Happy To Be Home Again

I arrived home after a very, very long and tiring travel day yesterday and am so happy to be back. My suitcase has been unpacked, the washing machine is doing its thing, and Brett and I will be heading off to the farmer’s market in a short while (we’ll do our big Costco shop tomorrow). It’s hot and humid here, but after all the dry air I encountered while I was gone, it feels wonderful.

The entire trip was a total success, but it was totally exhausting as well. I suffered from jet lag the entire time I was gone – I could never quiet adjust to where I was. Four of the eight days of the trip were spent flying to one destination or another or waiting in airports. The shortest flight of the trip was the two and a half hours spent flying from Denver to Seattle. One flight was over four hours (Boston to Denver), and the rest were all over five hours long.

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday back in Colorado (2:30 a.m. HST) prepared for a slow drive down to the Denver airport because of traffic, and also to give myself time to gas up the rental car, get some coffee, and turn in the car at the rental agency before heading to the airport. Although I had been warned about the possibility of heavy traffic heading down to Denver, there wasn’t any to speak of that morning and I flew down the highway at 80 mph, with other cars passing me the whole way! None of the tasks took any time at all, and I was pre-checked through TSA so I ended up at my gate at 7:30 (If I had had to go through the regular screening it would have taken a very long time because the lines were so long). My flight didn’t leave until 10:30, so I spent my time walking through the airport and reading.

Our plane arrived in Seattle on time, which meant I had an exhausting five-hour wait until my flight to Kaua’i. The first thing I did was to head to Anthony’s Fish Bar for some fish & chips and clam chowder, which had been recommended. That was a good move – I was very hungry, and the food was reasonably priced, hot and delicious. After I finished I again walked through the airport a few times and did some more reading, and then finally boarded on time for the 5+ hour trip home.

One of the smartest things I did though was treat myself to an upgrade to First Class for the last leg of my trip. For $150 I had a big, comfortable seat for my weary body, free entertainment, and good food and other treats to enjoy on the way home. The upgrade cost less than half of the extra I would have paid for First Class if I had booked the ticket upfront. I’ve already informed Brett that from now on we are including enough in our travel budget to allow for last-minute upgrades if possible on the way home.

I had a very good visit with my Mom in Colorado. She knew who I was the minute she saw me, but I doubt today she remembers I was there – her short-term memory is very weak. We spent our time sharing memories from the past, and photos on my computer of Brett, the girls and Hawai’i (she knows that’s where I live). On the second day there she asked to go to Trader Joe’s with me, and she enjoyed walking through the store with me and looking at everything while I bought some things to bring home. I got her some figs, peaches and avocados, because she had said she missed them. All things considered, her condition was better than I imagined, and it appears her cancer is progressing slowly, at least for now. It was sad for both of us to say good-bye to each other though.

The house seems empty without WenYu, but the room she shared with YaYu is now clean and organized, so I guess that’s a plus. I know it will take some time to adjust to her being gone when evenings arrive, but she is doing well back at Wellesley and settling in. I caught a glimpse of her in a photo taken at the annual convocation held today, which did my heart some good.

We won’t be doing any more traveling again until next March, when we are scheduled to go to Japan. In the meantime we’ll be beefing up our savings, and enjoying our retirement and more time with YaYu.

It’s good to be home!