We got up around 6-6:15 a.m. We met everyone in the dining room around 7:00 a.m. for breakfast. It was one of the best breakfasts we have had on this trip! This was a great hotel!
We got on another bus and were headed to the airport a little before 8:00 a.m. Going through passport control was a breeze. Going through security??? Well.... I "beeped" when I went through the metal detector - so I got "wanded" and "frisked"!! It was by a female security guard but she still touched just about everywhere! Then my carry-on bag came through the detector and they pulled me aside and searched it! I think my flat iron caught their attention. They thoroughly searched my bag. I had to repack it when they finished! Brenda's bags also got searched! I think I was the only female to go through a body search. I had on the exact same thing as I did when going through the Tel Aviv security the day before and had no problems there so I am not sure what was going on??? Basically, though, all the security and control was easy - no lines at all. We got to our gate about 45 minutes before it was to start boarding.
Brenda and I looked through a couple of duty free stores. I bought some german chocolate bars and Brandy filled chocolate bites.
We boarded on time and after a short delay, we were on our way back to the states. Brenda and I again were seated together in the middle seats. She had the aisle seat. People on this flight were very loud and extremely rude! The guy in front of me kept wiggling and I mean BIG time wiggling! It shook my TV monitor. Then there were 4 friends seated behind us who spoke another language and they talked alot and very loudly! Then there were 2 babies a couple of rows ahead of us who cried alot - in fact, one of them was never quiet! The flight was 8 1/2 hours long. The lunch was not very good and the dinner "snack" was even worse.
When we arrived in Chicago, we went to get a bite to eat at McDonalds. But before that we had to go through passport control, get our luggage, to through customs, and give them back our luggage. We then had to take a train to a different terminal and go through security again (last security checkpoint - yea!). Our flight from Chicago to St. Louis was short and, thankfully, uneventful! The plane was so small compared to others we had been on. It was only 3 seats across. We got our luggage quickly, walked up to the departure area, and the church bus was there waiting to take us back to the church. Charlie, Brenda's husband, was not there to pick us up so we had to call him. He and his daughter, Katie were out eating dinner - can't believe they went without us!
Before he got there, we started saying our goodbyes. That was very sad - I had met some very nice people on this trip and they all made me feel like I had been friends with them for a long time! It was a great trip!
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