30 November 2024: Good-bye, Neiuw Statendam, hello, American Airlines, so happy to be with you again, Dear Family, and so grateful to be back home! This has been an epic trip, a LOOOOONNNGGG trip for us, but a personally necessary one, and one filled with miraculous discovery, phenomenal new friends, and unreal exploration of my home country—and the ports we visited in beautiful Spain! And now, this adventure has come to an end. Disembarkation at Fort Lauderdale on Thanksgiving week-end was…interesting and unusually long. There were not enough customs/immigration personnel on site, I hear. Arrival at the airport was also interesting, and most unfortunate for one older couple who had been onboard our ship. They attempted to haul heavy luggage up an escalator when he lost his balance, lost his grip on the luggage and his footing on the step, and plunged backwards on the running escalator, smacking his head on the steps. We all summoned help, it arrived quickly, he appeared to have been well enough to be seated on a wheelchair, and the ambulance arrived to care for him within a very short while. I pray that he and his wife are OK—what a way to end a beautiful cruise and begin the trek home and for the holidays! Arrival at O’Hare in Chicago was glorious! The Christmas decorations in the airport terminal were beautiful. But the best part of it all? The BEST part? The BEST PART? THE BEST PART? Our two daughters, Alison and Erika, picked us up at the airport, and two of our grandsons, Noah and Logan were there to greet us, too. We did not drive directly to our house, however. Rather, we honored return-to-home family tradition by gathering at the Glendale Heights Portillo’s Restaurant where ALL of our children and grandchildren (except one family) were present to share this welcome home meal together! (One son, daughter-in-law, and our two grandchildren could not be there, BUT they made a special visit to our house the very next day—which we appreciated more than they can know). Finally, our house had been decorated for Christmas! Our Christmas tree was up and decorated! Everything was clean and welcoming! Our heat was turned on, so was our internet,…all was PERFECT! How glorious this return to family and home! How changed I am—in a GOOD way—by this unimaginable journey that we were able to enjoy! Thoroughly and eternally…GRATEFUL! (This is the FINAL entry of Our Travels Blog. If you would like to see more photos from our journey, please feel free to browse through the SmugMug site. Enjoy)! (We are still adding photos to SmugMug, so please keep checking once in awhile).
Our Travels 