The Journey to Rhodes, Greece – 2011 IPSC World Shoot
My time at home between the USPSA Back-to-Back Nationals and my trip to Rhodes, Greece for the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) World Shoot was brief, really brief. Just after receiving my trophy for my Ladies’ Production win, I threw on Salomons and raced to the airport to catch a red-eye. I finished changing out of my dress from the awards ceremony in the airport bathroom and then boarded my first flight back east to bring my daughter back home. My munchkin was delighted to see me. Her smiles and hugs fill me with such pride and joy. It was the perfect end to an amazing week.
We had just a quick two-hour layover before boarding another set of flights back home to Montana. It was late by the time we made it to our home state. I was in no condition to drive the 4+ hours home so it was another night in a hotel before we were reunited with my husband. I had to be back on the road the following evening to catch my early morning flight out of Billings and begin my journey to Rhodes. It was hectic, but thankfully I had partially packed and had a very detailed pack and to-do list to make it easier.
My flights to Greece went without a hitch. Declaring firearms and paying airline fee upon fee in Athens to fly into Greece with my Smith & Wesson M&P9L’s and ASYM Ammo was an elaborate process, but I made the flight to Rhodes and staff from the World Shoot made the process as painless as possible. Special thanks to Christos from the Hellenic Shooting Federation for all his help!
I left the airport, got my rental car and went out to find my home away from home for the next ten days. Instead of staying at one of the match hotels I shared a villa with good friends Rob and Kippi Leatham. It was the ideal situation. I was able to make my breakfast, snack from the fridge, relax outside and hang out with two amazing people. We were quickly discovered by two kittens and a puppy, and later in the week one more kitten that made evenings even more fun. Here’s my flickr album of pics.
