Bon Voyage...

"You're late!"

That's what Gretchen said after I answered the phone at 7:10 a.m. - I was supposed to be at the Expatters' house at 7 a.m.

"Huh? Wha'?"

Yes, I remembered to turn the clocks ahead. Yes, I set the alarm on my watch. But, I guess I just didn't hear the alarm go off at 6:15 a.m. Oops!

I got ready in record time, and was walking out of the front door with a cup of coffee in hand, before I was even fully awake. A few minutes later, I was pulling up in front of KGB's house at 7:30 a.m.

About fifteen minutes later, after loading up the cars, we were off to the airport; Kirk and Baby in a rental car, and Gretchen, me, and Grady in the Jeep.

The ride to the airport was very uneventful - Grady was very well behaved, and Baby was fast asleep when we pulled up at Departures. All the luggage and Grady's crate (which is the same crate in which we brought Dominique to Switzerland) was loaded onto a big cart, Kirk dropped off the rental car, and I brought Grady out for one last Swiss pee.

There was time for one last photo of the Expatters in Switzerland, and then it was time to say goodbye.

Good morning, America...

The Expatters are on their way home!

Two Down, Two To Go!

I just heard Mrs. TBF's flight taking off for London. We are less than ten kilometers/six miles from Basel Airport; I often watch the planes taking off and landing, and I like to monitor where they are going to/coming from on the EuroAirport website.

I know, I'm a nerd...

Mrs. TBF is on her way to Atlanta via London and Chicago. She had a stroke of luck when her travel department called her and asked if she'd mind making a connection in Chicago because it was much cheaper than flying from London directly to Atlanta. Jo Mama (Mrs. TBF's mom) lives outside of Chicago.

Mrs. TBF doesn't mind.

So, instead of leaving on Sunday or Monday like she normally would, she ended up leaving early this morning so that she could spend some time with her mom in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Of course, that meant that I had to get up early (for the second time this week) - on a SATURDAY MORNING, mind you - to drive Mrs. TBF to the airport. I dropped her off at 6:15 a.m. OUCH!

Tomorrow morning, I will be driving the Expatters to Zurich Airport for their triumphant return to the U.S. I have to be at their house - on a SUNDAY MORNING, mind you - at 7:00 a.m.! DOUBLE OUCH! We're going in two cars, and I don't know how we're all going to be divided up, but I do know that Grady will be in the Jeep with me. It's been a long time since there was a dog in the Jeep.

Kirk suggested that he and Gretchen go in one car, and that I take Grady and Baby.

NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought that was it as far as morning runs to the airport go, but I forgot that I also have to pick up Jo Mama at Zurich Airport on Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. when she arrives for a two-week stay. That one's not so bad; I'll just take the 9:42 a.m. train from Basel to Zurich Airport. I find the train very comforting; reading the paper, drinking an overpriced coffee, listening to music on the iPod. Plus, I like the fact that when I flush after taking a pee on the train that my pee is just dripping down onto the tracks.

...lots of TBF DNA scattered about the Swiss rail system. I like to think of it as leaving a legacy.

As fate would have it, Mrs. TBF and Jo Mama will both be arriving in Switzerland on Thursday morning. However, Jo Mama will be arriving in Zurich, and Mrs. TBF will be arriving in Basel. We booked Jo Mama's ticket for her direct flight from Chicago to Zurich on Swiss a few months back. Mrs. TBF hates flying overseas on Swiss, so she opted to stick with British Airways.

Once these early-morning airport shuttles are done, the next early-morning drive to the airport will be when I take the 7:00 a.m. flight to London on April 18th to connect for a flight to Chicago.

I'll have no problem waking up early on April 18th!