8/2/2024 - Home again to reality!
First off, thank you for sticking with me through this week - It's been a whirlwind and the daily blog posts are not short. Right now I'm afraid if I don't do my write up for the conclusion now, then it will not be done and I will get caught up quickly in the whirlwind of 6th class (I got my Biology for the first time since 2012 long-term subbing! GOT to make this work!), Head Pump repair (it didn't fix itself while I was gone, but I effectively forgot it for the week), Anika going off to college (OMG! That's happening, isn't it!?), and the many other lesser bits that take up the day-to-day world.
My appologies for extensive grumbling about noise from the room next door in my tiny hotel room - I know it was still much better than the VERY cramped Hostil option I briefly considered & dismissed - and struggling with my urges to remind people "There's others in the world who can't rest while you're making noise!" - which is a classroom management thing I don't really want to feel impulses from during a holiday. But thank you for plugging along with me through those, because this trip was really GLORIOUS.
So - Yesterday was super long!
Had my alarm set for 5:30 am (I keep it on a very quiet gentle waking chime anyway, so hopefully was not alarming for my neighbor the previous night, who's the best I'd had in several days! Also hope I kept morning prep relatively quiet for him/her.), my face has been breaking out slowly since paddling week - again, not sure about the water quality the last 2 weeks, but also took my backup supply of face cream since it's a very expensive prescription - will get on that when I get back.
Breakfast in the room - chocolate filled croissant - very bad eatinig the last two days - picked up my Americano from Abs & said farewells (if you're in Kensington, Stop by the Lava Cafe on Gloucester - really wonderful service and I recommend the Full Arabic Breakfast as a lighter & healthier alternative to the Full English. Tasty, also - which is important.
Hopped on the Piccadilly Line (7:10am) to Heathrow (terminal 3 stop) at Earl's Court & had a long ride out to the airport. Not too crowded since most people are commuting East to London at that time of day.
Got to Heathrow a little after 8am and went through the process of Checking In & going through Customs. I also recommend doing the pre-check if you can. It opens 24 hours before your flight and just requires your reservation number. I took a screen shot of my tickets, which they needed for luggage check, where they also printed out the paper tickets for me (they did this both ways). Bonus with doing pre-check is they put you in a faster line. On the way from Dulles I got to go to just the Bag Check line (no line) and on the way out they listed me as a "delight" customer and put me into a preferred checkout line (one down from "Upper Class" Virgin or "First Class" in America speak). In both cases, line went quickly.
No problems at Customs, though I wore a Shell top today for when I was in hot places & a loose jean button up over it. Security had me remove that top as a "coat" at both body scans, which left me feeling a bit naked. Wondering if buttoning up wouldn't have them asking me to remove my "coat."
I arrived at my terminal about an hour before scheduled arrival, and we left a few minutes late, but not much. I figured it would be made up in flight, which they did coming from US.
Set myself the goal of NOT sleeping on the flight, so I got through about half of Cranford (I'd picked this up while visiting the Charles Dickens Home). Lunch was a really lovely sandwich (seen below - sandwich was warmed) and Dinner later was BBQ Chicken & Corn (with chickpea tabouli, chocolate mousse, a really pretty braided roll (looks like jewish Challah), butter, cheese... so much). There were a coupld of snacks and lots of rotations for drinks, though I'd rather get a bottle - they had canned flatwater with a twist top at some of the places I went to, like Kew & the castles - Would have LOVED that - More water ... LOTS more water.... would have been helpful, but lots of people & I'm sure they're calculating bathroom trips.
Kennedy Airport was NOT the bests part of this trip. First, they didn't have an exit concourse for us. Then, they had to bus us to the terminal. Lost time in that. Then I had to figure out where I was going, pick up my luggage, check my luggage, go back through US customs, go back through Security Check, Find my concourse & flight (they'd given me a Virgin Atlantic flight number, but there was NO virgin flight to BMI - I DID find a Delta flight to BMI - and Delta had checked my back at drop off - so I was PRAYING that was the right one), then book myself out to it.
Needless to say - The two hours between flights felt really short once they got us dropped off by the bussing about 40 minutes after scheduled time. LONG Customs line was daunting, but the other people in line were AMAZING when they found out how soon my flight was due to board - the other Americans (because they put us through a US citizen only line) just kept pushing me ahead to the front - But there was an untenable delay because some US Greencard customers went through the line and shut everything down for an interminable 15 minutes.
All went well, I got to my Delta Flight.... which was delayed about 30 minutes for boarding, then another 45 minutes once we were boarded because of 1) luggage being loaded <they're short staffed> and 2) runway line-up. So, again, the 2 hours I had to get to my BWI Amtrak train connection was being whittled away.
In-Flight time was only 35 minutes and BMI did a fabulous job of getting us out of the airplane and into the airport. It did FELL like forever (about 15 mintues, so not bad honestly) waiting for my luggage to be offloaded & delivered to baggage claim. I had a nice chat with my seat-mate on the plane & he had suggested getting an uber over if I was running close (good advice). (BTW... the Baltimore pair of kids on that flight could curse like Sailors! BALTIMORE! Manners in public spaces, people! -- yes, yes.... I know....).
Took the Uber over - probably didn't save much time, but he DID get me over at about 6:02pm - which was 8 minutes before my scheduled train! YAHZ! - but picked me up after I got text notice from Amtrak (Your train has been delayed, estitmated arrival time 6:18). So the Uber was unnecessary - still gave him a $20 tip for being SO much my shining knight (Thank you Lancelot! - Yes, that's his real name - and that's what he's listed as with Uber, also, if you're in Baltimore looking and he pops up - great guy from Jamaica).
Amtrak 85 then got delayed to 6:28..... But Amtrack 93 was before them, and THAT one wass running late.... and later.... then it got there..... then it SAT forEVER!.... then finally left.... then Amtrak 85 arrived and I think we finally got away sometime around 6:47 pm. Felt later. 
Sunset on the train ride home - gorgeous!
Looking out from the train while going over the Potomac
Texted Sara Klecka about the delay & estimating when I'd be arriving at Staples Mill. There was, of course, the half hour layover in DC while they change from Elecric Engine to Diesel Engine. Sara was asking me if I was going to Staples Mill - I said Yes, and to please not tell me it had blown up. It hadn't. But she had her own travel horror story to relate later - computer chaos I fortunately avoided entirely.
Train pulled into Staples Mill about 10:11pm and Sara (yay hero!) was there to greet me with a hug & a drive home.... even before she went home for the first time in two weeks. That's love 💗
so all is well. I ended up getting to bed (in my still not air conditioned home) around 11-11:30pm, which is about 22 hours after I woke in the morning (I'm allowing fudge room because I first woke at 4:30 am before the alarm & not sure how much sleep I got before 5:30).
This morning's first job was to empty the suitcase (shower) and begin sorting through all the tidbits I've brought back from my trip. some to keep (mostly magnets) and some to gift (I wish I had tidbits for everyone, but tried to find as many as I could for as many people as I could. They had wonderful tidbits in the shops and I was selecting for size & cost to go to family & a couple of close friends -and I'm sure I will have missed some that I should not have missed).
Love to you all! Back to reality - the lovely overgrown lawn facing me this morning when I trudged up to the mailbox to find it over-stuffed.
I think I'm also going to need to make a photobook with Shutterfly.
