An Experience I could have lived without

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6/19/2021

 I have thought about how to write this post over and over again. Started it over and over again.  No matter how I start I keep coming up short on portraying the experience I had. 

This isn’t a post that will have my normal snark in it. It’s not a bright and fun experience. My attempts to make it more light hearted or riddled with quips and other such thing don’t really help it out. 

I was already not feeling good. Having issues keeping food down. The first couple days was water and crackers.  As nauseous as I was, those two things still seemed to stay down. The third night was the worst.  Water didn’t stay down. I tried powerade zero for electrolytes and that came up. Crackers did nothing.  When I didn’t have anymore water come up, bile replaced it. 

 

My body felt overheated and I couldn’t cool down. I checked my temperature and I didn’t have a fever. After a few more trips to vomit, I noticed the room starting to spin. Keeping upright was more of a challenge.  Sometime around 5 am I woke my husband up to help me to the shower.  I was hoping to take a cold shower. 

 

Anyone in southern Arizona in the summer knows that getting any kind of cold water is a joke. The outside temperatures are too high and the few moments of cold water you can get are short lived and followed by warm or even sometimes hot water.  A trick someone told me was to turn your hot water off in the summer. This way you can get colder or cooler water from the tank.   We hadn’t done this. 

 

After waking my husband up and having him help me to the shower; we turned the water on and was greeted by…. Warm water. I immediately got annoyed and frustrated as I was already feeling so warm. He walked me back to bed and we both laid back down. I had another trip or two to vomit and at some point my husband asked if we needed to go to urgent care. 

 

I knew I was impaired. I could barely navigate to the bathroom. I left this decision up to him. If it was me, I’d have laid back down and tried to tough it out.  He had other plans. He grabbed some clothes and had me put them on. After grabbing some other necessities he loaded me into the truck.  I don’t recall what time it was. I just new it was early. Work hadn’t started yet.

 

When we opened the door to go outside I was blinded.  I couldn’t see anything but bright white and the light hurt. After cringing and shutting the door, I was handed some sunglasses that barely helped and ushered out the door. The heat of Arizona’s summer making me even more uncomfortable. 

 

My breathing had become more forced and rapid. Almost a huffing pant.  I could feel my husbands annoyance with other drivers as he tried to get me to urgent care as quickly as possible. Once we arrived; I remember being unloaded. My husband fumbling with the seat belt to get me out of the truck and then sitting in the waiting room. After a few moments I was being taken in back to be assessed. 

 

At this point time became a fight for me. What was a minute felt more like an hour. I recall sitting in a bright room. I recall my husband telling me not to lay on the nice cold floor because they would send an ambulance.  I even recall ignoring him and enjoying how cold the floor was. Refreshing and a beautiful reprieve from the heat I kept feeling. 

 

The doctors wanted a urine sample and they had my husband help me collect it. I remember demanding a wheel chair because I couldn’t walk anymore.  

 

Urgent care provided some zofran to help with the nausea. My blood sugar was too high for the meter to read. 

 

They told my husband I was in Diabetic Keto Acidosis and that I needed to be taken to the Emergency Room immediately. They provided the nearest hospital and my husband loaded me back into the truck. 

The Atacama Desert in Chile has not a drop of water in over 500 years!

The next thing i remember is sitting in the emergency room waiting room.  My eyes closed for much of this adventure due to how bright everything was. All I kept thinking about was cooling off and getting water.  My mouth was as dry as the Atacama desert.  


My husband said he want up and yelled at the ER nurse to get me help.  He was provided the standard ‘ as soon as we can sir’.   

 

I was taken back to be assessed and they wouldn’t allow my husband to come with.  At some point they called him back because I wasn’t coherent.  The answers I was providing didn’t make sense or couldn’t be understood. 

 

I’m told after a few moments of the assessment I was taken back and provided a room and a flurry of nurses.  Time continued to fail me as a nurse would come in and promise water and leave. What felt like hours of waiting no water I tried yelling ‘hello’ to get attention.  [I’m told I wasn’t very loud when I thought I was yelling] My husband hushed me several times and reassured me it had literally been 1 minutes since they had left.  

 

I remember:

  • getting injections of zofran. 
  • getting lemon wet swabs that were horrible.
  • getting ice water and sponges to suck on. 
  • getting things stuck to me and some kind of imaging done without having to leave the bed I was on. 
  • food being brought and not having an appetite.
  • my chin shaking uncontrollably even though I wasn’t cold

All the while my breathing continues to pant and I still feel hot. I remember my seeking out more and more water like an addict seeking their next fix.  

 

[my husband said I kept telling the heart monitor alarms to shut up. I was tachycardic and kept setting the alarms off with a heart rate over 135. At some point the nurses changed the threshold to stop the alarms]

 

The doctors told my husband that my blood sugar was 753.  That I was in DKA. They said my breathing was called Kussmaul respirations. Starts as rapid, shallow breathing (sigh breathing) that, as the acidosis grows more severe, becomes slower, deeper, and labored (air hunger).

 

After a while I was taken to ICU. My husband was sent to the waiting room while I was prepped for a stay in an ICU room. There I remember being bathed with wipes and put in a gown. Connected to monitors and several IVs and cables. A urine sample was requested and I conceded to a catheter because I didn’t have the energy to make it to the toilet that was less than 5 feet away. I remember a nurse telling me I had acid in my blood. To which I only recall mimicking what she said ‘acid in my blood?’ ..   and trailing off.  

 

The next 24 hours were in and out of sleep as the doctors came in and out testing my blood sugar and checking my fluids and electrolytes. I was on an iv drip of insulin to get my blood sugars down.  By 3pm the following day my blood sugar was down to the 300’s.  I was more awake but still quite tired.  I could see the incremental improvements. Being awake for longer periods but not being able to focus.  Checking my phone and seeing messages but not caring.   Finally reading the messages and then of course replying to them.  

 

I hadn’t fully understood the dilemma I had been in. How deadly the condition I was in until a few days after being released from the hospital.  I took the time to read more up on DKA and what it means.  

I’m thankful to be alive.  I’m thankful my husband was there to make the decision to bring me to a care facility.  Had he not, I may not be here today. 

 

I was in the hospital for a total of 3 days. When I got home I slept for another 24 hours. My body felt bruised. I was happy to be home.  The photo below (right) is after being in the hospital for 24 hours. Every time someone came in the room I was told how much better I looked. I think I am glad I don”t have pictures of before I received IV fluids and insulin. 

Another bloggers post hits very close to home.  A recommended read as she outlines the experience far better than I think I can.  While not identical in the setting or everything that happened, the experience as a whole and lost time is very similar. 

 https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/loop-blog/the-scary-experience-of-diabetic-ketoacidosis/

 Yet another blogger has a great post about it. 

https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/landing-in-hospital-diabetic-ketoacidosis#1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whale Watching and so much more!

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For my Partners birthday we took advantage of having friends staying with us and spent a weekend in California. It was a fantastic weekend and so many firsts! It was great being able to experience all of this with him.

I’ve always thought whale watching was 5,000% out of my league. I’d never have a chance at seeing a whale. I grew up in the center of the North American continent. When I don’t think I’d see the ocean, the idea of ever being able to see a whale was laughable. 

My first chance at seeing a whale was part of Don’s birthday weekend.

I did not get a picture of every first but there are quite a few that I remember well enough. 

  • Visiting California – As much as I wanted to get it, I didn’t. The “Welcome to California” Sign. I think I got wrapped up over a view or something else. I honestly can’t remember. But, I’m sure it was like all the other “Welcome to [Insert State Here]” Signs.
  • Tried Swordfish – Couldn’t have been that amazing – because I barely remember this! Okay, actually I don’t remember it at all but it was on my list of firsts that I wrote down during this entire vacation. So – clearly I tried it. But…. eh….
  • Seeing the Pacific Ocean – I seen the Gulf of Mexico, and it was beautiful. This was beautiful. The time between seeing the two was so long that I wouldn’t be able to compare them at all. But, its the ocean. Its beautiful and disgusting and serene and scary all at once. It’s intimidating. This time, I didn’t go in the ocean. This time, I stepped in the ‘residue’ as the waves pulled back from the sand. I know its not a rational fear, but I didn’t reason my way into being afraid of the ocean, it’s challenging to try and reason my way out.
  • Going Whale Watching (No Whales) – Well this was an adventure. LOL .  Mainly because there were a lot of bumps and while the boat felt sturdy, I have know delusions about the power of the Ocean, its depths and how small a boat we were in. My husband said “We’re not far from shore, you can see it!” to which I replied “yeah, were not far when you are in a boat, Its a lot farther when you are swimming!” and then I promptly turned green.
  •  Seeing wild dolphins (large pod) – Seeing the pod of dolphins was fantastic. You could see them splash and hear them. They would dive under the boat and come up on the other side like a game. I could almost hear the adventure music that seemed fitting for their play time. This was also a really nice distraction from the Whale Watching ride.  I also seen a couple dolphins swim into the small canal by the hotel. We were right on the water and I had walked down to just watch the ocean and there were a couple zipping back and forth.
  • Seeing wild Seals/Sea lion – Bring a nose plug. These guys are STINKY! ☺ But highly entertaining, when they decide to move around. We were able to see these guys all over the place at Oceanside. We seen a few just outside the hotel, down the coast, while we were whale watching, at the walkway and all over. The walkway was the easiest to see them and if you ever get a chance, I highly encourage you to stay and watch. They have personality. They are goofy. They are little shits too! No – not because they shit – really, they are just dicks to each other! Pushing each other off the float, blocking them from coming back up out of the water, flopping down on each other.
  • Seeing Someone in a wet suit & Someone surfing – Yeah – Because – how the heck do you surf on a lake? And I have no idea why seeing someone in a wet suit is on this list. Its new, Just be glad I’m not blogging a new thing for every time I blow my nose… Each one of those kleenex tissues is “new” ya know! You could be reading about the journey of every sneeze into a “NEW” tissue!
  • Seeing someone paddle board – Well, Its not like I ever expected anyone to paddle board in the great lakes back in Wisconsin! Remember – I never thought I’d leave that place. And then when I finally get to – I move where water barely exists. If I had to pick a paddle boarder to see for the first time again, I’d choose this guy! This guy has the best life with his puppers and how brave he is to paddle board with fish bait to all the creatures that are just under foot.  Those cute puppers were spry too. moving about and then jumping off the paddle board. Cute as heck!
  • Seeing Beach ‘Coast Guard’ buildings – Why is this on my bucket list? Why is this even on my radar for a new experience? …………… T V …………… That’s why! I didn’t grow up where these existed. It was on Bay Watch. It was neat! I’ve never seen a beach with a building on it. I’ve never seen a beach with a life guard. I grew up in a place where the state says here is a lake – swim at your own risk – we don’t have you covered!  – If you are taking me serious right now – you really shouldn’t. Have you learned nothing yet while reading these blogs?  – But for real – the reason is Bay Watch and I lead a land locked life. 
  • OH!  There was a Coast Guard truck too! I didn’t get a picture because it was on our way out, BUT….. It was on the beach… Just like Bay Watch!  I always thought it was made up yuppy fantasy stuff. Like – I wish I had enough money to spend on unnecessary things. I think I’m talking too much now because my whole point of why this was so neat to me is just making me sound really weird. Just … go to the next neat new thing for me! I’m sure there’s plenty more!

Videos

Grasshoppers

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These babies may not look all that appetizing (apart from the bacon!) but they are fantastic. I could
eat 20 of them in a sitting if I was my pre-keto self. They are the “pringles” of snacks! Once you pop – you can’t stop!


You might know these by another name but I’ve always heard them called ‘Grasshoppers’.  Bacon wrapped, cream cheese filled jalapeno poppers!
They are extremely easy to make and the crunchier you get the bacon the better these taste! I missed the beer battered deep fried version of jalapeno poppers, but these quickly took over my hear!


Ingredients:

  • 5 jalapenos sliced in half lengthwise and gutted
    • Make sure all seeds and ribs are gone unless you like the heat
  • 3/4 c. Cream Cheese (Philadelphia seems to have the least carbs)
  • 5 Strips of Bacon

Directions:

  1. Prepare your jalapenos (Slice, Gut, get rid of seeds and ribs)
  2. Fill with cream cheese
  3. Wrap with 1/2 strip of bacon
    • Its even better if you dice the bacon and place on top of the cream cheese. When you take a bite, the entire piece of bacon wont come off with it.
  4. Place on a broiler pan and bake at 375 degrees until bacon is almost done 6-10 min
  5. Turn oven to broil and broil for 2-4 minutes to crisp up the bacon
  6. Let cool and enjoy!
  7. Makes 10 Grasshoppers

Forage for Mushrooms

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I’ve always loved the idea of foraging for your own food. I envy the people that can tell which plants are what with great confidence. I could have a book in one hand and the plant in the other and I still would be second guessing myself. 

Luckily, we have some more seasoned people with us on this excursion. Our friends back in Wisconsin took us out hunting while we were visiting. Apart from the humidity and the blood thirsty mosquitos, it was very enjoyable. It was great to get outside in nature without melting in 110 degrees. We had the dogs with, they both did very well on their walking. 

 

Hunting was educational. They pointed out several things of what not to eat and explained quite a bit of what you could, what to look for and so much more.  

The best part was getting back to their place. They quickly cleaned up the mushrooms and cooked them up. I never knew mushrooms could taste so good. 

Don’t get me wrong – I already love mushrooms. About a year ago we discovered truffles and have become addicted. Truffle Butter, Truffle Oil, Truffle Salt, Truffle Chips.. Give me truffles – I will be a happy woman!

 

We found Chicken of the Woods! They are so vibrant in color! Its amazing they are something that is edible at all. Once cooked up, to me, they tasted like beef stroganoff. My inner fat kid didn’t want to share and had I not been considerate of others, I would have stuffed ALL of them in my face! Absolutely Delicious!

I was reading an article that states they dont have a very big flavor. I think I’d have to disagree. While they aren’t ‘Punch You In the Face’ strong, they do have a very pleasant texture and flavor. I could absolutely see replacing meat with these for anyone who doesn’t eat meat. 

We are working on moving to the Pacific North West (PNW) and I’m very eager to start foraging and mushroom hunting there!

Ride on a Paddle Boat

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 One of my bosses has a huge obsession over river boats.

It was neat to see the childlike grins he would get in the pictures he shared with us. Like a kid in a candy store. He was always super proud of his boat/ship adventures. I am not sure I will understand the obsession with the ships. I’m assuming its a kin to my obsession with animals. 

Needless to say, I always had a fascination with those paddle boats. I blame Willy Wonka. The Boat scene in the movie was great.  

NO! I did not think riding a paddle boat would bring hallucinogenlike experiences. 

I have no idea what was in that candy!  I can say it probably would have made for an interesting ‘trip’ on the paddle boat. 

I have friends (Ebony and Joe Joe) to tank for the paddle boat experience. It was part of there wedding. The Girls went off and road a paddle boat around the lake systems. It was beautiful, albeit a bit hot and muggy. But the breeze on the lake was fantastic. Watching the Paddles move was fun. 

I’m not sure what I expected. More noise, splashing, something. But it was a bit anti climactic from a new experience perspective. But I had friends there. Ebony seemed happy and enjoying herself. And that made every moment worth it. 

She may not realize it – but I am quite fond of that woman. She’s different. Unique. And I absolutely love her. I’m just a crappy friend that’s not good at staying in touch. But I was absolutely honored to be able to stand up in her wedding and help with anything that I was able to. 

The place we went to was Clear Water Harbor in Waupaca Wi.  It was a nice little place in the middle of no where LOL.  But it was fun!

And I can’t disagree with this picture from their Facebook page!  Though, I might skip the old fashion – bring on the fish fry!

Participate in a Clinical Study

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I’ve seen clinical studies on T.V. shows. The bits I’ve seen are always portrayed as a shit show or a joke.  I’m sure it has to do a lot with my choices in shows, but, regardless. This was my exposure to these kind of studies.

I don’t know that this would have originally been on my bucket list. But, when you are strapped for cash, then I guess you will do all kinds of things to ensure you can pay the bills or get to the place you are wanting to go.

I remember donating plasma when I was younger. I have permanent craters in my arms from donating so much. It was relaxing though. Sitting on a semi comfortable medical bed while vampire machines suck you dry, spitting back everything, except, your plasma.  Every once in a while you could feel the needle in your arm vibrate. Likely due to the angle of your arm or position of the needle shifted ever so slightly, hindering the machine ability to suck your human lubrication out of you. I used to volunteer to go to any of the new technicians to see if they would stay.  

My veins are deep and they roll. I’d warn every tech. I even remember one such person was so familiar with me that he would see me sitting on the bed waiting to be attached to the greedy machines and go find someone else to stab me. 

I suppose, either I’m a sucker for being a guinea pig, or , I just like taking risks. ( I doubt its either! Both comes with money. You need money to do things. I like doing things. )

Synexus Logo | Birmingham Research Park

Enter Facebook and all their advertisements and peeping tom skills to find out my interests. Several Advertisements came up with a Covid Vaccine study.

I have plenty of health issues, so – why not. Make some money for the holidays, for the traveling we want to do. EASY! right?

Well…. It really was that easy actually.  I signed up. Got a micro interview and went to a place and let them inject something that even they didn’t know what it was. A double blind study. So, the crew at the clinical study didn’t know if they were injecting me with a placebo or the actual vaccine.

I still don’t know what I have. I find out on 4/19. If I don’t have it – I will get offered the vaccine. If I do have it. They don’t need to do anything further other than continue the study.  Apart from being forgotten in one of the trial rooms waiting for them to ask questions, have me sign stuff and take my temperature a few times, it really has been painless.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but, it has been rather uneventful. Filling out the same thing in a twice a week log stating that I have had no symptoms.

I will update this once I have more to add. But I’m currently in the middle of the study and have another year or so left!

UPDATE: 4/19/21

Just got back home from the study appointment. It appears this entire time – I have been vaccinated against Covid with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine last year.   Super glad I didn’t die. How else would you get to wonder through all my weird bucket list items.

Because I’d like to provide a little insight into what its like to do a drive through vaccine – I am going to see if I can’t get the ole ball and chain to take a picture for me.

UPDATE: 10/2022

Well – We moved out of state. I had inquired about the ability to continue the study in our new state when we signed up and I was provided with a resounding “Yes”. I even told them the state we were moving to.

It really should have been a resounding “No” because  – We moved – tried to get things moved over – and it is not possible.  UGH – There were other studies I could have been making more money on – but oh well!

I guess that is the end of my experience.

Hold a Monkey

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Unless its in a zoo, I’ll never get to hold a monkey. I mean, where else would I encounter a monkey right? Especially being in the United States? And I know I’m NEVER going to get to go out of the country. I can’t afford flights like that. 

Fast Forward MANY Years…. Here I am in the Dominican Republic, AMAZED that I have a monkey standing on me and feeling bad that the poor thing is having to perform. 

I seen them on the beach a couple times but didn’t want to pester the monkey. So many people want to be just like me – Please let me hold the cute animal that should be free! One of the last days we were there I had to – I chased the people down and asked if I could hold the monkey. They almost didn’t because it was the end of the day – but they let me anyways. Immediately feeling bad for the animal, but still enjoying the moment.

He peed all over me and bit me, but I was still happier and excited and wanted to abscond with the poor chap and give him an amazing home where he could be free to come and go as he pleased and feel safe. (YEAH my “save everyone” mode kicked in. No- I did not abscond with the monkey. I still wanted to though!)

Such an AWESOME experience. I had asked the guy what kind of monkey he was and was told a ‘spider monkey’. After digging a bit – I am pretty sure he is a squirrel monkey.  – What do you think?

spidervssquirrel

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Either way, I so would have loved to just curl up with the little guy but he was wound lol. He did nip me too, but – hey, ya only live once. Now I just have a million more animals to see and love on for the first time. This was definitely a highlight of our trip to Punta Cana. 

I will have to apologize for the video. just as he started recording he flipped the camera – and I’m being far to lazy to cut and fix the video. This is what you get!

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spidervssquirrel

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Snorkeling – (Kind of)

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I have been fascinated by water for as long as I can remember. From the shimmer of light on the surface or rippling water to the bottom of the oceans. It’s amazing the life that lives in water. Aaaaaand Terrifying. 

If you have read any of the other posts, its possible you came across me talking about my fear of water. Well, this is where I started to embrace my fear.  I have quite a few things about me that I would love to change. The fact that I’m stuck in my head 90% of the time is definitely one of them. Being stuck in my head has impacted my ability to just enjoy the experience quite a few times. Snorkeling in the Ocean wasn’t an exception. 

Clearly – based on the pictures I was extremely excited to go snorkeling. Knowing full well that the ocean scares me. I put on all the gear, did my cheesy pictures and had fun with it…. Then… I jumped into the ocean… That Vast Blue Beautiful Water that holds so many mysteries.. and Fish!

Of Course there’s fish in there. What the hell was I expecting, right?

So – here I am, all geared up and I jump into the ocean. All is well.. I’m trying out my flippers and I stick my head under the water to test out the seal on the snorkel and goggles. All good! Some minor adjustments and trying to swim over to Don. (He got in after me).  Lets take a look at whats around me. 

Here I go looking around under water and  I see vast wide open spaces of crystal clear water…. and…. Fish.. 

My head immediately goes Fish = Life = Crazy ass shit in the ocean = My ass is gonna get ate by some random as shark/whale hybrid that will swallow me hole and leave everyone else in perfect condition. That Sting Ray I seen is gonna git me! GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!……

Yes – Yes – ALL of that did go through my head in a matter of maybe 1/2 a second.  I quit swimming towards done and went back towards the boat. As calm as I could keep myself. (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t as calm as I was trying to present myself). The entire swim back to the boat ramp I was chanting to myself “Just keep swimming” Dory style with an internal mantra of ‘stay calm, you’re nuts’!

I finally get to the boat ramp, and slide myself up on it tearing up my leg a little bit as I go. Once I got up on the boat my leg was all bloody from the scrape I took. 

And THIS is where I decided to embrace my chicken shit and accept that – I might love water, but I dont want to be in it. 

Try Coconut Water – from an actual coconut

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 Like I said – I got to mark a lot of firsts off my list on this trip to the Dominican Republic. There’s things I didn’t even know should have been on my list that need to get added. 

This, I’ve wanted to do for quite a while. My husband and I watch a lot of those ‘Alone’ type shows where they have to survive on their own. (supposedly, but either way its still interesting). 

Coconut water is frequently used for hydration on those shows when they cant get their fire working. So, naturally, I had to try this. Sure, we have coconut water in stores, but that’s different. I wanted to try it straight from the coconut. 

Thank you to my dear co-worker for offering me some. It was warm but still good. I like cold water for that ‘refreshing’ feeling, so I can’t say it was super refreshing, but it was tasty.  

Much like the consistency of water, it didn’t leave a residue in your mouth. It had a coconutty taste, but, if you’ve never tried unsweetened coconut or anything remotely natural coconut, you will just have to add this to your own bucket list to have a try. 

Leave the Country

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The beginning of 2020 started out pretty decent. No Covid yet, a trip to the Dominican Republic, experiencing going through customs (that was very anticlimactic lol). I practices quite a bit of Spanish in the Dominican and was happy to get some pointers and do pretty decent as well. 

Leaving the country brought quite a few new experiences. I’m sure you will be able to review them as I get them all posted. 

Things certainly work differently in different countries. Granted – I’ve not been to a plethora of countries to compare it to anything. On arrival to the DR, we exited the plane on stairs. Walk down, jump on a bus that takes you to customs. (If you can call it that)

At Customs, you go through a line, they stamp your passport, and off you go. Its possible there were a couple questions, but I don’t recall anything standing out that made any of it very secure. Some people got checked, other people got waved through.

It was a bit different coming back. Landing in the US, we go through customs, run all over the back side of the airport (at least that’s what it felt like). Stand in line with a bunch of people coming into the country from all over. I particularly loved how closely everyone seemed to get packed in line. Coughing all over everyone. This annoyed me already – before Covid.

Some people had to go in one type of line, and others were shuffled over to another line. Slightly disconcerting when you are traveling with someone and aren’t used to airport anything. 

Clearly – I made it just fine. ☺

I can also mark off eating airplane food. I don’t recommend it.  It wasn’t horrible. But I can’t imagine its all that healthy.  Okay….. Do it once! – Get it off your bucket list of something you didn’t realize was on your bucket list.  Then… don’t do it again!