Sooooo......I have some time to sit and email....I will try and back track and post some stories from our journey so far....some of the inserts will be from e-mails sent home and others are from my journal....get ready to read! I apologize for the delay in our updates....gia
We left Reno....about 30 min late due to stormy weather in Chicago. And when it was time to land they had us do circles in the sky because there was too much traffic to land. It was a bit bumpy but worth it. It was so beautiful because of the storms....the clouds were AMAZING...the sun was popping through and we even saw a rainbow. We would have missed our connecting flight but it was delayed by 40 min due to weather. Whew....close call....
Once we landed we boarded the next plain right away then waited another 45min or so for other passengers that were coming in late from their connecting flights. It was definitely nice to have a huge cushion of time here so we didn't worry much about the delays.
Our flight to London was perfect....smooth and roomy enough..sometimes its nice to have short legs..hee..hee. We talked for awhile then we both passed out. I'm exhausted. All the months of running around planning and wondering and dreaming about this trip have caught up with me. I could have easily slept for 6 more hours.....but we landed.
Once we arrived at Heathrow airport we were told to walk down this crazy maze to the customs counter. We got there finally and the woman working told us to fill out the slips to claim our bags and recheck them....when we were told early not to. So went back to fill out the forms walked up to the counter and spoke to a gentleman this time. He said, "Why did you fill this out? You don't need to go through customs...so go back to where you came from, catch the bus to the other terminal and through security. But before you do...make sure you take your purse and put everything into one bag...it doesn't matter how big it is...just make sure it's all in one." So we're a bit surprised but we listen, leave the line, catch the bus and re-pack our backpacks.
Just so you know we each brought a check on bag that has items we could live without if they don't arrive in Zambia...but our carry on is EVERYTHING we want to have with us..cameras, clothes, food, mosquito net, shoes, art supplies for the kids etc...so they are packed full already. Somehow we shove, push and stomp all of our other items into the bags so we can continue through the security line.
Just as we're through another worker comes up and says to us, "Your bags are way too big!They're not going to let you through." Feeling a bit frustrated we are trying to figure out what to do. ....when ANOTHER worker walks up and says, "Do you have another little bag, like a purse? You should take some items out of your backpacks and put your stuff back in your purse then you'll be fine, it's the size of the bag that matters not how many!" AHHHH!! We were about to die so we re-packed one more time then got in the security line. We waited for about 2 hours total to get finally get through....WHEW we made it!
So here we are...hanging out...too tired to walk around with our heavy packs and too goofy to take a nap. We're waiting to sleep on the plane so we can try to be on the right time later. I need Joes coffee chai tea right about now! HA! We're both really excited to keep going...and it feels so strange to be here in London at the same time. I can't believe we're off to Africa next...I think it's going to be a HUGE culture shock.
We left Reno....about 30 min late due to stormy weather in Chicago. And when it was time to land they had us do circles in the sky because there was too much traffic to land. It was a bit bumpy but worth it. It was so beautiful because of the storms....the clouds were AMAZING...the sun was popping through and we even saw a rainbow. We would have missed our connecting flight but it was delayed by 40 min due to weather. Whew....close call....
Once we landed we boarded the next plain right away then waited another 45min or so for other passengers that were coming in late from their connecting flights. It was definitely nice to have a huge cushion of time here so we didn't worry much about the delays.
Our flight to London was perfect....smooth and roomy enough..sometimes its nice to have short legs..hee..hee. We talked for awhile then we both passed out. I'm exhausted. All the months of running around planning and wondering and dreaming about this trip have caught up with me. I could have easily slept for 6 more hours.....but we landed.
Once we arrived at Heathrow airport we were told to walk down this crazy maze to the customs counter. We got there finally and the woman working told us to fill out the slips to claim our bags and recheck them....when we were told early not to. So went back to fill out the forms walked up to the counter and spoke to a gentleman this time. He said, "Why did you fill this out? You don't need to go through customs...so go back to where you came from, catch the bus to the other terminal and through security. But before you do...make sure you take your purse and put everything into one bag...it doesn't matter how big it is...just make sure it's all in one." So we're a bit surprised but we listen, leave the line, catch the bus and re-pack our backpacks.
Just so you know we each brought a check on bag that has items we could live without if they don't arrive in Zambia...but our carry on is EVERYTHING we want to have with us..cameras, clothes, food, mosquito net, shoes, art supplies for the kids etc...so they are packed full already. Somehow we shove, push and stomp all of our other items into the bags so we can continue through the security line.
Just as we're through another worker comes up and says to us, "Your bags are way too big!They're not going to let you through." Feeling a bit frustrated we are trying to figure out what to do. ....when ANOTHER worker walks up and says, "Do you have another little bag, like a purse? You should take some items out of your backpacks and put your stuff back in your purse then you'll be fine, it's the size of the bag that matters not how many!" AHHHH!! We were about to die so we re-packed one more time then got in the security line. We waited for about 2 hours total to get finally get through....WHEW we made it!
So here we are...hanging out...too tired to walk around with our heavy packs and too goofy to take a nap. We're waiting to sleep on the plane so we can try to be on the right time later. I need Joes coffee chai tea right about now! HA! We're both really excited to keep going...and it feels so strange to be here in London at the same time. I can't believe we're off to Africa next...I think it's going to be a HUGE culture shock.
