And I’m back with more pins for my world map… but only after a 26-hour trans-Atlantic odyssey of air miles and Hurry Styles.
Now they say the last yards are the hardest for a runner to which my 16-year-old Scottish long-distance champion can testify.
And I had to put the sprint of all sprints on along Princes Street and into Waverley Station to catch the last North Berwick train.
After the peacocked Harry had left Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and its environs in gridlock and our Citylink bus running at snail’s pace.
That said chapeau to the bus driver for negotiating the back roads of the city.
To get me to the snaking Waverley station with half a chance of my connection.
Deep in the heart of Texas
It had been a long day’s journey into night.
Starting out at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, my base over four days of the annual American Travel Fair, IPW.
Where I had booked a taxi only to cancel sheepishly when he arrived when a colleague kindly offered me her Uber ride.
My glee at saving a few precious bucks was tempered though when my airline carrier American Airlines charged me $70 for my check-in bag.
But I’d arrived five hours early, the advice is three for international travellers, but better safe than sorry.
And I couldn’t book online, I’m old school and irrationally don’t trust the digital pass.
And then the British Airways app crashed.
Dallas mini-series
Now for all that Alamo City, San Antonio is America’s seventh-biggest city it is smaller in comparison to Dallas Fort Worth.
And with only a couple of hours to play with I’d lie if I said I wasn’t anxious.
Particularly with a shuttle to my terminal to negotiate.
If my last leg would be the longest my flight out of the US alas was seemless.
And here was me hoping it would be cancelled and I might be offered a free night in Dallas.
With the new pal I’d made in the line, the Dallas Stars basketball fan, celebrating a comeback play-off leg win that night.
American nights
American Airlines has been a new experience for me but save for the baggage check-in surprise it went off smoothly.
Randomly I got front of aisle seating to help for the overnighter with those long legs I’d need later.
And timely films to take in such as the Civil Rights epic true story Till which brought back memories.
Of MLK50, walking in the footsteps of Martin Luther King through Tennessee and Mississippi.
Alas, and isn’t it always the way, the hardest leg was the home one?
My British Airways London to Edinburgh flight pushed out and then held up a couple of hours.
Making the whole experience longer than the nine hours it took to get from Dallas to London.
My heart is ticketying
Mind you, American Airlines were as good as their word and got my baggage home.
Albeit my address slipped out of its Universal Orlando Shrek and Donkey ‘Are we there yet’ luggage tag.
The question I fired off like a repeater all through our crawl through the Harry Styles traffic to the train station.
Now Waverley with its random platforms is a challenge at the best of times…
Thankfully the train was delayed a couple of minutes and got on, a sweaty mess, just in time.
I’d made it home after all those Air Miles and Hurry Styles.
And the Scary One was there on the platform waiting for me.
Now to break it to her that I’m off to another Travel fair in early June.
Leeds should be a breeze but my travels are rarely ticketyboo.
Still it wouldn’t be any fun following my misadventures otherwise.
