JET LAG 6

First morning, I awoke at 4:00 a.m. to a very cold house. Got to get the heat going.

Guess we became accustommed to the suffocating warmth of our Moscow apartment where we had to open the windows before bed to push back the blaring heat in order to sleep comfortably.

Unpacked. Now getting organized. No real rush.

Thinking of Sana sitting in class right now in Moscow. Are they on break right now? Perhaps. Or is Dimitri sighing in that condescendingly Slavic way a correction to a student's misconjugated verb?

Andrea and Cricket are reunited at last. Andrea is doing just what she has talked about for nearly three months; just laying on the couch and snuggling with her little, snaggle-toothed companion.

HAPPY DAYS AGAIN: ANDREA AND CRICKET.

JET LAG 5

WE'RE HOME.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

EVERYTHING IS THE SAME, BUT THE SEASON.

JET LAG 4

My bed!

JET LAG 3

I didn't see it myself, but I heard about it afterwards: The double take I expected from Cricket happened.

When Andrea went through the front door, Cricket came barking like a banshee, ready to attack an intruder.

But as Andrea crooned for her Cricket, the dog stopped on a dime, recognized the voice, looked back at Stephanie and went running for her momma!

We scurried about the house for a couple of hours. I could no longer keep my peepers open as the Tigers fell to the Giants in the 10th inning. As we say in Chicago, wait til next year.

JET LAG 2

We flew on British Airways #236 on a 747. Andrea did not like sitting on the second level. We arrived at Heathrow, flying over a still very green with still colorful trees lining the country roads leading to Londontowne.

I slept on the flight and ate in the airport lounge. We arrived at the Coaching Gate for a bus to deliver us to the airplane parked offsite. 

Our cabin crew on British Airways #295 was very accommodating and helpful, especially during the periods of high turbulence.

While well north, we suspect the bumps may have been caused as Sandy approached the southeastern coast of the United States.

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL.

OVER THE BAY OF ST. LAWRENCE

In Chicago, we were needlessly separated at Passport Control. I gathered the bags while Andrea complained about her treatment (the first chance in three months to complain). We had about 30 minutes before the bus back to the South Bend Airport was to arrive.

Bill and Leslie picked us up at SBN at 9:08 p.m. After figuring out how to load our bags into the car, the long awaited reunion with Cricket was that much closer.

JET LAG 1

The evening before departure. We called people to let them know we were coming home.

We started packing around 11:00 p.m. We showered at 2:00 a.m. and were waiting for Dimitri at 3:30 a.m.

The snow was falling and beginning to stick. Andrea was very nervous as we drove through the dark, wet streets of Moscow for the last time. I shielded my eyes from the neon glare reflections.

We arrived at Domodedovo Airport by 4:45 a.m. We boarded and departed on time at 6:35 a.m.