Michael and Jerry Purles drove us to the airport. We checked our luggage at the counter. Each of our bags were under the limit (some closer to the 50 lbs. than others).
We breezed through security, boarded our flight, and made it to New York (JFK) without a problem. Upon arrival in New York we discovered that our next flight to Paris departed from Terminal 1. We had arrived in Terminal 3, which required us to exit Terminal 3 and re-enter Terminal 1. We had a two hour layover. The distance was not just a hop, skip, and jump either. Upon arriving in Terminal 1, we were told that we would have to go through security again. If you think the lines at the Salt Lake International Airport are long, you can't begin to imagine what the lines were like at JFK. Not to mention that we felt as if we were speaking a foreign language, and we were still in the United States. Luckily we were traveling with another couple (Elder and Sister Maughan). Elder Maughan recently had his hip replaced, so Gary got assertive and pulled the handicap card which got us through the long line. We boarded the flight without even having time to make a visit to the restroom.
Other than the fact that it is was a 6 hour flight, it was uneventful. They did feed us. We got into Paris at 6am. Our flight to Zagreb was scheduled to leave at 9:45am. After walking from one terminal to the next, which again was no small stroll (at least we didn't have to exit and go through security again) we arrived at the proper gate to go to Zagreb. Gary bought himself a $5.00 bottle of water, we freshen up a bit and then the next stop was Croatia.
Upon arriving in Zagreb at noon, we got off the plane (no jet bridge here -just stairs rolled up to the plane) and went through customs without a hitch. The Mission President and his wife (Edward and Brooke Rowe) picked us up at the airport, took us back to the mission home for a quick shower and a wonderful lunch. All the time we were in a daze as we had now been up since 5am Friday and it was now 4am Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Then the office couple (Elder and Sister Irwin) drove us from Zagreb to Varazdin. We arrived at our apartment about 7:15pm. By this time Susan had only nodded off in the car twice. We were greeted by the Elders (Elder Meline & Wade), who helped us bring in our luggage (we are on the 7th Floor). The Erickson's had graciously left us two meals and a gift basket. This was very much appreciated as church was at 10am the next morning.
We unpacked some and went to bed at 9:30pm. It is good to have our trip OVER! Tomorrow we go to church at the branch.
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