Global Traveler

Part Three: The Long Journey Home

Our trip to Connecticut seemed a little too long but also a little too short. We would have liked more home cooked dinners and time with the cat, but we were desperately needed back to Seattle to sleep and do a lot of nothing.

Our day started about three hours after it ended with Meghan waking us up to take us to the airport. She is the best friend; completely prepared for all our traveling needs. She had muffins ready for us to take for breakfast and a bottled water for me because she knows I like to fly with some water. We were up around 5:30am and saw the sunrise as we drove to the airport. Of course, it was the first day of our time in CT that the sun came out. We said goodbye to Meg, for me it was another goodbye to her. It sucked just as much the second time but I know our friendship doesn't end here.

For those of you who don't know me well, (and you don't really need to know me well to know this), morning does not agree with me. Needless to say, I took that out on poor Jed and his muffin.

Our plan was to fly to Baltimore and arrive at 9:30am and spend the bulk of the day with Jed's sister, Carrie and the new baby, Owen. Then we fly to Seattle with a layover in Vegas.

The flight to Baltimore began with Jed and I trying to avoid sitting near an obnoxious child. We flew Southwest, so we were able to choose our seats so we head as far away from all children as possible. Unfortunately, we were followed by extremely peppy guys in their thirties. These men had a conversation as follows (names are changed to protect my safety):

Jim: Well hello Joe! Would you like the paper?
Joe: No thankis Jim, you go ahead and read it first. I have a magazine.
Jim: Thanks Joe. Say, how about that UCONN team?
Joe: Yes, how about them Jim. They sure are incredible.

And so on...I never thought a 42 minute plane ride could feel so long.

We made it to Carrie's safe and sound and finally got to meet the little nephew....Owen! Man is he cute. Honestly, most babies are really ugly, but Owen is adorable and he has so much spunk. His hair is half mohawk, half bed head and he has this great stare. Jed had never held a baby before, which really surprised me. I just assumed at some point everyone has held a baby. Anyway, at first he was really, really stiff and knuckled while holding him. But then he got really comfortable and loved it. He was in love with Owen almost immediately, all of us were. This baby doesn't cry and he makes great little fists. He is a load of fun and we spent just about our entire afternoon with Carrie staring at Owen.

Carrie and her husband Sean drove us to the airport in their new hybrid toyota prius. It was the coolest vehicle ever. I want one, but will have to wait until I return to the US.

Our 4 and a half hour flight to Vegas seemed even longer than that. We were lucky to have the row to ourselves but unlucky that we had to suffer through that hideous movie Mona Lisa Smile. We flew into Vegas around 10:30pm and were so excited when we saw "the strip." Only, it wasn't the strip. It was just a lot of light. The actual strip was so cool. The runway was right next to it. I had no idea that the airport was so close to the city. I wanted to explore but knew we couldn't leave. Lucky for us, we could play the slots right there in the terminal. I won a whopping 25 cents! Jed probably won close to $10 but I think he had that hypnotic stare and involuntary crank reflex as he could not stop wasting it all away. It was great fun though. However, we had been up for nearly 24 hours and all I remember about the flight to Seattle was that I could hardly stay awake to chew my gum through the take off. I passed out on my food tray.

We made it back to Seattle at about 2:30am and were so happy to see the city. Now we just wait until our departure until May 12. We've been keeping busy though. Jed surprised me with tickets to an Ani DiFranco concert which was a blast as always. We spent Easter on Bainbridge Island due to the generosity and hospitality of some of our local friends. The weather has been warm and sunny so we have really been taking advantage of our time off to take walks down to the waterfront. Things have been great, but I can't wait to go to Japan. 27 days until the move....