We made it.
It took a full 24 hours, from the 5:00 AM wake-up alarm in Barcelona (11:00 PM Tuesday in Lakewood) to the 11:00 PM taxi drop-off and turn-of-the-house key in Lakewood (5:00 AM Thursday in now-distant Catalunya.) There were three airports, two with exceptionally long concourses, and three fully-packed flights in planes that got progressively smaller the closer we got to home.
One particularly cool process was getting through US customs. OMG. Having Global Entry, I walked up to a station with a screen. The machine took my picture, spit out a receipt and green-lit my entry. Didna have to even show the passport. I proceeded to the exit agent. She asked if I had anything to declare–things of value, not opinions–and I walked back in to the USA. The days of long, snaking Cedar Point ride-of-the-season lines were confined to security checkpoints, although not during this particular trip in either direction.
Although I did have a moment of real panic going through Spanish security. Having bionic knees, I’m required to pass through the scanning tube. There was a wait for the operator. In the meantime, my carry-on and backpack were x-ray’d…or so I thought. Cleared, I discover there’s no backpack! Which means no laptop!! And more!!! After a few moments of near panic, I finally see it is riding the conveyor belt a second time…because I had not taken out my laptop. After five days of vigilance in a city known for pickpockets, to now lose a baby-sized backpack while trying to leave would have been too much to bear.
10,446S/4.7M
Barcelona 