Arrived in Chicago on Monday afternoon to find out that the flight to Albuquerque had been cancelled by American Airlines. No, there was no other way to get to Albuquerque, not via Dallas or Denver, not via another airline, not any way. Luggage could not be found immediately so I spent the night in a hotel near the airport. Toothbrush and paste was provided by the hotel. Tuesday morning the flight left for Albuquerque and it wasn’t quite full, which left me wondering what’s cheaper for an airline: to cancel a flight and put a few people up in a hotel that they are getting on the cheap – the room at the hotel might cost most people $200 but AA is billed only $50 for it – or to fly half-empty.

Upon arrival in Albuquerque I discovered that all of the luggage was already there and had been routed via Dallas… One duffel was wet on the outside, which had me worried about the 722 recorder and my EOS 20D which had been packed inside, another had a wheel broken off (takes a lot to do that to a Tumi!), but at this point I was not about to find an airline representative to complain. I found the car that was to take me back to Santa Fe and got the hell out of Dodge.

What made things worse is that I got some kind of devil-bug somewhere and have been down and out all week. In fact today is the first day that I feel a little better.

I did have a wonderful time in Europe. My first visit to Köln in 13 years was great. People are so friendly there and the beer is the best in the world – just ask Jon. I had not been to the little town in Austria even longer. I am guessing since 1984.

More about my impressions when I feel better…