This morning started off in a bit of a frenzy as Harry’s plans to secure a bill for services at Cargolux and to get our tickets went a bit astray, however all was solved and we ended up with about an hour at the hotel before leaving for the airport to return the Astra-Not and check-in for the flight.
First stop was truly a sad one, turning in the Astra-Not. The guy at the rental counter, Alaine, remembered me from just over a month ago. They don’t get many people renting a car to go to Spain. He checked the car over and got the mileage reading. Rookie Dan’s handiwork on the antenna passed the inspection and I am happy to report no dings, other than a scrape on the right rear door handle that was easily fixed with the aid of a black Sharpie marker. All told, the Astra-Not took me 5918 km (3195 miles) in just over a month. Being someone who will always fly over drive when the opportunity presents itself, this was a milestone.
However, I wouldn’t trade it for Harry’s crossing Europe as detailed in an earlier blog and which will certainly go down in history at the Aero Club in Luxembourg. I did not detail Harry’s return trip, however let’s just say that once he got to France with the aid of Mark Jeffries, one of the UK pilots, numerous air space and regs were probably broken getting to LUX. It’s a good thing Harry and the Edge known as “the Flag” departed Europe when they did.
After checking in with Luxair, we went upstairs and rushed through lunch, as we were told we’d be boarding at 13:30. We went through security where Harry had to give up his water and Listerine (but was allowed to keep his favorite Snap-On ratchet screwdriver) and all my toiletries were put in a plastic bag and then given right back to me. Despite the cargo flight, here we were treated like commercial passengers here. We tried to find Gate 7, but it was beyond the Passport control and there was no one manning the booth, so Harry inquired at the Luxair help desk. They didn’t know much, but tried to contact someone at Cargolux for information. We were told to wait. While Harry paced, Bruce and I checked out the last possibilities to spend our remaining Euros.
About an hour later, we went through Passport control and found ourselves in an empty terminal, with the exception of three Luxair representatives. Harry made the 536th inquiry about our flight and was told we’d be picked up in 20 minutes, as the crew was not at the airport yet. Thirty minutes later, inquiry 537 revealed no new information but was the likely cause of all the Luxair representatives to take a long break or move to a different terminal to avoid Harry. Harry, Bruce and I found ourselves alone in this part of the terminal. Finally, just before Harry was about to lose all hope, we were picked up by a Cargoloux van and taken to the aircraft. Unlike last time, this crew was scrambling to go (they were late), so there was little discussion between us when we boarded. We lifted off 2 hours behind schedule.
Despite the careful efforts of Harry and Jason to load the palates so the wings of each plane would overlap, we found the planes were separated from each other, but the load master had arranged other cargo around the wings, so all was well in the hold. The crew was great as usual and turns out the Hein, the Norwegian co-pilot, graduated from Embry-Riddle and he and Bruce had professors in common. Bruce will be taking back a few notes to those professors for Hein.
As we neared Chicago, Hein told us to expect about a 30-minute delay due to weather. We landed about 6:30 pm local time and were picked up by a shuttle van and driven to the terminal to go through Customs. On the drive over to customs (which was actually a nifty behind-the-scenes drive across O’Hare airport), I tried to reserve rooms for the night with no luck. Everything was booked. Something was definitely up in Chicago.
Once through Customs, I went straight to the airport reservation board and finally found two rooms. We waited over an hour for the shuttle van, which tried what little patience I had left. Jason too was delayed, as his flight had to divert to Detriot from Frankfurt for fuel, then fly to O’Hare. He and Bruce took off to pick up Jason’s rental car. When Harry and I got to the hotel, we found it packed with people trying to get a room. Fortunately, Harry and I had a reservation. Turns out the weather we encountered coming into ORD had grounded hundreds of people, the majority of whom did not wish to spend the night at the airport.
Tomorrow will be the journey home for me and picking up the airplane for Harry. And so the adventure ends…
Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible, to those people I met along the way who added something special to the trip (most of whom you met here), and especially to my fellow team members. It was a pleasure to fly and to spend a few weeks in a foreign country in the company of you all. We certainly learned a lot about each other and a little about ourselves. The memories will last for a lifetime.—Vicki
