspeed to the right of the Tach, or whether it is for posting that picture of "the Bride".

To further obfuscate things, the Grand Mother muttered something about you adopting too many characteristics from Grumpy. I don't have the slightest idea what she was talking about; I never had my speedometer indicating 180km/h.

Pawpaw said...

I always wondered how far I would need to go before I too lost my Lemon Pies forever.
My question has been answered.
In the near future, I believe an optional ending will be in order.

Great Grumpy Z. said...

You mean, your Bride has imposed corporal punishment -- for that "minor" infraction??

Whoa!! That means that she probably wouldn't make one for me either! I don't think your Bride is as forgetful as the Grand Mother -- said Grand Mother would, as you know, bake you a Lemon Meringue Pie, but not allow me a taste. But then she forgets and voila!

Anonymous said...

As to any Lemon Pies being made in this house: I do not think I remember the recipe anymore. Oh wait, I will just use the one off that new web site. hehehe

Great Grumpy Z. said...

Hmm-m-mmm!! Er, Bride, I, er, that is, I'm not hungry right now.

Oh, yeah, I just ate a big supper.

Talk to you later. Goodbye!

z1337 said...

Never to 180? The great grumpy I remember once told a grandson of his "I dont need the state to tell me traffic rules, i know when to pass someone and when not to" or something of that nature. Said grandson tried to use that excuse as he was getting a speeding ticket once, but the enforcement officer just didnt seem amused.