We're Home!

We made it home! By God's work and plan we made it home all together. The day started out early as we had to be ready to board the bus at 5:45. We were all ready but the bus was not. It got there about 6:00 a.m. We loaded it and got to the airport about 6:40. We checked in without much issue and made it through the security checkpoint and got to the gate. We hung out there until the time that the plane should be boarded, but we were told that there would be a 30 minute delay due to fog. Well we only had an hour layover in Houston to get through Immigration and Customs, recheck our bags and head to our next plane. So it would be tight even if the plane was on time. Needless to say, we started sending out the warning messages back home and to the Continental folks that we were not going to make our scheduled connection to Orlando. The Customer Service representative in Oaxaca said they would do all that they could and that there was still a chance we could make it.

In Oaxaca, the security system is much different than in the US. Both domestic and international passengers go through the same security checkpoint and then the international passengers have to go through additional screenings at the gate. We did not realize this, and several folks tried to use some of their remaining pesos on drinks and snacks for the plane trip. However, this was before we realized that we have to be searched at the gate and this search was for liquids. Therefore, all the drinks purchased had to be consumed or disposed of. Most tried to finish their drinks before being screened,otherwise they had to dispose of the drink. Donny disposed of mine by giving it to someone sitting next us.

When we finally were screened and loaded we were over 30 minutes late. We had everyone we could talk to trying to get the Orlando flight delayed for us. Donny, who was close to the front of the plane from Oaxaca, got all the details of where we had to go, what was the best way to approach the transition from one plane to the other with the close time line from the flight attendant during the flight. Once we landed in Houston we were greeted with a long line at Immigration. Donny was leading the pack, and he found a Continental Customer Service Representative and tried to get us some priority through Immigration. As the minutes clicked by, I had these thoughts of the entire team being broken up to find a few seats here and there on different flights to get back to Orlando which would mean the team would be staggered throughout the day and that perhaps some might not even make it back today.

As the team members made it through Immigration, they were sent ahead in small groups to get their luggage and head through Customs and to recheck their bags and head to the gate. Our thought process was that if a couple of the team members could make it to the gate, Continental might hold the plane until the rest of the team could catch up. This worked for Angela, John Michael, Meredith and Lily. The rest of us were stopped when trying to recheck our luggage. We were rerouted to the Continental Departures desk. The bulk of the pack was stuck in the queue trying to get in contact with Angela and her group to let her know we would not be able to catch up. Our efforts were complicated by the fact that Meredith had Mollie's passport and Mollie had Meredith’s boarding pass so Meredith could not get through security. Angela had to leave her behind to go back to the pack. When the pack finally made it through the queue we found out that the entire group had been rescheduled for the next flight at 1:30. Angela was able to contact us because when she made it to gate, she learned that she had missed the flight. She and her group were rebooked for the new flight at the gate while the rest of us headed up to security.

Even with being booked for the 1:30 flight we still had to hustle to get everyone to the plane with potty stops and food purchases. It was 1:00 now and we had been up since 5:00 without a good meal and there was not any food scheduled for the flight. Alas, all made it on the plane and the plane took off on time and it was a smooth flight from Houston to Orlando.

We were greeted by family and friends at the airport. It was great to see everyone there to meet us. I must say it is a great feeling to know that those that met us were as anxious to see us as we were to see them. It was quite the scene with a sea of green shirts intermixed with others hugging, kissing and shaking hands. Thank you all who came out to greet the team.

It was a wonderful trip. I had team members give a sentence or two of what the trip meant to them. I will post these tomorrow. I would imagine that John Tassos will begin to start posting the trip pictures up on Facebook so watch for pictures. Christian Smith was in the process of writing the blog entry for our last full day. I will have him complete it and I will post that as well once it is completed.
Thank you all again for your prayers and encouragement. Your prayers for safety were answered as no one was hurt and travel mercies were also answered since we all made it home together. Praise God!