It's 8:30 a.m., and...

...I've already been awake for FIVE HOURS!!!

Yes, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. I realized that falling back to sleep was futile, so I just read until Jo Mama got up.

Isn't jet lag a wonderful thing?

The flight over The Pond went well. I'm happy to report that I was not seated next to a completely insane person like I have been on past trips. We arrived in Chicago exactly on time, I was not hassled by immigration, and my checked bag (empty suitcase for bringing stuff back) made it too.

Nothing too exciting yet. Last night: a nice Reuben sandwich for dinner. This morning: a free cup of coffee at Starbucks (coupon in yesterday's paper), and a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts for a box of 50 Munchkins for the nieces and nephew so that they'd all go to school completely jacked-up on sugar.

Later this morning, after picking up my rental car, I'll be going to the post office to mail our tax returns - one day late. I guess I didn't feel like standing in line at the post office yesterday afternoon with all the last minute filers. Actually, the return is not late since we have an extension until October 15th. However, the extra taxes we have to pay (a little over $100) were supposed to be paid by yesterday.

Dear Uncle Sam: Let me know if you want me to pay the interest on the amount we owe. What would that come out to? Something like...oh...2 cents?

The Tokyo Adventures Of Sugar Mama And Travel Diva...

We're alive and well in Tokyo. Here's what we've done so far:

FLIGHT - I ask you: Now that I've experienced First Class, how will I ever go back to Business Class again? Unfortunately, one of our bags didn't make it (so Mrs. TBF's been forced to wear the same jeans since we got here...YUCK!), but we just received word that the bag will arrive later this evening. We enjoyed a great Japanese dinner at our hotel, and then we pretty much crashed after that.

FISH MARKET - We set the alarm for 4 a.m. our first morning here so that we could go to the fish market and watch the tuna auctions. Unbelievably, we actually managed to pull ourselves out of bed, take a taxi to the market, watch the fish auctions, and then enjoyed a sushi and beer breakfast - all before 7:30 a.m. Then, we took the subway (where we enjoyed watching the locals falling into a deep sleep while sitting up, and then magically waking up seconds before arriving at their stop) back to our hotel where our two-hour nap turned into a four-hour nap. After shaking out the cobwebs, we walked around a bit and took in some sights in the late afternoon. Later that evening, we went to Roppongi for a Yakatori dinner, came back to the hotel for a drink, and then crashed (again).

BRUNCH - This morning, we took the subway to Ueno where we reserved some train tickets for a day-trip we'll be taking tomorrow, watched more champion Japanese nappers waking up seconds before they had to get off at their stops, and returned to our hotel where we had a nice mid-day brunch. Then, it was back to the room for another nap, and...now I'm here blogging.

I know...not too exciting so far. However, the worst of the jet lag seems to be behind me, our missing bag will be here in a couple of hours, and we're ready go!

More soon...

- posted in Tokyo

Somnambulism...

Don't worry...I had to look it up the first time I read it too.

I walked around in a jet lagged haze today. Since I couldn't get our Japan Rail passes at O'Hare on Sunday, I decided that today was as good a day as any to head off to the Japan Air Lines office in Zürich to see if I could pick 'em up there.

No, of course I didn't call ahead to find out their hours.

Mrs. TBF was flying to Singapore out of Zürich anyway, so I thought I'd just ride the train with her to the airport, have a cup of Starbucks with her after she checked-in, participate in a little PDA in front of passport control, and then take the train to the Zürich main station.

That's pretty much what I did...I think. As I said, my memory of today is a bit hazy.

I arrived in Zürich, walked out the wrong side of the train station, stared at a tram map for about two minutes before I realized that I had nearly zero ability to focus, walked back to the train station, walked out the main entrance/exit, walked to the nearest tram stop, and then hopped on the next tram. I got off the tram a few stops later, started walking in what I thought was the right direction, and hoped for the best.

I began to get frustrated with my inability to find the JAL office. Although I'm not really sure why, seeing that I don't know Zürich at all, didn't have a Zürich map, and basically just had the address written down on a crumpled up Post-It note.

Finally, I decided to get in touch with my feminine side, and I popped into a bar to ask for directions. To my surprise, I found out from the bartender that I was only about a block away from my destination. I thanked the bartender, walked into the bathroom and had a near-personal-best pee (my best is two minutes and four seconds), and I shuffled back into the clean and safe streets of Zürich for the final leg of my journey.

A couple of minutes later, I saw the JAL sign on the facade of a building, went to the door, and....LOCKED. Fortuntately, it was 1:25, and they were only closed (for lunch) until 1:30.

Whew!!!

I hadn't spoken any German in a couple of weeks, so I decided to practice a bit by doing the whole purchase of our rail pass vouchers in German. Everything went well until I made a comment that the passes were much cheaper than I thought they were going to be. It was at this point that I realized that I was about to buy second class tickets. A last second correction was made, I paid for the passes, and I left with two 14-day first class (green) vouchers that we'll turn in for our actual passes at Tokyo Narita Airport in a few weeks.

At least, that's what I think (hope) I bought. As I said, I was walking around in a haze. It dawned on me at this point that I probably could have just gone to a travel agent in Basel and bought the damn things, but...that would have been too darn easy.

So after sleep-walking my way from Basel to Zürich Airport to Zürich Main Station to Basel, and nearly falling asleep about ten times along the way, I find myself now at just before midnight...not feeling the least bit tired.

Aaaaahhhhhhh, jet lag!

What Did I Miss?

Nearly half of the day...that's what!

I woke up at 11:15 this morning. That's kind of sad, considering that I went to bed at 12:30 this morning; early for me when Mrs. TBF is out of town (Atlanta).

That's only about seven hours later than my drive-Mrs.-TBF-to-the-airport-for-her-6 a.m.-flight wake-up yesterday morning.

...guess I needed the sleep.

Friday Flashback: Ever A Long Drive, Eh?

We've been busy travelers over the past month. So busy, in fact, that blogging has definitely taken a back seat.

Let's change that...

After finding out that my mom and dad had come down with pneumonia in early May, I booked a Basel to Chicago (via London) ticket to visit them. Why Chicago? Well, because my sister lives there, and we decided to drive up together (with the two youngest kids) to Sudbury, Ontario (where my parents live for half of the year).

I have to admit that the beginning of the drive was a bit rough. My 19-month old niece would randomly shriek at eardrum-splitting volume, my little nephew had to pee three times within the first ninety minutes or so, and I was fairly jet-lagged.

Not a good combo...

Eventually things settled down a bit, my "never again!" thoughts subsided, and we ended up making the drive through the night in about fourteen hours; arriving in Sudbury at around 7:30 a.m.

We stopped occasionally to eat, use the bathroom, and fill up the tank with cheap American gas. Otherwise, most of the trip (especially through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) was a long...and lonely...road. Sometimes we'd drive for mile after mile without ever seeing another car; just the eyes of deer reflecting in our headlights along the side of the road.

My nephew did a good job of keeping me awake during the trip by asking me no less than 18,597 questions in rapid succession. He'd nap for thirty minutes, and then the questions would start...

"Uncle [TBF]? Do you think there are bears in this forest? Could you kill a bear? With your bare hands? Have you ever killed an animal? Who would win a fight between a bear and a moose? Could Uncle Elmer kill a bear with his bare hands? If the smartest man in the world fought against the strongest man in the world, who would win the fight? Do any people live underground?"...

On and on...mile after mile.

Around 5:30 a.m., when even the nephew's questions could barely keep us awake, we saw the Blind River, Ontario Tim Horton's (Canada's version of Dunkin' Donuts) in the distance. After a coffee and a couple of donuts (and sleepily trying to pay for it all with British Sterling which looks a lot like Canadian money), we were ready for the final part of the drive.

We arrived, as I said before, at about 7:30 a.m., and we spent the weekend visiting my dad and going to see my mom at the hospital. I'm not going to get into all the details, but I'll just say that I've spoken with my mom a couple of times over the past two days, and she's really doing well now. She's still feeling a little weak, but that's to be expected seeing how sick she was. I have nothing but good things to say about the care she received. As far as I'm concerned, the Canadian national health care system worked like a charm.

On Monday around noon, it was time to head back to Chicago. It was a short trip, but a good one. The drive back was a lot easier, even though I had to answer about 20,000 more of my nephew's questions.

Three weeks from today, I'll be making the drive all over again. This time, however, I'll be doing it alone since my sister and her family are going to be driving up to visit my parents this weekend. When I make the drive in three weeks, instead of driving through the night, I'm going to just go to sleep early on the day I arrive, and then I'm going to try to leave Chicago around 4:00 a.m. I'm thinking that I'll have a better chance of not falling asleep at the wheel.

Besides, I won't have my sister's smelly feet keeping me awake!

I'm Exhausted...

I'm one of those guys who needs a vacation after taking a vacation just to recuperate from the added stress encountered during the vacation. Add in any kind of time zone change, and Fuhgeddaboudit!

I really enjoy going to Chicago to see friends and family. Really! However, I have to say one thing: ...love the nieces and nephew, but...they exhaust me! And to think that I'm exhausted after seeing them just for a few hours a day for a week here and there unlike my sister and bro-in-law who have to deal with these whirling dervishes every single day.

...an appointment with my doctor to discuss a vasectomy has already been set up for next week!

Dinner is especially hectic. I'm used to Mrs. TBF and I sitting down to a relaxing dinner. Sure, King will come by occasionally and beg for a little something, but that's about as hectic as our dinners get. Now, add four kids to the dinner table and things change...a bit. Certain words come to mind; chaos, bedlam, pandemonium...just to name a few. One evening, about an hour after dinner, my mom actually had to ask me what we had eaten because...she couldn't really remember.

Lots of distractions at dinnertime at my sister's house...

So, yes, I'm exhausted. Add into the equation that my flight left Chicago 90-minutes late on Wednesday resulting in me having to walk/run through Heathrow to catch my connecting flight to Basel. I landed at Heathrow at 7:50, caught the bus from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4, went through Security (after pretty much cutting in front of everybody in the long line), and parted the sea of travelers in Terminal 4 who saw in my eyes that I was prepared to kill (...only had to stiff-arm one person) as I made my way to Gate 19. I made it to my gate and boarded the plane (last person to board) while receiving many kudos from the incredulous staff who couldn't believe that I had made it. The door closed about a second after I got on the plane. Yes, I had made it, but...

...my luggage didn't.

The luggage was delivered last night; one around 21:00, and the other one shortly after midnight.

This morning, I drove Mrs. TBF to the train station so she could catch the 7:03 train to Vevey.

I'm exhausted!

Jet-Lagged In Chicagoland...

I woke up at 3:20 this morning. I thought it was 4:20, and figured that I had slept long enough. After reading in bed for about 45 minutes, I looked at my watch and saw that it was 4 a.m.! Doh! I t'ink I'll be needin' an afternoon nap!

I'm happy to report that no problems were encountered during the trip to Chicago. Well...almost no problems.

British Airways: You need to get your act together at Basel Airport. What's the purpose of a "self check-in" if one has to go stand in the same line as everybody else? Where's the quick baggage drop-off? WTF?!?!? Note to self: don't fly to Chicago during the BASELWORLD Watch Show next year; too many people flying BA between Basel and London.

Also, do you, BA, really think that a sausage & onion relish brioche roll is the wisest food offering for a 6:45 a.m. flight? Thank God I had some matches in my carry-on bags. Oops...did I say that out loud?

On the other hand...

You, American Airlines, receive my highest praise for your food and wine offerings in business class. I had a wonderful "Grilled Chicken Wrapped With Bacon" (a grilled breast of chicken flavored with garlic and herbs, topped with sliced avocado and wrapped with applewood-smoked bacon, complemented by sauteed green beans and roasted corn rice). Seriously, I would be happy if a restaurant in Basel served me this meal; it was seriously good! I washed it down with some Bordeaux AND some Australian Shiraz, and then I settled down for a nice two-hour nap. After my nap, Kelly - one of the friendliest flight attendants ever - served some real Chicago (Uno's) pizza. It was just a great flight!

Damn, I'm hungry. Time for lunch!