The day has come for the Atlantic crossing. Flying Lufthansa is a pretty straightforward affair. An early departure to be followed by an 8-hour flight from Washington Dulles to Frankfurt, followed by a three hour layover and then a 4 hour flight to Beirut arriving early afternoon. Online check-in helps relieve much of the last minute pressure.
Everything packed, even managed to fit the hiking bag in a travel bag. The trick, I figured is extracting two parallel supporting rods in the back of the bag that keep it upright. Two small Velcro pockets inside the bag at the top end can be opened to let the rods out. Good design. Makes the hiking bag sturdy, but not rigid. Life should be more like that …
Samer met me at the office early in the morning and finished delivering a project to Microsoft a good two days ahead of schedule. Good for him. He can now relax on the weekend and enjoy Beirut! In the meantime, I managed to get the trip finances in order. Nothing complex, just simple calculations to be able to pay our lodging along the way. The idea is to carry enough to pay but not too much too misplace or risk getting stolen. Managed to call Beirut to confirm everything is ready with Chamoun. My lifetime football friend Diab will pick Samer and I up at Beirut airport upon arrival. Karim D., Hindo, Mandoun, and Ugo have confirmed they would like to join us at Ferdinand’s Saturday evening. Should be a nice evening …
Mom (Immeh) is more excited than both Samer and I. Her two boys are off to an adventure together. In the meantime, ever busy, she has decided to take on a massive basement reformation project all by herself. Mother is the epitome of family love, giving, and hard work. Ever since I can remember, she has been like that. Nothing, not even the most tragic of calamity, has ever changed that. She continues to be the rock of our family. A rock with a big heart.
Karim called me to wish me good luck. He had seen Argentina knock Korea out of WC Under 20, and Mexico knock England out. He was excited about the next game: Argentina – Egypt. Should be a smasher with Egypt playing so well. A voracious reader, not unlike his jiddo, he urged me to keep the blog updated ...T sent me a note wishing me good luck and Moni- ever the skeptic- called me to tell me to be careful not get myself killed. Atto and Ammo Rabi came by to say goodbye and drop us off at the airport. Atto made sure we got to the airport on time, and then called us on the plane to make sure we had managed to get on! That’s my beloved aunt for you, but it’s nice to feel 5 years old every now and then … All in the family …
On the ride to the airport, Samer jokes that if this thing goes down the drain after the first few kilometers, we’ll divert to plan B: Blogging about the “hike” from a hotel by the beach somewhere …
Flight takes off on time. Good omen. Path dependency theory. Adventure begins …
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