All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go – like the old song says. Breakfast first, then straight out. No reason to linger at the hotel longer than necessary. Checkout is quick, everything paid, and it’s time for my last drive with my companion, the Jeep Wrangler.

Since I only need to be at the airport by 1 pm, I still have some hours to fill. Normally, that means geocaching. Easier said than done today – the ones I wanted are along a road with nowhere safe to stop. That’s a letdown. Still, a little further out in one of the many commercial areas, I manage a few. Driving a few miles doesn’t really mean much here. Some caches are easy, others impossible to reach: a truck parked in the way, or people sleeping in their cars right beside them.

Eventually, I decide it’s time to get to the airport. Android Auto connected to my phone has worked great this trip – both OSM and Google Maps guided me without issues. Twenty minutes later, I’m at Hertz in the giant rental car “city.” Each company has its own enormous parking lot. The return process is efficient: drive in, a quick damage check, park, grab your stuff, done. Their shuttle to the terminal runs every few minutes and is always full.

Ten minutes later I’m at the terminal. My first flight today is with Delta, domestic from Denver to Minneapolis. The signage could be better, but check-in is quick, and the bags are tagged all the way to Ålesund. Hopefully they arrive with me this time. We’ll see.

Then comes the long TSA line – 30 minutes of waiting in a warm terminal. Once it’s my turn, it’s quick: passport check, face photo, and through the modern machines we don’t have in Norway. Nothing to remove, just one double scan of my backpack. And I’m airside.

My terminal is A, and I still have plenty of time. Lunch means airport food, which means fast food. Panda Express does the job – rice and orange chicken. Out the window, a Lufthansa A380 is arriving. Beautiful plane, but not mine.

My ride is an Airbus 321, a size I don’t fly often. I’ve got a Premium Economy seat, so plenty of space for the short hop to Minneapolis. They warn of turbulence and tell us to stay buckled in. The women next to me are talkative, but they quickly realize I’m not in the mood for small talk.

In the end, there’s no turbulence at all – smooth as a freshly shaven face. Still, service is cut back “due to turbulence”: just a cookie and coffee. They would’ve had time for a full meal, but perhaps this is cost-saving in disguise. Not exactly a premium feeling.

We land on time in Minneapolis. With the connection ahead, I also have time for something fun: a geocache right inside the airport. This one counts for Minnesota and is both land- and airside. It’s an earth cache, so yes, people might have seen me kneeling on the floor, inspecting fossils in the tiles – right in front of a massive Snoopy statue. I log it and send the answers. Find number 5099. A great milestone, and a fitting close to all the accomplishments of this trip. The next journey will be less about geocaching and more about sightseeing, but this time it was part of the plan.

I grab a couple of drinks for the next flight and wait at the small gate area, clearly not designed for an Airbus 330-300. Nowhere near enough seats.

Boarding is all biometrics here – no passport or boarding pass shown, just a photo, and I’m through. Again, Premium Economy, and again lucky: the seat next to me stays empty. My luck with neighbors has been remarkable this whole trip. The seat comes with a decent screen, pillow, blanket, and even a small amenity kit.

Hot towels are handed out before departure, then we push back on time for the 7.5-hour overnight to Amsterdam. The purser personally takes our food orders – my choice is vegetarian cannelloni. Drinks first, then dinner. The Italian food I had on KLM before was better; this dish is a little dry, but it’s fine.

Tiredness catches up with me. I don’t sleep deeply, but enough. My head rests against the window, right hand on the empty seat, earplugs in, eyemask on. At some point, I wake to the smell of fresh bread. Ninety minutes to landing. Breakfast is served: no bread for me, but quinoa pudding with coconut and mango mousse. It’s okay.

I’m not well-rested, but we land smoothly in Amsterdam. Taxiing is short, and then it’s a quick transfer. A wrong turn briefly slows me down, but passport control is fully automated now and takes seconds. Schengen again. The rest is routine: Gate B, the bus gates, where I know my way.

Boarding the short hop to Ålesund is straightforward. I’ve paid 45 Euro for extra legroom, and the flight is just 1.5 hours. Simple service: bread and drinks. I still like KLM – solid airline, and I was lucky with all my flights this trip.

At Vigra, no customs, and my luggage actually makes it. Out to the car park, way at the end. Sitting down in my soft Nissan feels much better than the Wrangler. Then a surprise: an email about a 920 NOK parking bill, even though I prepaid. I check and realize I mistyped two digits in my license plate when booking. My mistake. I send a polite email anyway, attaching proof of payment. Not much hope.

Later, while waiting for the ferry, another mail arrives. Refund confirmed – the prepaid booking wasn’t used, so the money is returned. I only lost 100 NOK extra. A lucky outcome. Next time, double-check before booking.

Finally home, with a small detour to grab groceries. Bags inside, me straight into bed.

It was a great trip. A bit on the expensive side with the extra flights, upgrades, and two rental cars, but worth it. I drove more than 3300 km in rental cars, plus extra as a passenger in Canada. By air, 18,069 km- about 30 hours of flying. My back feels it. But everything worked better than feared: no need for an extra phone or tablet, smooth immigration everywhere (Canada was the worst), and logistics mostly flawless.

Now I’m already planning next summer’s big journey. Until then, there will be plenty of smaller trips to share here.