The Best Part of Traveling...

is all the friends you make along the way.

Madrid to London (9:55am-12:45pm Madrid time)
Practiced my Spanish with 27-year old "Lola" and her common-law husband en route to Québec to visit family. Forget small talk, we enjoyed a 2 hour convo on God, family, love, marriage, the church, España, diabetes management, cigarette smoking and cessation, Catholicism, and illegal immigration.

London Heathrow Airport (12:20-12:40pm London time) Standing in line at the airport, I happened upon my next friend: 24-year old American "Pete" fresh from the Greek Isles where he spent the summer on archaeological digs. Originally from Michigan, he is a grad student at Florida State in Mythology and Classics. When I met him, he hadn't slept in 2 days because he'd been up partying on the islands!!

Chicago O'Hare Airport (5:30-6:45pm Chicago time)
I wasn't in the best mood after waiting around in several lines, being told my suitcase was lost, and then finding out my last flight was delayed. I just wanted to eat my salad in silence, away from everyone. There were no solitary seats to be had, however, so I sat down in the food court with a small family just returning from a Toronto vacation and began talking with the wife. "Shirley" is a news anchor for the St. Louis FOX affiliate. We discussed her most/least favorite aspects of her job, how she balances marriage & family with a busy schedule, how she met her husband, the pros and cons of having an only child, and her desire to work for a national network. We laughed quite a bit, hugged, and wished each other luck before parting ways.

And through this, I was reminded that joy is to be found in the journey not just the destination:

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end” (U.K. LeGuin)