We left our hotel in downtown Frankfurt by taxi and were driven to the Frankfurt airport. The Condor Airline departure desk took our checked luggage and issued us our boarding passes.  We had two plus hours to kill before our flight home would begin boarding, so the four of us headed to the business class lounge for some breakfast and a place to sit down out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the airport.  Making our way through the airport, our concern for Doug’s health was at the forefront of our minds.  There was a lot of walking going on.  One takeaway from our experience at the Frankfurt airport is that the Germans are extremely serious about their airport security.  After you are scanned, then you are frisked/searched and one out of two carry-on bags seem to be checked for explosives residue.  There are uniformed police/soldiers with automatic rifles walking around through the various areas of the airport.  Despite all of this security and the fact that our small four-person group included someone who had become known throughout much of Europe as the ultimate breadstick pocketer (“you never know when you might get hungry later on”), we all made it successfully through security after a somewhat lengthy process.  Then it was more hurry up and wait, until we eventually boarded our aircraft.

Our flight home was 10 hours and 45 minutes and thankfully pretty uneventful.  We were able to read, watch movies, and some of the lucky ones were able to sleep a bit.  It was a comforting feeling for our weary souls when we finally touched down in Seattle.  When the plane made a couple of loops around the international terminal before pulling into the apparent designated gate, it was a curious move that had us scratching our heads.  Oh well.  Customs and immigration were not ready for our flight and after funneling everyone who deplaned from our flight down a long hallway, we turn a corner and find the hallway locked up tight.  The two hundred plus people from our flight stood there while a couple of security persons tried unsuccessfully to use their pin codes to open the security door with a voice at some other location giving them some instruction.  More waiting but soon enough the doors were opened and like a herd of cattle, we all mooed and moseyed our way along the hall and down the stairs to pass through our typical immigration and customs checks.  We collected our bags and successfully navigated through the last customs check, just glad to be back in Seattle.  Jose was kind enough to drive down to pick the four of us up for our return home.  Traffic was…terrible but normal for Seattle, and we soon found ourselves delivered to our respective homes back at the Camano Island vortex.

Once home, we had a plan which would allow Doug to follow up on his Santorini heart issues that had raised all kinds of questions for us with few real answers available.  We followed each other into Amigos Restaurant in Stanwood for some dinner (we had now been up about 20 hours and Barb had run out of breadsticks).  After dinner Doug and Barb drove up to Skagit Valley Hospital to the emergency room to get Doug checked out.  A story of “I had a heart attack 3 days ago in Greece while diving 70 feet under the sea and they wanted to do more extensive tests but I refused in order to get back to the States to have any testing done” is the kind of story that gets you into the ER without having to wait in the lobby seating area.  After running some further tests on Doug, they admitted him to the hospital where he spent the night.  His next day (yesterday) involved more testing and evaluations.  A little before 6 p.m. the cardiologist came in and discussed the results with Doug and we were soon notified that Doug could come home.  Since three of us were not present when this conversation happened, we have to accept what Doug tells us about it.  He said, “Ha! Just spoke with the cardiologist. No significant [heart] damage.  Stress test looked good and I’m being RELEASED!”  Well how about that?  Superman still lives!

We have been able to sleep in our own beds with our own pillows for two nights now (except for Doug who got his first shot at that last night since his release) and it has been wonderful.  It is that old familiar cliché that comes so appropriately to mind, “There’s no place like home!”  This was our longest adventure away from home ever and the length of time away from home has caused us to rethink and arrive at the conclusion that six weeks is probably too long to be away from home in the future.  We missed our kids, we missed our grandkids and we missed our dogs, Silver and Lilly.  We also appreciate more than ever that we live in an incredibly beautiful location that cannot be duplicated.  Italy and Greece are gorgeous and amazing places, but so is this area we call home.

This trip took us many new places where we could experience new things plus revisit some familiar things.  We’ve made new friends and renewed some old friendships from our first Italy trip.  We continue to find the Italian people kind, helpful and gracious.  In Greece, it seems the people are kind, helpful (also loud) and they are quick to express their emotions.  You always know where you stand with them.  We experienced the gamut of emotions in our six weeks away.  We laughed, oh we laughed, and yes, we cried.  This our second swing through Italy and first time through Greece, has reminded us that life is indeed precious and life is good.  We are so thankful.  We were reminded that life is not to be taken for granted.  No one is guaranteed tomorrow, so seize the day.  The Wagnerson motto of Attitude is everything, enjoy the journey plays just as well at home in our daily and sometimes mundane activities as it does when traveling abroad.  We’ve learned it is good advice for us at all times.  Such an attitude we found breaks down barriers and invites others to open up and share themselves with total strangers.  In that process there is made a human connection which reminds us that despite language and cultural differences, we all share the same hopes and fears and even mortality.  Despite the practical cost of this trip, the Wagnersons are certainly richer for it.  Thank you for walking through this six week adventure with us.  It has indeed been a tremendous, fun and wild ride!