the long road home.

So! our flight.

Well, we got through everything ok, got our bags checked in, went through security, and passport control just fine.

we got to the gate over 1h20min early, too! so, we waited to be called, and eventually got onto the airplane and found our seats. then the plane started moving, and this weird smell started coming into the cabin. pilot said we'd wait it out a little, and then said we were first in line to take off. yay!

then, as we were getting ready to take off, he announced that since the smell was getting worse, we were going to pull aside, and have mechanics look at the engine. 15min later, made announcement- no new info. 30min later, he had us get off the plane, and a bus took us to a ground level terminal.

in this terminal we waited for several hours. got vouchers to have lunch, and i panicked because i had no way to get a hold of anyone to let them know we were going to miss our connecting flight in ATL. i kept trying to log on to the internet, and was willing to pay the 4€ to get online, but the instructions were completely in german, and that high level german was too hrd for me to figure out.

so, i wandered around, and found someone to ask where i could find phone cards. she directed me to a bank, so i paid 5€ for a 20min phone card LOL. found a pay phone, called Dad, Mom, Jennifer (left messages with all). then later called Julie and Pat, tried dad again. then about an hour later, finally got a hold of my dad.

by now, it was like 15.00, and still no new info on the plane. then, around 16.00 they said we could finally fly, and would board in ~40mins. then, 17:15 rolled arund, and nothing. this german lady asked what was going on, and we had to wait 'cos some jackass decided to rebook for another day, and they had to go in and get his luggage. (they weren't letting people rebook yet, but this guy was screaming and cussing and making a HUGE stink)

finally, at 18.00 we were on the plane, and taking off! flight was long (10h) and i felt REALLY sick 'cos my throat hurt so much! flight attendants were awesome, though, and brought us a lot of food LOL.

finally landed in ATL at around 23.15 (04.15 in DE)! and the customs people/passport control people stayed late, which was awesome of them. so, that took a lot of time, we were finally through it all around 00.15, and went to the delta counter to rebook for KC. they offered to let us stay in a htel, but our flight was at 07.25 ATL time, and we'd ave to be there at 05.25 to get rescreened for the flight. at that point, with the shuttle to the hotel, we'd get maybe 3 hours at the hotel. so, we decided to stay the night in the airport. had to go back through security, but since it was in the middle of the night, we didn't have to wait too long.

went to find out our gate for the next morning, B-24. took the little subway thing from international concourse (T) 5o concourse B 'cos i was sick of walking with all that luggage LOL. got to concourse B, and found out all the bathrooms were being worked on/cleaned all night. (except for one little family bathroom). THEN, it was COLD in concourse B, too. so, we maybe got 30m-45m of sleep all night. then, around 03.15, i decided to walk around a bit to warm up. i noticed the gate number had changed for our flight! (i'm so glad i walked around) 'cos we needed to be in A-30!

got our stuff, and made it over to concourse A. here, it was warm and toasty! and, all the bathroom were nice and warm! used our food vouchers for breakfast ~05.00, and then noticed the woman sitting in front of us from DUS -> ATL was going to be on our flight from ATL -> MCI! we figured we'd be the only ones! so, we bonded, and talked for a few hours until it came time to board for the flight home!

flight took two hours, and was blissfully uneventful! landed in MCI ~08.30 KS time (09.30 ATL time, 14.30 DE time) and got off the plane. then we waited and waited for my luggage. Scott's came up right away, and mine never came. then, i went to ask the Delta lady, and as soon as we walked over there, whoops, there it was!

my dad picked us up, and we got home around 10.00! took a shower, and then a 45min nap. never went to bed until ~22.45 KS time (04.45 DE time) so, we were up for nearly 48 hours straight. (minus the few naps we had here and there)

i'm finally starting to feel a little bit better, but my right tonsil is still really swollen. i'll have to go have the doctor look at it. *sigh* but, at least i'm not in the airport anymore LOL