Well, we managed to get all 400 pounds of the humanitarian supplies packed in 8 extra bags...which brought us up to 16 large bags and then the various carry-on stuff. What a haul! It took two full sized SUV's to carry all of it and the 8 of us to the airport. You can see everything stacked up on a cart out at the curb at the SLC airport. It was hard to believe just how smoothly things went with all those bags and people. We were checked in and through security in I'll bet less than a half hour.
After sitting on the tarmac at JFK for almost an hour, we were all ready to wander around the airport for a few hours, get a bite to eat, etc...and then realized...OUR PLANE BOARDS IN 20 MINUTES!!!! Of course it was on the other side of the airport too. But we made it (With BK in hand Tina's mentioning). Then the loooooooooooooooooooong...flight started to Rome.
We all survived that too, got all the extra bags checked into airport storage and then tried to figure out a pay phone...unsuccessfully. Luckily some guy noticed we looked totally lost and asked if we needed help. The guy is a taxi driver and even called our hotel to see about getting their shuttle to us, but it apparently doesn't run for a good 5 hours after 12:30 p.m.. So he conveniently had a big enough van to fit us all and charged us less than the hotel shuttle even...BONUS!
Once to the hotel there were some naps involved, then some fun at the beach down the road...more napping...and finally some actual Italian food...in Italy! Be careful what you order around here though, I had a calzoni that was as big as my thigh...knee to hip! What the...!?!?!?!?
So we're back off to the airport around 8:30 a.m. and the trek to Addis Ababa...via Istanbul...begins.
More to come...off to bed for now!
What an amazing journey you have begun and is ahead of you. You are one amazing family and I'm so excited to read each and every post to your blog. Be safe and prosper! Until the next adventurous report...sweet Italian dreams...of calzones attacking you! :)
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