Our trip began with a cyberattack so we probably shouldn't have been surprised that it ended with Covid.
Such was the start and end of our trip to America. A trip that will go down in our travel memories as one of 'those' (roll of the eyes) trips. The kind that had a mind of its own and no amount of planning could have anticipated its unexpected twists and turns.
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| Not this trip to Manson! |
Admittedly, the challenges could have been far worse. On the flip side, it could have been far more pleasant as well. We know that you travelers among us can probably relate to 'those' trips; the kind that adds little or nothing to life's happiness quotient.
The Scout now describes ours as one in which 'our expectations were low, and they were met or exceeded.'
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| On the home stretch: heading to Seattle |
As expats living most of the year in Greece, but with a home base in the Pacific Northwest, our travel back to the States isn't what we think of as a vacation or holiday. House repairs/projects and health appointments are scheduled months in advance of our return and then we fit the good times in around them.
Our calendar was filled with 'must do' items and interspersed with the 'want to do' fun things. We'd find a balance between them, or so we thought as we set forth. . .
The Cyber Attack
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| Seattle, Washington |
Our US gateway airport is SeaTac, just outside Seattle, Washington. Our noon arrival some 24 hours after we'd left Kalamata, was on a warm mid-August Sunday - a time when the airport is normally pleasantly empty and getting through baggage claim and immigration is a snap.
That is unless you arrive the day after a cyber-attack on SeaTac brought down its internet systems, disrupting travel for thousands.
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| Luggage carousels sat idle at SeaTac thanks to a cyber attack |
Surprisingly the airport's international terminal was indeed empty. Very empty. Our British Airways flight was the only arrival. While we hadn't been caught up in the initial cyber strike, we got a dose of its continuing fallout. Those impacts made headline news for days as travel disruptions and inconveniences continued.
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| The Scout waits at SeaTac for our luggage |
Even with just one arriving flight, the wait for checked luggage was very long. A wait so long, I called the rental car company to assure them we would still be picking up the car sometime that afternoon.
Those who've made that trip between Europe and Seattle know how brain- and body-numbing it can be. We'd entered a new degree of numb by the time the bags arrived - but we were among the lucky ones because they did arrive!
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| Aftermath of cyber-attack took days to clear up |
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| The taxi driver just didn't understand my excitement |
Late arriving luggage seemed a hallmark of our trip. Those same two checked bags didn't make it on to our Kalamata flight before it left London on our return to Greece in September. We arrived on a late Saturday night and the bags arrived the next day. They were delivered by taxi to our village. Because we have no house numbers or street names, we met the taxi at the beach cafe near our house to pick up those bags.
The Crank and The Curmudgeon
The fence saga that I wrote about while in the states really did end up being a saga. Suffice to say the planned three-day project sucked up three weeks of our month in the States. Its price doubled, sucking up a few thousand more dollars than it should have.
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| We worked on the fence as well to get it done by the time we left |
While our 'concerned neighbor' (that I likened to Gladys Kravitz, in my last piece), will likely continue in her role as the roaming neighborhood crank, she will meet her match should she focus again on our place. An unintended consequence of her meddling was my transformation from once-good-intentioned-neighbor to curmudgeon:
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| Should the crank resurface the curmudgeon is ready |
Shakespeare, I believe, describes the new me well!
Critters
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| HiHo Silver was away for a week |
A few weeks into our stay in America we got a message from our house/kitty sitter in Greece asking about a warning light that had come on in 'Hi Ho Silver,' our Toyota RAV. that she was driving in our absence.
Believing that electrical wires might have gotten damp in a storm, she took the car to the local repair shop and after three days of test driving and checking, they couldn't find the source of the problem but pronounced it safe to drive until we could get to the dealership in Kalamata. The headlights and brakes worked, even if nothing else on the dashboard did: no speedometer, no gas gauge no temperature indicator.
The car went to the dealership a week ago. It took the mechanics but a minute to diagnose the problem - one all too common in rural areas:
'Rats!' they said, showing us an air filter full of dark brown droppings the size of grains of rice.
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| The rat did it! (Photo credit: Axleaddict.com 2008) |
'Leave the car - it could take days to isolate the damage and order parts,' they added.
We rented a car from company run by a FB friend of mine. It pays to have FB friends especially when you tell them you have no idea when you'll return their car. Living here, he understood our problem.
Happily, I report that within four days the wires eaten by the little critters were located and replaced. 'Hi Ho ' is home again with moth balls and critter repellant lining the engine.
Covid: The Climax
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| It is Covid! |
So why not end the fun fest with Covid? It seemed a fitting climax.
We give little thought to Covid these days. Seldom do we see anyone, especially travelers, wearing masks. I no longer pack them when we travel. But Covid is still out there. Our house sitter reported that it had struck her down two days after her return to New Mexico.
Although it knocked us flat for a couple of days, in reality it was no worse than those colds and flu we used to get. And my new motto is: it could have been worse!
Now three weeks later we are back in the saddle at our Stone House on the Hill. Our area is gearing up for olive harvest which will kick off the end of October.
Thanks for your time. Good travel wishes to you and yours. And how have your trips gone this year? Have you had one of 'those' trips as well? Tell us about it in the comments or shoot us an email. Always good to hear from you~