Day 1 – Saturday : London to Oak Ridge
I use the same taxi company I use for business, but today they are late – I chase the head office a number of times – 20 minutes late the driver turns up saying he had to fix a puncture. But he hadn’t notified head office who could have sent another car, probably because he didn’t want to lose the fare. I am annoyed and let him know it.
No status with the airline meant no lounge access, so no free champagne. The flight is a new Boeing 787, but Sally finds herself sat next to a young woman with a baby, which predictably screams for much of the flight. Enjoyment of the flight isn’t enhanced by the mother deciding the change the baby’s diaper while sat in her economy seat, rather than using the rest room.
Still, we land in Chicago on time and clear immigration and customs without too much delay.
You could choose various themes for this journey. During much of it we will follow the path of the Lewis and Clark expedition. We will also hit three of the locations that were significant in the development of the Atomic bomb in WWII. Although we don’t leave the airport in Chicago, it is at in theory the first of those three locations – the location of the Chicago Pile 1 – the world’s first nuclear reactor.
After a snack we find ourselves on a small regional jet for a short and pleasant flight down to Knoxville. On landing we head in the direction of the luggage carousel, and before we knew it are in a public area – land-side. I look ahead and spot a couple waiting on a bench in the corridor – hang on – I recognise those two – yes, it’s Chet and Janet, sat waiting for us. We have finally arrived.
It is so nice to see friendly faces when you land at an unknown airport – a luxury I never have. A short drive in Chet’s Prius and we are in Oak Ridge. I guess we should head to bed straight away, but it is so lovely to be with Chet and Janet that the talk flows until midnight. My body clock is still somewhere between here and India, where it is 9:30 AM already.
The camper is all set-up ready to go to bed, so we can just climb straight in and get to sleep.
