Home from Colombia, leaving for Switzerland

White washing my recent trip to Bogota (or alternate link) won't fool anyone... readers who have been keeping up with Garth's Blog know I had a few rough moments down in South America. But it was a fun 2 1/2 day excursion overall, made even more enjoyable by the fantastic friends I made along the way. And some of the best stuff was left out of this blog!

My hopes were to fly home from Colombia, pick up Kathy and baby Lena, and then fly them both to Europe last month for a week to visit friends in various countries.  It didn't turn out that way. Kathy decided that she wasn't too keen on studying for finals in the Business Elite cabin of an overseas flight. Concerning Lena, we each had differing opinions on her readiness to start travelling the world with Daddy.

Sadly, Kathy and I agreed that a second solo international trip was the way to go. A few of my friends scattered throughout Europe received my infamous "1-3 day heads up" messages, letting them know that I may be dropping by their neighborhoods. Based on their responses, I couldn't go wrong with any destination!

**********

My time in between continent hopping, spent mostly at home in the U.S. with Kathy and Lena, topped all of my international adventures in February and March.  Our family outings included playing at home, eating out, hiking, and soaking in some sunshine at Hazeldale Park:

Daddy slings around 17 1/2 month old Lena at Hazeldale Park

Mommy and Lena on the playground slide

Lena and Daddy on the playground swing set

Daddy watches as Lena explores the park on hands and knees

**********

That weekend, I drove back to the airport to make the most of my remaining vacation time.  Two days worth of Delta flights departed without me, forcing me to sleep overnight in my Jeep Wrangler parked in the PDX employee parking lot.

A couple days (and few cancelled tickets on other airlines) later, I finally caught a Delta flight to Atlanta.

My connecting flight from Atlanta to Zurich had plenty of open seats in all cabins.  Checking my messages onboard, I quickly jotted down my friend Sebastien's Lausanne address before the 767 boarding doors were closed.

Too excited to sleep for much of the Zurich flight, I studied, blogged, struggled through most of a chick flick, and poured over maps of Swiss hiking trails.

Coming next week on BlogSpot...

Unrest in Lausanne, Switzerland!