I woke up to the sound of someone's phone alarm going off. It was 5:30 a.m. London time. Bonnie posted a sheet of paper yesterday with information regarding today's travel. The part of the group flying from London to Chicago had to be on the metro by about 6:15 to make it to the airport with plenty of time. I gathered all of my things and prepared to leave the hostel for the last time. I said a final goodbye to everyone flying to Newark (their flight left a little later) and to Laura, who had decided to stay a while longer for a job interview. I traveled with Rocky and Colleen toward the metro station, where we boarded the Piccadilly line and began the slow journey to the London Heathrow airport. We had to switch trains along the way to get to the correct terminal, which caused us to meet up with the rest of the Chicago group. After about 30 stops, we finally made it to our destination.
We learned that the airline we would be taking this time around was American Airlines. We checked our bags in and printed our boarding passes, and I managed to fit my new basketball in my red duffle bag so that I would not have to carry it on the plane with me. We ventured toward out gate, and along the way, we passed through a segment of the airport with Duty Free stores (with lots of tax-free alcohol and cigarettes) and fancy-looking lounges. London Heathrow felt more like a Macy's than an actual airport. While we waited for our gate, I ate a couple of small things to hold me over. I had a Nutri Grain bar with peanut butter before we left, and I followed that up with some orange juice, milk, and a fruit & almond bar at the airport. We found James and Leslie around the lounge; they actually managed to beat out the Chicago crew despite a later start. Our gate finally opened after a short delay, so we said another goodbye to the Newark group and made our way over there. We had to wait in line for a bit to finally check in to our gate, so I bought a bottle of water with the last of my pounds and pence. After another short wait, it was time to board the plane.
The plane was a little bit smaller than the one we took to get to London, but not by much. I sat by the aisle again, with Chris right across from me. The flight lasted for about 8 hours, but this time, it went backwards in time. We left around 11:00 a.m. London time and made it to Chicago around 1:00 p.m. Central time. The flight back was much better than the flight there, in my opinion. The food was much better. I had some scrumptious mushroom ravioli for my early meal and some Chicago deep-dish pizza for my later meal (I would end up eating four meals that day). The plane was much cooler inside than the last one. In fact, it might have been a little too cool. I had to cover up with a blanket and wear my USA jacket the whole time. I did not watch any movies, but I listened to different types of music and played Tetris on the entertainment system on the back of the seat. I also started to read my Gospel book by J.D. Greear, the main pastor of the Summit Church in North Carolina. So far, it has been an extremely enlightening book that has taught me to separate religion from a healthy relationship with God. I also tried to sleep a little bit, but that was largely unsuccessful.
Eight hours later, we arrived at the Chicago OHare airport. I took my backpack and customs form with me and reunited with the group outside the airplane. We had to wait in line for a long time before we finally made it through customs. We also had to reclaim our luggage for the next flight. In the meantime, Frankie, Derek, Colleen, and Rocky all left the airport to head home by themselves. We said goodbye and then continued toward our gate. Allie reminded me as we were going through security to head back and check in my bags again. I caught up with them shortly and found the gate for our flight to Toledo. We had to change our gate about a hundred times before we finally boarded the plane.
The ride, like last time, was extremely short. I got a window seat, so I got to see the plane fly over Lake Michigan again and see it fly over rural Michigan and Ohio. I also got to sit next to Katie Tiell, who entertained me with some interesting dance moves while she listened to her iPod. We landed around 6:30 p.m. Eastern time (for reference, 11:30 p.m. London time) at the world's smallest airport. We grabbed our luggage very quickly and proceeded toward the Dragon Wagon, which would drive us back to Tiffin. Chris and Katie Scheff met up with their significant others at the airport, so they broke off from the group and said their final goodbyes. I helped load the bags onto the wagon and then found a couple of seats on the spacious vehicle to lay down at. I tried to sleep, but was a little restless for some reason. I decided to call Stewart, the basketball coach that I work with, to give him some last-minute advice before our team, the Sixers, played their regular season finale against the undefeated Bulldogs.
We arrived at Tiffin after about an hour of driving. Once we unloaded the luggage, I said goodbye to Bonnie, Katie Tiell, Beth, and Allie before getting into Lori's car. On her way to Clarion, Lori would take me back to Hermitage, where I would stay the night with my Aunt Kim. I helped Lori with directions, and we managed to find our way to a Wendy's to grab some good old American food for the road. I offered to drive for Lori if she got too tired, but as the trip wore on, I leaned back into my chair and fell asleep. I woke up when we were about ten minutes outside of Hermitage. I made a quick call to Kim and told her that we would be at Sheetz very soon. As Lori was pumping gas in her car, Aunt Kim and my cousin Trevor entered the parking lot. I embraced them both, loaded my stuff into Kim's CR-V, and said goodbye to Lori. Aunt Kim drove me home, asked me a couple questions about the trip, and then headed off to sleep. I read a couple passages of my bible and then drifted asleep around 12:00 a.m.
I had been up that day for almost 24 hours. In that time, I had traveled thousands of miles to make it back to my hometown in Pennsylvania. I had also said goodbye to 18 new friends that I really wish to see again someday. This was simply a magical experience. God has been so good to all of us throughout this trip. I have grown so much in my relationship with Him during these past thirteen days, and as a result, I have grown tremendously as a person. I may never experience another trip like this one, but I'm ok with that. I will never, ever forget my time spent in London for the 2012 Olympic games, and I will tell this story to my children, grandchildren, and any generation interested in hearing a
We learned that the airline we would be taking this time around was American Airlines. We checked our bags in and printed our boarding passes, and I managed to fit my new basketball in my red duffle bag so that I would not have to carry it on the plane with me. We ventured toward out gate, and along the way, we passed through a segment of the airport with Duty Free stores (with lots of tax-free alcohol and cigarettes) and fancy-looking lounges. London Heathrow felt more like a Macy's than an actual airport. While we waited for our gate, I ate a couple of small things to hold me over. I had a Nutri Grain bar with peanut butter before we left, and I followed that up with some orange juice, milk, and a fruit & almond bar at the airport. We found James and Leslie around the lounge; they actually managed to beat out the Chicago crew despite a later start. Our gate finally opened after a short delay, so we said another goodbye to the Newark group and made our way over there. We had to wait in line for a bit to finally check in to our gate, so I bought a bottle of water with the last of my pounds and pence. After another short wait, it was time to board the plane.
The plane was a little bit smaller than the one we took to get to London, but not by much. I sat by the aisle again, with Chris right across from me. The flight lasted for about 8 hours, but this time, it went backwards in time. We left around 11:00 a.m. London time and made it to Chicago around 1:00 p.m. Central time. The flight back was much better than the flight there, in my opinion. The food was much better. I had some scrumptious mushroom ravioli for my early meal and some Chicago deep-dish pizza for my later meal (I would end up eating four meals that day). The plane was much cooler inside than the last one. In fact, it might have been a little too cool. I had to cover up with a blanket and wear my USA jacket the whole time. I did not watch any movies, but I listened to different types of music and played Tetris on the entertainment system on the back of the seat. I also started to read my Gospel book by J.D. Greear, the main pastor of the Summit Church in North Carolina. So far, it has been an extremely enlightening book that has taught me to separate religion from a healthy relationship with God. I also tried to sleep a little bit, but that was largely unsuccessful.
Eight hours later, we arrived at the Chicago OHare airport. I took my backpack and customs form with me and reunited with the group outside the airplane. We had to wait in line for a long time before we finally made it through customs. We also had to reclaim our luggage for the next flight. In the meantime, Frankie, Derek, Colleen, and Rocky all left the airport to head home by themselves. We said goodbye and then continued toward our gate. Allie reminded me as we were going through security to head back and check in my bags again. I caught up with them shortly and found the gate for our flight to Toledo. We had to change our gate about a hundred times before we finally boarded the plane.
The ride, like last time, was extremely short. I got a window seat, so I got to see the plane fly over Lake Michigan again and see it fly over rural Michigan and Ohio. I also got to sit next to Katie Tiell, who entertained me with some interesting dance moves while she listened to her iPod. We landed around 6:30 p.m. Eastern time (for reference, 11:30 p.m. London time) at the world's smallest airport. We grabbed our luggage very quickly and proceeded toward the Dragon Wagon, which would drive us back to Tiffin. Chris and Katie Scheff met up with their significant others at the airport, so they broke off from the group and said their final goodbyes. I helped load the bags onto the wagon and then found a couple of seats on the spacious vehicle to lay down at. I tried to sleep, but was a little restless for some reason. I decided to call Stewart, the basketball coach that I work with, to give him some last-minute advice before our team, the Sixers, played their regular season finale against the undefeated Bulldogs.
We arrived at Tiffin after about an hour of driving. Once we unloaded the luggage, I said goodbye to Bonnie, Katie Tiell, Beth, and Allie before getting into Lori's car. On her way to Clarion, Lori would take me back to Hermitage, where I would stay the night with my Aunt Kim. I helped Lori with directions, and we managed to find our way to a Wendy's to grab some good old American food for the road. I offered to drive for Lori if she got too tired, but as the trip wore on, I leaned back into my chair and fell asleep. I woke up when we were about ten minutes outside of Hermitage. I made a quick call to Kim and told her that we would be at Sheetz very soon. As Lori was pumping gas in her car, Aunt Kim and my cousin Trevor entered the parking lot. I embraced them both, loaded my stuff into Kim's CR-V, and said goodbye to Lori. Aunt Kim drove me home, asked me a couple questions about the trip, and then headed off to sleep. I read a couple passages of my bible and then drifted asleep around 12:00 a.m.
I had been up that day for almost 24 hours. In that time, I had traveled thousands of miles to make it back to my hometown in Pennsylvania. I had also said goodbye to 18 new friends that I really wish to see again someday. This was simply a magical experience. God has been so good to all of us throughout this trip. I have grown so much in my relationship with Him during these past thirteen days, and as a result, I have grown tremendously as a person. I may never experience another trip like this one, but I'm ok with that. I will never, ever forget my time spent in London for the 2012 Olympic games, and I will tell this story to my children, grandchildren, and any generation interested in hearing a
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