JENNIFER AND I ARE IN ALBANIA TO STAY. She wrote a trip summary. I started this summary months ago, but lots of “getting settled” tasks stopped or slowed progress on it. Now it’s time to finish it up and publish it.
NEGATIVES. Get ready to read about some of the negative things that happened on leaving Lodi and flying to Albania. If you want, you can skip some of the headings or skip the whole blog entry.
BOTTOM LINE. Getting to Albania was incredibly rough for me. Once we got here, things got really good. Now everything is great!
Saying goodbye to the stuff…
The giveaway…
When we left Lodi, California, we left a literal ton of stuff. Well, that’s OK. The gal who bought our house got about $10,000 in free garage shelving, tools, and a dual-fuel generator. Good! One of her daughters loves tools; also, the buyer can give excess stuff to her church.
Our housekeeper got a yard full of planters and lawn equipment. She could have had our $500.00 lawn mower, but didn’t want it, so we left it for the new owner.
The Temple in Stockton got rare Judaica items. Funny thing: I learned that the temple employee who came to collect the stuff had a son who was a Ph.D. student at Columbia. So I gave her $4,000 in rare books like The Canterbury Tales and The Book of Common Prayer, and I suspect that they don’t even know what they are worth.
Tom’s Used Books in Lodi is a fine place and Tom is a fine man. I gave him my pristine/complete sets: Cherry Ames (27 titles), Tom Corbett Space Cadet (8 titles), and Tom Swift original series (40 titles). I hope he sells them as sets. Complete sets aren’t easy to assemble and they’re not cheap.
The man from Junkzilla (the junk removal company) was a wonder! What a guy! He hauled off our bad stuff. I also gave him $1,000.00 worth of cigars and all my spare camera equipment.
Did we sell things? Yes! All the giveaways happened after we sold a lot of stuff (bicycles, telescopes, electric piano) through Facebook Marketplace and gave what we could (floor jack, air compressor, wheelbarrow) to neighbors, friends, and family. This was the penalty for decades of collecting too much “stuff” and too many items needed for home maintenance.
The exit…
Our rental SUV from Enterprise was terrible. First time ever they kept me waiting for a vehicle and sadly it was too small and hard to load. The vehicle was very difficult to operate. No problem. The main thing was to get our butts on the road to Woodland, California, near Sacramento International Airport.
So we drove. To keep peace, I took a strange route to the airport, trusting the GPS. It wasn’t the smartest move, but it turned out OK. We checked into the Quality Inn, majorly eager for wine, vodka, and a meal at… Denny’s next door.
Great! We found somewhat drinkable wine and perfectly acceptable vodka at the liquor store next door to the motel. We got help from a super store clerk! After a drink, we then walked 200 feet for a 10:00 pm dinner at Denny’s. It was good, very welcome, and well earned!
In the morning we were up early. No free continental breakfast for us. At sunrise, we headed out to the airport.
I dropped Jennifer and the bags outside the United Airlines terminal and drove to return the rental car. More help! I got extraordinary help from a stranger — the agent at Enterprise. He told me to forget about taking the Enterprise shuttle. He drove me back to the terminal himself. Then he helped us load two trolleys with our bags. He refused a tip, but I sent my sincere thanks by email later. Thank you, sir!
Same old airport story, one you have probably experienced. We got the bags checked. We got our boarding passes. And then stood and stood and stood in line at TSA. Well, here’s a cool thing: Jennifer and I are so old we didn’t have to take off our shoes.
De plane! De plane, Mr. Roarke!
Taking a long flight — as in a 27-hour one-way flight — gives a person a time to reflect. And we were on a very long flight. So I reflected.
Goodbye, runway. Goodbye, Yolo County rice fields. Goodbye, yellow brick road.
Summary reflections…
These were my reflections, in summary:
- “Home is behind, the world ahead,” — The Lord of the Rings.
- “And she doesn’t know what’s comin’ / But she sure knows what she’s leavin’ behind,”
— Billy Joel, Stop in Nevada. - “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish,” — Douglas Adams.
We faced an uncertain future. At some point I’ll post my views about my great life in California — Hollywood, Nevada City, and Lodi — but that’s the past.
The flight
On November 5, 2024 we flew First Class from Sacramento, California, to Tirana, Albania, arriving twenty-seven hours later in the evening of November 6th.
Our flight had three legs: 1) SMF (Sacramento) to DEN (Denver); 2) DEN (Denver) to FRA (Frankfurt); 3) and FRA (Frankfurt) to TIA (Tirana).
We had some bad events during the flight, but the good news is that the memories started to fade immediately upon our arrival.
First class isn’t first class
Oops! I think it’s fair to say that United Airlines sold us a pack of lies, but that’s just the way modern air travel works. Compared to First Class, Coach is honest. Well, we were willing buyers.
We were paying $6,700.00 for the fare, plus $2,152.20 in taxes, for a total of $8,852.20. That didn’t include another $400.00 we paid to check two extra bags.
- The first leg was a so-so Lufthansa flight. We sat in the front. Nice enough, but it really was just Business Class.
- The second leg was the real deal. The flight attendants were cool, the food was outstanding, and the drinks were free. The head was close by. And we got nice blankets and eyeshades.
- The third leg, Frankfurt to Tirana, was in a beat-up 737 ready for the junkyard. This was a “puddle jumper,” and there was no beverage service. The only “first class” thing about the flight was that the middle seat between us was empty.
It’s a shame, but we didn’t have time at the mid-way airports to go to the “sky club” for free food and drinks.
Hope for the future. One day I hope to fly first class on a real national carrier like KLM or Emirates. I think it will be the real deal.
Flying crippled
Crippled. There was a big problem. I think it’s proof that there is a God and she hates me.
At Denver, we had to walk, use moving walkways, take an elevator, and use a tram to get to our next gate. My legs completely gave out. I collapsed in a chair, while Jennifer walked. I couldn’t walk.
I waved desperately for a skycap and he rescued me. He brought me a wheelchair. Then he went looking for another skycap to “drive” me to my next gate. No one came for a while and I was “parked” where Jennifer couldn’t see me. This was a recipe for Kentucky Fried Disaster.
Finally, we all got hooked up. But I was a mess. Too much stress, lifting, toting, and walking around had caught up with me. I don’t know how, but somehow I hauled myself onto the plane, where the first-class suite awaited me. I tipped the skycap $20.00, which was money well spent!
The flight to Frankfurt was easy. I had no problem hobbling to the head, which was only a few feet away. The attendants were a big help, too! There were movies, games, music, and a route map.
At Frankfurt, we stayed on the plane for a while. I couldn’t use the jetway. We waited until a special lift was brought to a special door. I got into a waiting wheelchair and down we went. We were driven on a special little shuttle. It was a comfort (sort of) that I wasn’t the only passenger who needed special treatment.
There was a similar procedure to get me boarded on our flight to Tirana. Wheelchair, special shuttle, and lift. Since TIA, the Tirana airport, has no jetways passengers use old-fashioned stairs. That didn’t help. But again, the airline got me a special lift, a special shuttle, and a seat near customs.
Somehow, our bags got retrieved. Somehow, Jennifer and the airport staff got me through customs. I just sat on a bench, like a potted plant.
At last, we rolled out to curbside. “Choosing a cab” means taking the first taxi in the line of taxis. I’m not certain who got us to the cab and tucked us inside. Man, that cab was overstuffed with luggage and people.
I think the time was about 5:00 pm. I remember the sun setting as we sat in rush hour traffic. We were going to travel 17.1 kilometers (10.6 miles). Great! OK! We began our drive to the city of Tirana.
Now forget the flight! It’s our first night!
The date was 6 November 2024. Election day in the USA was over. To my great amazement, Trump was elected, and so our worst nightmare came true. Aw, that was OK, because it was a done deal. We were out of the USA, but we’re still citizens and we know how to fight bloated convicted felons who wish they were dictators.
We checked in at the Arber Hotel and it was a welcome sight. Perfect! We immediately had to discover the “mysteries” of an Albanian hotel room. This included learning how the toilets, shower, and power worked.
Soon it was time to recover. There was an arcade/galleria across the street. That place had many things we were going to prize over the next few days. Mainly multiple bars, multiple restaurants, a gelato stand, and a little market (for fruit and toiletries) that accepted US dollars, Euros, and Albanian leke.
I had packed a custom-made cane for self-defense. Happily United Airlines hadn’t lost it. Well, I was now lame and I needed it for walking. So that worked out very well.
In the arcade we found Shiro Bar, perfect for vodka and wine. There was Golosa restaurant, with pesto ravioli and pizza. There was a gelato stand. We also found a little market in the arcade that accepted US dollars, Euros, and Albanian leke.
After a fine time in the arcade, we settled in for the night. Settled in? We had a well-earned collapse…
On Thursday morning, we woke up feeling about a thousand times better!
Feeling Wonderful!
Well, we made it. Let the adventure begin!
Going back? No way! Like I said at the beginning of this post, “Here I am, here I remain.”
— Duke Leto Atreides, Dune
Wonderful! Looking forward to reading more of your adventures! With pictures!
Hi, Kathy! This is a “long-form” piece, and unusual for me. Jennifer does that fine. But I’m sticking mainly with “short shots,” heavy on pictures. There are a couple posts out there. What will take a little time is a fashion show — what the well-dressed imitation Albanian man wears. Barry
Last night, 06 November 2025, we celebrated ONE YEAR of living here. Look back, I’m in shock over how much work it takes to retire. I’ll post a quickie entry.
Barry, Sorry you had physical problems. Traveling with that made for a pretty miserable trip. But, you made it and are enjoying yourselves. Have you become more ambulatory and less in need of the cane?
Your writing sounds like the you I know.
Sometime, I will tell you about my painful trip through LAX to baggage claim this past December. It resulted in 3 months of physical therapy.
Well, keep the stories of your Albanian adventures coming.
You’ve told me funny stories about TSA, what with your being the full Bionic Woman. The one with titanium knees. But it’s sad to hear that the trip to baggage claim was damaging.
My walking was bad in November, 2024, but by the end of December I was using the wooden cane much less (it’s a honey, BTW). I started using a little metal collapsible cane that I brought along at the last minute. In January, it was NO cane.
This is a “walking town.” Jenn and I try to walk 1 km per day (2 km for her). I’m not lame, but my poor feet are going to need some serious podiatrist care. OH OH OH! As Mick Jagger sang, “What a drag it is getting old…”
SILLINESS. To beat it to death in 1969 The Band sang, “You can’t raise a Kane back up / When he’s in defeat.” To which I respond, “You can’t pick your cane back up / Just use your feet.”