We made it! Monday started off with a bang! We were getting ready to go out to breakfast with out of town friends. I heard the icemaker filling. It seemed to run a long time. Then I heard water running --out of the front of the refrigerator. Cleared the ice, mopped up the kitchen, and turned off the ice maker. All of that gave us peace of mind for leaving the country!
When we returned from breakfast, we tried to print our boarding passes, but couldn't get them. We are traveling with John and Beth. When he tried to get his boarding passes, the website said that our Tuesday morning flight was cancelled. He called the airlines and booked a Monday flight for us all. . By this time, it was just before 1 pm and we had to catch the 2 pm bus out of Rockford. Things flew, but we made it on the 2 PM bus. When we got on the bus, I called a hotel near Dulles airport and made reservations. The flight was fine and we found our hotel.
When we woke up Tuesday morning, we heard the reports of the snow that had landed in Rockford. Left the hotel around noon. While waiting for our South African flight boarding passes, we noticed many young people with huge duffel bags --labeled with duct tape--waiting for the same flight we were to be on. Turns out they were Peace Corp volunteers headed out to their assignments. When we checked in, we were able to get aisle seats which was a huge relief. Our flight left at 5:50 PM. It was a 7 hour flight to Dakar, Senegal. It looked like a tropical city with many flat roofs. We saw it but could not get off the plane. The plane was refueled. A few passengers got off in Dakar and a few more got on. They were all elegantly dressed--men in suits and women in native dress.
Then we flew 8 hours to Johannesburg. We all tried to get some sleep. Also read, watched movies, and ate. We arrived about sundown on Wednesday. The men found an ATM to get South African money (rands). Beth and I fended off the unapproved taxi drivers and lined up transportation to the hotel. We came two days early so were not met by our tour group or furnished transportation. We were on our own which is rather challenging in a foreign city. Johannesburg appears to be a modern city with very nice roads. We are in Sandton which is the financial center. Nice hotel. Slept well. Today we will catch up on sleep. There is a 8 hour time difference from Rockford.
When we returned from breakfast, we tried to print our boarding passes, but couldn't get them. We are traveling with John and Beth. When he tried to get his boarding passes, the website said that our Tuesday morning flight was cancelled. He called the airlines and booked a Monday flight for us all. . By this time, it was just before 1 pm and we had to catch the 2 pm bus out of Rockford. Things flew, but we made it on the 2 PM bus. When we got on the bus, I called a hotel near Dulles airport and made reservations. The flight was fine and we found our hotel.
When we woke up Tuesday morning, we heard the reports of the snow that had landed in Rockford. Left the hotel around noon. While waiting for our South African flight boarding passes, we noticed many young people with huge duffel bags --labeled with duct tape--waiting for the same flight we were to be on. Turns out they were Peace Corp volunteers headed out to their assignments. When we checked in, we were able to get aisle seats which was a huge relief. Our flight left at 5:50 PM. It was a 7 hour flight to Dakar, Senegal. It looked like a tropical city with many flat roofs. We saw it but could not get off the plane. The plane was refueled. A few passengers got off in Dakar and a few more got on. They were all elegantly dressed--men in suits and women in native dress.
Then we flew 8 hours to Johannesburg. We all tried to get some sleep. Also read, watched movies, and ate. We arrived about sundown on Wednesday. The men found an ATM to get South African money (rands). Beth and I fended off the unapproved taxi drivers and lined up transportation to the hotel. We came two days early so were not met by our tour group or furnished transportation. We were on our own which is rather challenging in a foreign city. Johannesburg appears to be a modern city with very nice roads. We are in Sandton which is the financial center. Nice hotel. Slept well. Today we will catch up on sleep. There is a 8 hour time difference from Rockford.
Was relieved to get this blog message as I was really, really wondering about you guys getting out of Rockford on Tuesday. So glad you left early and got the darned ice maker unplugged. Don't even think about it till a day or so after you are home. Thanks for posting and enjoy!
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