DAY 28, APRIL 18, HOMEWARD

FLYING HOME

A great trip we've had.
To be going home we're glad.
Goodbye to Sikhs and Jains.
Long time spent in planes.
Wanting home food so bad.


FROM JFK AIRPORT

A clue we were without
As to how to get about
On the trains of New York City.
The Schardts on us took pity,
And they helped us out.


We boarded our British Airlines flight in Delhi about 2:30 AM. The flight was about eight hours, and the time change was 4-1/2 hours. The wide-body plane was full. We were comfortable. Helen slept a couple hours. I slept the whole time. They fed us a big breakfast. We arrived at Heathrow Airport in London just after daybreak.

The timing was good in that once we arrived at our departure gate we had to wait only half an hour to board our British Airlines flight to JFK Airport in New York. The flight to New York was about seven hours with a five-hour time change. I did some reading and a lot of snoozing and was comfortable. This wide-body plane was also full. They kept us well fed.

We weren't sure whether Hans would meet us at the airport when we arrived at about 11 AM. He did not. Helen reached him on his cell phone. Apparently he is driving back with Leo and Shelley from a week-long Easter stay in Cincinnatti. He said he would meet us tonight. Of course, it's not necessary for him to meet us.

We would have tried to get on a shuttle bus to the Pennsylvania Hotel downtown. We don't know the train system at all. Fortunately Helmut and Karen Schardt took us under their wing. They were taking the train to their other home on Long Island. We went together on the very modern Sky Train to a station where we got on a train to downtown, and they went another direction. Two stops and we were at Penn Station, and we walked across the street to the hotel. We managed all this fairly well with all our luggage. We were able to get a room overnight on the 12th floor. Airplane snoozing hadn't done the job, so we promptly took a very long nap until after dark in our room.

Then we went across the street to Penn Station for late night pizza and flan.

Bernie :-)