Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig…

June 5-Sunday

Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig…

Five weeks, two cruises, thirteen countries, three continents, 16,000+ miles, ten languages, and memories to numerous to count. This was definitely one of the most astonishing months that we have ever experienced, filled with loads of laughter, love, smiles, tears and our shear love of learning about people and places that we have only read about but never encountered in our lives.

Last night we returned to our country and cleared customs in Chicago after a 10 ½ hour flight from Warsaw aboard Lot Polish Airlines. We had hoped to sleep on this flight but the five crying babies seated in the two rows right behind us made that impossible. The next flight to Seattle was much quieter and we were both able to catch some needed of winks during this 4 ½ hour segment. Since it was late and we had missed the last ferry to our island, we had reservations for the last night in a hotel. This morning our good friends picked us up and drove us to the ferry dock and another friend met us on the island side to drive us home. The house looked so large after the small ship and hotel rooms that have served as our home for the last 36 nights.

Reflecting on this last months’ travels, we have come to realize just how lucky we are here in our beloved USA. We have seen countries that have been devastated numerous times in the past 20 or more years and many of these have not had the money to rebuild what this inhumanity toward them has destroyed. Very few of the countries we visited were able to rebuild part if not all due mostly to the tenacity of the people to go on with life but it has been difficult for most to do so yet or maybe ever.

We have learned so much about people in cultures that we previously knew so little of including Donna’s own ancestors. We feel so honored to be the first descendents to return to the ancestral homeland and walk on the same grounds that her grandparents walked but sadly we realize that the relatives that they left behind perished due to man’s inhumanity to man during the past 70 years.

We have been fortunate to be able to travel to many parts of the world in our job as professional cruise ship lecturers but this particular trip will live in our memories as a very special and touching five weeks of our lives.

We will have a few of our most memorable moments in a future posting so keep checking and thanks for following us on this adventure.