Home Again

After the frustration of Saturday afternoon, Sunday brought better weather and some good luck.

The standby list for the 10:30 flight was long, but everyone on the list made it. I got a bulkhead seat (in the middle) and enjoyed having the extra leg room. The flight was trouble-free, and I chatted with the young soldier who had the window seat. He was headed home for two weeks of leave, and he was planning to surprise his family, who lives on Kent Island, Maryland. We talked about Iraq, where he's spent seven months, which put things into perspective. No matter how long and tiring my trip was, there are many others with longer ones to places that were much less pleasant.

We had a nice view of the Chesapeake Bay, including Kent Island and Annapolis, as we approached BWI, and he was thrilled to see it from that perspective for the first time. We got into the gate a bit early, and I quickly walked up the C concourse to find Laury and Colleen waiting for me!

We decided that I would get some lunch while we waited for the bags to arrive. Back in baggage claim, we watched and searched - Delta had hundreds of bags down there, and, just as I was waiting to file a claim for the garment bag, it appeared on the belt! Colleen and I chased it down, and then we were headed home, and my odyssey was over.