Once again, this absence is far to long, and completely unwarranted. Sure, I’ve been busy since I got home. But not too busy. I partially blame myself, for not feeling motivated to finish my blog. I partially toss the blame to Jon, saying that I’m not ready to finish it until I get my pictures from him, to which he replies “I have four months of pictures to go through, you’ll get them when I get to them.” Does he really expect me to wait? I guess so.
I think the real problem is that, finishing the blog means that my trip is officially over. And as excited as I was to come home and see my friends and family, I’m not ready for it to be over. I’m ready to go back. We’ll come back to that in a few more posts.
So, my job right this moment is to tell you about my last few days in Ireland, and our trip home.
Dublin was wonderful, as always. Jenna was very welcoming, and we had yet another fantastic weekend with her. We did a lot of walking, a lot of sight seeing, and surprisingly a lot of learning. The Sunday afternoon we were there, we spent in Dublin’s Archaeology Museum with her mentor for her internship, who happens to be an archaeologist! Neat! It was a surprisingly busy afternoon at the museum, but we managed to huddle close as she explained the significance of some of the artifacts in the museum. Our group grew in numbers as we went along too; I guess they thought we were a free tour? Also, I learned that not all archaeologists like ancient Egypt. Apparently it scares her. Who knew!
We ate some wonderful food (battered fried sausage and chips is a close rival to my favorite fish and chips!), we enjoyed a few drinks, and soaked in the sights. For the most part the weather was beautiful, except Sunday afternoon. Before we knew it, Monday night was upon us and it was time to start packing and thinking seriously about a good night’s sleep. Funny how when sleep is important, you don’t go to bed until well past midnight.
Tuesday morning ran pretty smoothly. I got up early, showered, and had all our bags fully packed before Jon got up. Since he’s a serious pain in the morning, I figured that would be a better way to start. I unfortunately had to leave my walking stick in Dublin so Jon could try and get his through security. He was far more attached to his, since he made it, and I decided that the chances of two people using them as a crutch would look a little suspicious.
We left after an abundance of hugs before Jenna even left for work, and headed to the bus stop. The very friendly bus driver made sure we got off at the right stop for our terminal, and we were on our way.
Of course, the first thing I notice as I’m dreading the 4 flights ahead of us, is that there’s a flight directly from Dublin to Orlando. Seriously? I don’t know if we even thought to check Orlando flights. Regardless, I had a gut feeling those tickets probably cost a fortune, and didn’t mind that we weren’t going on that flight as soon as I noticed it was United.
As we go through the daily airport grind, Jon still with his walking stick in hand, it still hadn’t hit me that I was leaving this beautiful country. It takes until I’m physically sitting in my seat (an exit row seat thanks to Jon’s wonderful timing!) that I start to feel sad for all those “I can’t wait to be home” wishes. And by then, it was of course too late.
The flights really weren’t that bad. I had never flown US Airways before, but I can tell you that if they’re an option in the future, I wouldn’t mind doing so again. Obviously with exit row seats on our longest flight, it was considerably more comfortable than our flights into Europe, but even our domestic flights from Philadelphia to Chicago, Chicago to Charlotte, and Charlotte to Tampa had ample leg room for me, and even enough for Jon. That’s quite a feat! We only got food on our international flight (which was pretty good, I might add), but the usual beverage service on the rest. We had some delays (which made our short layovers in each city a little stressful at times), but all and all, the experience wasn’t awful. The only plane I slept on was the last one, but by then I had been up for nearly 24 hours anyway, so I guess that’s okay. The in-flight entertainment on the long flight wasn’t bad; that surfer movie about Bethany Hamilton, and Marley and Me. A great movie, though I wonder if I was the only one with tears in my eyes. Jon had to stop watching it. He won’t shy from saying that movies with dogs are the only type that “move” him.
Once we landed in Tampa, well past our planned midnight arrival, I went from complete exhaustion to that exhausted slap-happy phase. Knowing that Cristina and Jon’s mom were waiting for us, every step of the de-boarding process seemed to take forever. When we finally turned the corner in the terminal and saw them, I was so excited to be home. It didn’t hurt that Cristina had made us signs to welcome us, saying “Welcome Home” in every language of every country we went too, plus Dutch!
After going through baggage claim, we were on our way to the beloved Taco Bus. We took the time to enjoy our meal there, and went home. We didn’t hesitate to put on our suits and jump in the pool. We lasted a while too, considering the pool closes at 11, but we were eventually kicked out. We proceeded to do a little unpacking, to share little souvenirs, and some much needed laundry. Some very much needed laundry. Jon went to sleep at around 3, to catch a little nap before having to take his mom back to the airport. She made an unfortunate scheduling mistake when planning a business trip, but at least we got to see her briefly. I fought to stay awake until the two of them left, and then left Cristina to enjoy the quiet living room and get some sleep. I practically melted into my bed. I had forgotten how comfortable it was. I don’t even think I noticed when Jon joined me again after his trip to the airport.
And for now, I’ll leave you with this picture Jon’s mom managed to catch before leaving the airport. 
Parlez Lentement. 