Sunday, October 7, 2012

FLY DAY II: Amsterdam to Detroit, USA........






     Sept. 6, 2012:                     "FLY DAY II.  Amsterdam to Detroit, USA!"


     After the L O  N G KLM flight from Entebbe to Amsterdam,....I was tired,..but only 1/2 way home!  Had to keep on truckin'!.....Boarded an Airbus A-330, one of favorite long-haul planes, for the trip to Detroit.  It started to feel a little like home,..-since this plane actually was a Delta plane.  KLM & Delta are code share partners.  Flight was FULL, & my seatmate was an African lady,...I think she was Islamic & from Somalia.  The flight dragged on & on for about 9 hours.

     My International Phone battery was down again,..so I charged it a little in Amsterdam terminal,..using my battery operated Chinese cell phone charger 'thingy',... & I.hoped to continue on the plane,..but once I got settled, I couldn't find my the charger thing. BUMMER!   And, neither KLM nor Delta offered electrical outlets on these 2 flights,....altho' many International flights I've been on do offer electrical outlets. 

     Breakfast was served onboard,..for the second time that day:  fruit, french toast, cheese, crackers, yogurt & coffee.  Listened to onboard music, -Alan Jackson's 34 #1 Hits!......tried to sleep, but didn't do much good at that.  I maybe got an hour here & there,....Delta served an afternoon snack of orange juice, water, pretzels, & peanuts.  Yep,..we must be back with an American airline,.....the flight felt like it would NEVER end.  Filled out US Customs forms for re-entry @ Detroit.

     About 10 minutes out from Detroit's airport,-on final approach,- we hit HEAVY TURBULENCE,...in fact, one of the flight attendants fell down in the aisle!    Finally, we made a smooth landing with no problems PTL.

     I walked 'a million miles' to Customs in the bottom of the airport.  Following that walk,..was another
L O N G walk to US Immigration.  The Customs/Immigration folks questioned me more than they usually do for returning US residents,-due to the fact that I had been gone a month, & didn't have anything but a packpack,-no checked luggage.  Finally, they believed me,.. that I had been on two Mission trips, & had given away most of my things to the Africans I'd gone to help,.....Somewhere along the Immigration/Customs line I met a young woman who had been in Africa on business for the US consul.  Shared a few experiences,.....

     Headed thru Detroit's nice new terminal to await my flight to Dallas/Ft.Worth Int'l,....and HOME!!

     Stay tuned,..there's still more fun ahead,.....!!!
Rogers/Banuamazi