Seems like I've been here before.

Don...


We made it. We are back in our little bungalow in Ukraine.


We arrived at 11pm Ukraine time. That would be 5pm back home and 28 hours since we left the driveway. The trip was uneventful, up until we got to Munich, but after that, we have a few more memories. The plane from Munich to Donetsk was delayed due to some type of failure on the aircraft. They scrapped that plane and found another. We left one and a half hours late from Munich. However, we were glad to be on the plane. Now the real fun begins. As the plane was approaching the runway to land, it pulled up and kept right on going past the runway. Everyone looked at each other wondering. The pilot comes on the loud speaker and proceeds to explain that that a warning light came on that indicated possible break failure. Not to be worried he said. The runway was extra long. I guess that's why the little truck with the flashing lights pulled out in front of the plane just before we landed.


So we made it. We proceeded to the car for a four hour drive on the worse roads that I've been on since deer hunting in the Adirondacks. The driver and I made a joke that a tank or a helicopter would be more appropriate for the trip. He thought a tank the better choice because it would use less gas. The best part of the ride was that even though the driver lived in the small town this orphanage is located in, the road system is so bad, he didn't know how to get here. We made at least four u-turns, stopped and asked for directions, and just as many times, he was often told to just "go that way".


Speaking of the driver. I was hoping to see the same one that we had last time we were here. However, our facilitator thought since we would be driving on roads that were really out in the middle of nowhere, that a six foot six, ex-military guy who was also a retired cop with a "get out of jail free" card would be a better choice.


Anyway, we made it. The kids should be knocking on our door fairly early, so I will be signing off. We go before the judge at noon and then we hope to have a big party in the room shortly thereafter. Since I slept all the way from Washington Dulles to Munich, and Rocky slept in the car, sleeping tonight will not be easy.


Rocky and I will post the results of the court proceedings with photos tomorrow afternoon. Should be around 8am EST back home.