Home... Finally.

I am home.

Finally.

It was quite the journey. Originally, we'd been booked out on a Lufthansa flight direct to Frankfurt. Sadly (yeah, right), the only seats available were Business Class. Well, there being no way the military was going to fly us in near-luxury, we were rescheduled. Yep, delayed about 12 more hours and booked on Qatar Airways. Connecting flights in Qatar (wrong direction)...

Now, I'll say this. Qatar Airways was nice and treated us very well. Excellent service. Long trip.

Military drove us in a bus to Kuwait City International Airport. Interesting note, we had Force Protection (not unexpected), but in civilian clothes... interesting, they brought along the weapons, but didn't want it to be obvious to the Kuwaitis.

We unloaded (at 0300 local time) to an empty airport. We were shepherded in through a side door, pointed towards where our tickets were and... left. Our flight was at 1000, and we had no idea where anything was or to check in. Luckily, some in our party have had a little bit experience travelling and figured it out. We then staked out benches, and with some standing watch, we rotated sleep shifts. It is interesting to note that the locals were quite taken with the females in our group... I'd catch them walking by staring as long as they could. Of course, when all you're used to seeing is basic Muslim T&A, then western-attired women must look better.

As part of ticketing, we watched the Arab equivalent of Tony Soprano, and his entourage, arrive. They were on their way home from a shopping trip. Two 27" TV's, some stereos (no one's told them about iPods), and no fewer than 12 other large boxes and some additional JUMBO suitcases. For the stereotype of women shoppers, here was the Muslim equivalent.

We flew to Doha, Qatar... Small little airport, swimming with oil money. Not a lot of time, but... it was a nice airport.

Flying in, we could see the vastness of the deserts, and also how absolutely beautiful the Gulf is.

Both flights, Qatar Airways accomodated me by putting me in exit rows with windows. I had more leg room than the Business Class folks! Very comfy. Nice seats. Wonderful service, nice meals (yes, plural... for anyone who's flown on US carriers recently, this is a nice treat).

Arrived in Frankfurt nice and late (thank you, Army). We'd been told how nice the system was set-up so that you got a "free" day of leave. Well, landing at 1800, not clearing the airport till 1915, and still having a 3 hour drive to Illesheim... not much left of the "free day". Not as much as when we'd originally been scheduled to arrive at 0600... oh well.

I arrived late enough that the kids were in bed. Next morning, I had to drive to Munich for some business with the Consulate, so was gone before they woke up. Thus, I got my "homecoming" when I returned from Munich.

Rissa was absolutely ecstatic. I opened the door and immediately heard, "DADDDDY!" Her face outshone the sun, it was so bright. She gave me tight hugs and kept saying "Daddy back". Kira, too, was excited, and gave hugs. Wasn't quite sure I was really back, at first, but seems content now.

As for Thomas, all of our work making sure he knew Daddy has paid off. He took one look at me, and broke into a big smile. He's laughing and giggling with me, and I am just happy to hold him.

It looks like it's going to be a good two weeks.

(Oh, and if you're wondering... Muslim T*A? Since many Muslims cover up the whole body, oftentimes all you'll see is the toe and ankle. T&A. Get your mind out of the gutter.)