strike hits Frankfurt airport; Maks delayed in Houston

Some of you may be wondering... why are they still in the US anyway? Well, we were supposed to leave on June 23rd, but then I started having severe leg pain as a result of a hip issue. So, we delayed the flight by a week so I could get treated and recuperate before diving back into our crazy existence in S Asia. Our rescheduled flight was for today, BUT...

My dad checked our flight departure time and saw that it was delayed by 3 hours. We called the airline to figure out what happened and how that would affect our connecting flight to S Asia. The airline said that due to an airport workers' strike in Frankfurt (our connection/layover city), flights were being delayed and canceled. We could have taken the delayed flight, but then we would have been stuck in Frankfurt for 2 nights because Lufthansa flies to our city only every other day. Plus, because of all the cancellations and flight delays, all of the hotels in Frankfurt are booked and we'd have to nowhere to sleep. Or, we could have left tomorrow and caught a flight to another city in our area from Frankfurt, but go on another airline to K and we'd arrive who knows when and maybe with our without our luggage (which has many precious items from the US that we do not want to lose). The airline suggested that our best option was to stay in Houston if we could. Given this advice and our dealing with my leg pain, we are staying.

Remember how a taxi strike interrupted my travel in Madrid? And of course all of the strikes in S Asia, some of which I have yet to blog about. Oh well...

My family in Houston is sort of ready for us to leave because of all the weight they have been gaining since we got here. Jerry and I have been indulging in our favorite foods, gaining weight in the process and it is affecting my mom, dad and sister as well b/c they end up eating with us, especially when the folks who take us out to dinner include my family and we all go together. For instance, last night Uncle S and Aunt S took all of us to eat BBQ ribs and brisket at Luling City Market and then to Grand Luxe for dessert. YUM.

My sister moved back from Madrid six weeks ago and was going to wait until we left (on 6/23) to start job hunting. Well, we're still here and she has stuck to her timetable of waiting until we are gone. They all joke about wanting us to leave so they can get back on track with their healthy eating and day-to-day activities. My parents were waiting for us to clear out so they could start getting ready for their trip to Mexico with their church. As it stands now, they will be leaving before us.

Such is our life... So right now, Jerry is taking a much-needed nap since we stayed up all night packing and I am updating the blog. We'll enjoy some more A/C, eat some more Chick-fil-A and we'll be off on Thursday. Maybe. Who knows what could happen next...