Our Reason for Being in Cape Town

Finally ... we're back home. There are not words to describe Delta -- at least not words that are a part of my vocabulary. First, it took us over an hour to get checked in at Johannesburg and there weren't more than 20 groups ahead of us. Delta had only 3 ticket counters open and 1 of those was dedicated to Business/Elite customers. It was like they were on a go-slow.

Then, our seats were more cramped than any I remember in our 22 years of international travel. The only way to get my knees behind the seat in front of me was to sit up perfectly straight with my backside jammed into the back of my seat. I couldn't stretch my legs out under the seat in front of me because of a bar of some sort under the back edge of the seat in front of me.

Finally, our final flight from Atlanta to Richmond was canceled because of a "maintenance problem". They booked us on a flight for tomorrow with no guarantee of a hotel room. We were on stand-by for the next flight but didn't get on that. Then we were on stand-by for the final flight of the day and were #'s 4/5/6. At the very last minute, they said they had room for 2 of the 3 of us, so my wife and daughter had the van keys and the luggage stickers. I was going to spend the night in either the airport or at my brother's on the north side of Atlanta. But, just as I turned to leave, they said they could put "one more Allen on". We go te last 3 seats. So, a huge 2-thumbs down for Delta for a trip that ended up having us traveling for 42 hours from the time we left for the airport yesteday until we got home tonight.

Still, the awful trip hasn't detracted from the very special week we just completed in Cape Town, South Africa. We spent a week "on vacation" with our son, his fiance, her parents and one brother, my parents, my wife's mother, our daughter and a small group of our son and his fiance's friends. And, let me tell you, Cape Town is a beautiful place to spend a week (and in which to get in some beautiful runs). Then, the wedding was Friday. They wanted it to be somewhat untraditional but it was very special.

Left to right: Stacey (our daughter), Stephen (our son), Anna (our new daughter-in-law), Jonathan (Anna's brother)



Off they go.

Run well, y'all,
Bob