Traveling From Abeokuta To Vonore, Tennessee

Our travel day home was not near as long as some travel days that we have had, but it was long enough.

KJo worked 5+ hours packing the evening before the actual travel day and by the time we went to bed, things were about 30 minutes or less from being totally ready.

Here we are at 5:40 AM.

It felt like we were starting from a deficit because our sleep had been hindered the night or two before. The night before we traveled, I slept good for about four hours at the beginning of the night, KJo slept good the last two hours of the night.

The night before that, Kelly Jo slept zero, zip, none. She was already tired when we left the hotel at 6:15 AM on our travel day. I slept very good the fours hours I slept but by the time we left I had been up six hours.

It is only about 65 miles to the airport in Lagos but with the road conditions and traffic, that often takes us nearly three hours.

They assured me that we could make it in two hours in the early morning. Yep, we made it in one hour and twenty-five minutes. Yay!

Every time we have flown out of Nigeria, our flight left late at night. We usually arrive at the airport in Lagos between noon and 3:00 and face hundreds if not thousands of others in the airport. It has ALWAYS been a wreck getting through each and every line!

They have moved the Lagos to Atlanta flight to Noon departure and that changed things quite a bit. We pulled into the airport at 7:40 AM, we were finished at the Delta counter at 8:20 and cleared Passport Control, Customs and Security at 8:45 AM.

There was absolutely no line anywhere and the only delays at all were due to the process and not scores of people in front of us. Wow! I hope they keep our flight at that time.

Once we were clear of security, we had one thing on our mind. KFC!

No, fried chicken is not good for me and it is not on my regular diet, but it was good for me that day!

The economy in Nigeria is in a free fall and inflation is out of sight. However, the US dollar is strong against the Naira so KFC was cheap considering it was airport food. We had plenty of chicken, sides and drinks $4 cheaper than we had two orders of fries and drink 20 hours later in Atlanta.

Next, we walked to the gate where you go through security a final time including a thorough search of your carry-on bags and your person. At noon we boarded a took off at 12:45.

The flight was supposed to be 13 hours and actually took 12 hours and 27 minutes! However, we lost the extra time by leave 35 minutes late AND sitting on the taxiway waiting for a gate in Atlanta. Ugh!

That was an indication of what was to come.😜

We waited through Customs then to baggage claim. Once we had our bags, we walked to the area where we drop the bags again. Then through security again and made our way to gate D34 to catch our plane to Knoxville.

We were running close but we made it twenty minutes before takeoff. However, the door was closed and our seats we occupied by standby flyers. OOPS!

They had us booked on a flight two hours later. The next flight was at gate A34. I was dragging by the time I made it there and found they had moved our flight to gate A2. OUCH!

The short flight to Knoxville was uneventful, our luggage was already there and our ride to the airport was timely. The Jeep was parked at a local hotel and we stayed the night there.

This is unbelievable and I almost could not believe it myself, but I slept for 11 hours that first night. Hallelujah!

We left for the bus in Vonore, Tennessee.

But we were sidetracked for about an hour at Ruby Tuesday's.

That was our travel experience from Abeokuta, Nigeria to Vonore, Tennessee. The bus was safe and sound as I knew it would be and we are glad to be in our little home. Thank you for stopping by.

Davy