With ahe all clear to fly from my Doctor as long as we took all Covid precautions, we planned our long anticipated return trip back home to Enfin.
The Doctor had prescribed medical type masks and we added goggles as extra protection, just like they do in surgical settings.
I still had a few left over miles from my time as a "high flying" professional so used them to get us in Business Class, adding a little social distancing to the experience.
I can't say traveling in these Covid times is a pleasant experience, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they have no choice.
With many flights having been cancelled our flight options were limited and we had to go through Frankfurt and San Francisco on our way to Seattle.
Lines at Lyon airport were silly with no proper social distancing and people not wearing masks and/or not wearing them properly. French unruliness was in full display.
Frankfurt, on the contrary turned out to be a much more organized and pleasant experience. Everyone we saw was being careful, wearing masks and doing their best to respect social distancing. I have little doubt that the difference in individual attitudes between the French and Germans accounts in part for the vast difference in Covid related deaths in the 2 neighboring countries.
Overnighting in Frankfurt was very pleasant as we had a beautiful room at the Airport's Hilton. The drop in traffic hit hotels hard obviously and we paid no more than a Motel 6's price for a gorgeous high end room. They did make their money back with their no-touch room service food, but it was worth it. Plus we had no choice anyway as all restaurants were closed.
The United flight to San Francisco started poorly when our neighbor kept taking his mask off, even taking it off to sneeze at some point. Di acted as my knight in shining armor: The flight crew warned him 3 times to keep his mask on properly, and he was then relocated away from us when Di insisted my condition needed extra protection. The crew were very nice to us and very understanding but they have insufficient authority to deal with mask deniers. They did tell us they would ban that passenger from any future United flight though, so maybe there's that?
San Francisco airport was eerily empty and easy. The last flight was also uneventful. With a total travel time of 38 hours it wasn't en easy trip, but once in the hotel that night we started breathing easier, knowing we'd be back on Enfin the next day.
Arriving on the 04th July on Enfin made it even more special, and the locals even had a celebration for our arrival with lots of fireworks. How kind!
Enfin looked great, having been regularly maintained and washed thanks to our friend Sean, the unsung hero of this adventure and Team Eric.
Enfin looked good inside too, and we started making her our home as soon as we got there. It's amazing how fast things felt just right, just like home.
Enfin is our home again.