Last day – the journey home from England The day started out by getting ready to go, then Jacky took me to the train station to catch my train from Selby to Kings Cross in London. It was chaos for a minute, trying to find a place to store my HUGE suitcase. I didn’t even get to hug Jacky goodbye and thank her again (HUGS, Jacky!!) for everything. Got my suitcase stored and found my seat and was on my way. This was a train with no changes, thank God, and we’d arranged for a long taxi ride from Kings Cross to Gatwick Airport. I could have taken a train again, but I just didn’t feel like I could with what happened earlier in my journey and lugging the huge suitcase and two other bags. So, I arrived at Kings Cross and found my way to the Taxi Rank where my taxi was waiting. Very nice fellow named Paul. Since I’d never been to London, he drove by the Palace (Queen was in residence that day!), Hyde Park, some of the more famous hotels and told me about them. It took about 1.5 hours to get to the airport, mostly due to traffic. The taxi cost me 70 GBP (about $110), but it was worth it (was actually the least expensive quote we got!!). I felt safer and was glad not to have any hassles. Paul dropped me right off at the terminal and I have him a big tip – he deserved it. I didn’t have to wait at all checking in, and the lady who quizzed me was very thorough, which was really the first time that any airport personnel asked me any questions. Its amazing how different security is in each airport. I had a little while before they started boarding my flight and I still had some cash to burn, so I visited the duty free shops a the airport. Filled my carry-ons almost to max capacity. Once I’d spent all the cash, I made my way to the terminal. They boarded an hour early and we left early! The plane was only about half full, so no one was sitting next to me. It was GREAT! The movie were Ocean’s 11 and Count of Monte Cristo. I watched most of Ocean’s 11, but fell asleep during the Count. I slept about 2.5 hours, then got my CD player out and read my book. The flight was only 6.5 hours (vs. what was scheduled at 7.5). We arrived in Boston early, I went through Customs and thank God, they didn’t check my luggage. Those Mr. Big penises were in there AND I didn’t know if I’d be able to get it all arranged again. I gave them back my suitcase to be put back on the plane, then started looking for the security area, where I was to meet Colin and his wife, the lovely D… when I heard “Karen?” It was them!! I was so happy to meet them and we visited for an hour or so. Such wonderful people – just a great way to end my journey to meet them. They gave me so much Boston goodies, but managed to fit it all in my carry-ons. We made our way to Terminal C, I borrowed one of those push carts to put my carry-ons on and Colin was making remarks about my driving abilities cuz the wheels kept getting in the way. It was pretty funny… once we got to Terminal C – you should have seen the lines for security. There had to have been a minimum of 400 people in line. It didn’t stop – kept going and going. Colin read my thoughts exactly – “WTF, I’m gonna miss my plane!” We stood in line for a few minutes, visiting when they started to call my flight forward. YAY. I still spent 25 minutes waiting in the shorter line, but not as long as those poor people who had to stay back. The security looked pretty tight – and I’m sure they were doing a good job… but I had one bag that needed to be checked. He checked one corner and found a metal bank and said “This must be it. You can put your things back and be on your way.” I had other metal things in there… but he didn’t bother to check. Maybe he was watching me – seeing that I wasn’t nervous about my bag being checked… but it made me kind of uneasy that he dismissed me so quickly. But, I was happy to be on my way. This plane was smaller and more crowded – UGH. Only two rows of 3 seats on each side of the isle. Luckily, the seat next to me wasn’t filled, so the lady on the Isle and I spread out a bit. The flight was about 5.5 hours, and I did manage to sleep a bit, I don’t even remember what the movie was! I got off the plane, the gate I arrived at was one of the closest to baggage claim – woohoo! Then I saw my sister Susie! YAY, I was really home!!! I gave her a big hug, then we collected my monster suitcase and was on our way. By the time I got home, I worked out that I’d been traveling for 23 hours.