Day 12 - December 7 - London, then...

... Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

8:00 am (2:00 am Central Time) - Our airport cab was a few minutes early and we headed to Heathrow -- no glitches whatever. Heathrow is one busy place! Thanks again to Doris, Mom and Dad Rowland's neighbor, for suggesting wheelchair assistance. I simply could not have done it without that. A major bonus is that at every stop, being in a wheelchair gets you through the checkpoints -- security, passports, whatever -- quickly and easily. Very little waiting in line. At Heathrow, the gates are closed to waiting passengers until they open them shortly before boarding. So, there are large passenger lounge areas surrounded by shops. We had a cup of Starbucks while waiting and I did a little shopping for last-minute necessities. Our London departure was a little delayed and the return flight is longer than the flight coming to the UK -- I suppose because the return was more distant, at a higher latitude. We flew over southern Greenland and could look down on miles of mountain peaks jutting up through snow and ice as far as the eye could see -- plus frozen lakes, etc. Frigidly beautiful.

It was a long journey, with more stops than our flight to the UK. We were in transit for 22 hours, then had a two hour drive home. We were absolutely exhausted and none of our checked bags made it from O'Hare. They finally located them today (Saturday) and we will get them Monday.

Thanks for keeping up with our journey. Hopefully it has been as enjoyable to read and look at as it has been for us to share it with you
Will update diary later today.