DAY ELEVEN
Ready to roll…
WRITER’S BLOG - Friday, May 10th, 2019 - Wow, the morning went fast. Woke up, jumped into clothes, cross-check on suitcases, grabbed our jackets, and headed down to catch the 6:30 AM shuttle. Fortunately they dropped us at the Terminal entrance and we didn’t have to hoof it from the shuttle drop-off. Checked in, checked our bags and proceeded to the VAT tax desk to claim reimbursement for the taxes paid on purchases. Don’t be fooled. You don’t get 100% of the VAT tax back. It seems like a good deal, but hardly worth the effort. Once we completed that task we headed for security. Interestingly, after clearing Ireland security, you go through a Pre-Clearance for US Customs so when you land in the USA, you just walk off the jet-way, get your bags, and vamoose.
Only, yes, you guessed it, there were some glitches in getting through. You know, you can only have one clear bag of items in your carry-on. If they don’t all fit, they get scrapped. Once again, the fake-knee caused a ruckus of bag searches, body searches, and pat downs. The little Irish custom agent kept doing the two hands from the shoulder, down the cleavage, and around the waist. Then the cute little Irish gentleman turned the carry-on inside out, re-bagging the liquids. Then back through the scanner. Not one time did they wand the knee.
Dublin to Charlotte…
So, what happens when you tell the very last agent before clearing customs that you have agriculture seeds? Mind you, these are universal seeds. Well, one gets detained and seeds confiscated. Watching a friend walk off with a customs agent is not a pleasant feeling. Two of us continued on to the gate, or rather the waiting area for the gate, all the while texting the one detained, directions and gate info, making sure she was being released to join us.
It all worked out and soon she came rolling up, albeit, minus several packets of seeds.
Soon we were on our way. Dublin to Charlotte, no international connections, and we made it with our bags! Charlotte to Dallas seemed longer than the whole trip, but it was still part of the journey. We touched down around 5PM, the same time we started this quest only eleven days ago. A bit hungry and a lot tired, we decided to get a bite to eat and let some of the rush hour traffic dissipate. Do it again? In a heartbeat!