The original idea was that after giving her the surprise on her return from Uganda, she would go to her friend’s place and I would go back to work. Next day, we were going to fly home sitting next to each other. Me listening to all her Uganda stories.

Except, when I woke up at 5AM, FAA had grounded all flights due to the IT issue. Systems were so badly down that I could not even get thru to the airlines’ website or phone calls.

So, we made the best of the situation. Canceled our flight tickets and instead got ourselves a rental car!! And hit the road for a 12 hour journey to hear all the Uganda stories. On the way, we stopped at many rest areas to sit down and some fresh air. And, of course, more stories of a foreign land I have never seen.