Iceland Day 9 and 10 - Trip Home

It was a LLLLOOONNNNGGGG trip home.  We arrived at the Iceland airport about 3:00 in the afternoon on Saturday and checked in and dropped off our luggage.  Security went really quickly so that was great for my bum leg.  Once we were through security we were able to wait in a really nice central terminal area until our gate was assigned.  We ate and visited and got psyched up for the plane ride home.

Esra snagged a wheelchair for me in the central waiting area because he said the walk to the gates was long.  He was not kidding!  Callie was kind enough to push me and we headed through customs.  Wouldn't you know I got randomly selected for additional screening?  Ugh!  Thank goodness for that wheelchair!  We finally made it out of the super duper extra special custom review and headed to the gate.  Weirdly, they don't have chairs at the gates, you just stand in a line to board the plane.  Me and Callie were at the back of a really long line and a nice man came over and said wheelchairs should go to the front of the line.  We made our way up there and were able to board early. I got settled into my aisle seat with my left leg hanging out in the aisle.  I was so glad I would be able to stretch it out for the flight, although it would've been better if I could have elevated it.  Swelling was still a problem in my knee and ankle.

The flight was uneventful...watched a couple movies and rubbed my knee a lot.  We landed in Boston about 7:30 p.m. and it felt GREAT to get up and move my leg!  I passed on a wheelchair and decided to walk.  Probably should not have done that in hindsight!  It took us forever to get through customs! We got a hotel room for the night and dropped into bed about 9:30.  My knee was throbbing so much, but a couple of Grandpa's giant ibuprofen and I finally fell asleep. The alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. and we staggered downstairs to go back to the airport.  What the hell were we thinking?

I said good-bye to my people on the shuttle bus because we were flying out of different terminals.  I got a little teary eyed because we had a great time, I love them all and now I was on my own for the last flight home!  They were probably thrilled to get off the bus without me!

I immediately dropped off my big piece of luggage and got through security with no problems.  I upgraded my seat to one with more leg room and that the best $80 I have ever spent.  I had plenty of room to stretch out my leg for the 4 1/2 hour flight.  Once we landed, I had a nice young fellow grab my luggage off the carousel and the parking shuttle man put my luggage in my car for me.  People are so, so good.  

My foot and leg were really swollen and black and blue after my travels.  After I hugged my boys, I immediately got on the couch and elevated my leg.  My sweet friend Mary brought me a knee ice machine that was magnificent!!!!  It felt so good to be home.

It was a wonderful trip and I am so happy that I got to see Iceland and meet all of Esra's family.  What a spectacular country that is only out shined by the people who live there!  I could not have had better travel companions and I only hope my injury didn't put too much of a damper on our activities.  I love them hard and can't wait until out next trip!   

Iceland Day 8 - Afram Island!

I have been on crutches and in a wheelchair for less than 48 hours and I am super grouchy about it. I will do a separate post about my doctor's appointment on my knee, but first I have got to finish up the last few days of the Iceland trip!  

Friday in Iceland was all about World Cup Soccer!  We got up and out of the house for breakfast in downtown Reykjavik and also indulged in a sweet treat!  Look at this crepe!  It was so good. 

We watched Game 1 in a bar and it ended in a tie - which brought Icelanders to tears with joy!  We really wanted a win for Game 2!  Iceland vs Nigeria!  AFRAM ISLAND (which I think means "Let's Go, Iceland!")  I yelled it a lot, even with no clear understanding if I was using it correctly.  We watched Game 2 at Esra's mom's house!  

Kristin was ready!  

Iceland has never been to the World Cup! 

And also, they are the smallest nation ever to make it to the World Cup (population of the entire country is 340,000)!  Many of their players have side jobs because the Iceland national soccer team is  only semi-pro.  In fact, the goalie is a filmmaker and made a rocking Coca-Cola commercial that made us tear up during the game.  The team coach is a practicing dentist. All of this made it very easy for me to adopt Iceland as my very favorite soccer team ever and get 1,000% invested in this game.  

A momma and her boy!  Nothing better! 

Callie was ready! 

Esra, his momma and his two beautiful sisters. All soccer players!  Did I mention in a previous post that we came upon a book in a Iceland bookstore called something like the Women of Iceland...it was a coffee table book about women who had played soccer for Iceland.  Esra's mom was in the book on nine different pages!  She played from about 19 years old to 29 years old.  Esra played for UAH.  His sister Asta (on the right) played for Florida Atlantic and now plays in Iceland.  His youngest sister in the white shirt is apparently the best of them all!  She just graduated high school and is trying to decide whether to play at the collegiate level or try for professional women's soccer.  These people KNOW soccer!  

It got intense really quickly! 

Esra tried everything to turn the tide for Iceland, but they ended up losing to Nigeria.  He loves this team!  Still one game remaining, and if all the cards fall into place Iceland could still move on. 

Our last night in Iceland we ordered pizza that was so dang good!  

Our flight was at 6:00 pm the next day, so Saturday would be all about getting re-packed, cleaning up the awesome apartment we called home and getting down the stairs one more time!!