Our day started with our last Full Irish at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. That and a strong cup of coffee are needed for the long agenda for the day.
Check in at Dublin Airport is a little old fashioned. We didn't have a check in kiosk to get our bag tags, we actually stood in line for about 30 min waiting for an agent to take care of us. Just that wait and standing, alone, caused for Bill to feel discomfort in his incisions. We asked the agent how far it was to the gate. We were already concerned with him needing to stand for any length of time at security, since we have noticed standing causes strain and fatigue. When the agent told us it was quite a distance, we agreed that getting assistance would be the best plan. It's clear that not many fellas at Bill's age use this service, and we certainly didnt want to, but we are glad we did. We breeze through security with our guide. We transferred to a cart that took us the rest of the way and saved us so much time.
While at the gate, two ladies were sitting next to me and we quickly struck up a conversation. They just completed their own hike in the Swiss Alps.
When you access assistance, you also pre-board. We were the first on the plane today.
Taking off, we said a quiet goodbye to the 40 shades of green.
I was mesmerized by the clouds and the blue sky.
Lunch on board always includes a small salad and dessert.
Flying over Hudson's Bay.
The Calgary skyline.
Assistance was arranged for our arrival in Calgary. They were short staffed, so I was asked to transport Bill through customs. We were fast tracked through with the crew line up. At the luggage carousel, I loaded our bags onto a cart. Problem solving had to kick in to transport bags and wheelchair through the rest of the way. I put the luggage cart in front of Bill and I pushed both the rest of the way. One we were out into the arrivals waiting area, we felt confident we could ditch the wheelchair.
Once we picked up the car from parking, we were heading north on QE2, heading for home.
This trip was not what we had expected with twists and turns. We are so grateful for our friends and family who stayed in close contact, making us feel like we weren't so far away.
Thanks for following along!