Home Again, Home Again

We left my parents house at 8:30 yesterday morning for our 3 hour drive back to the Bay Area. We were socked in with fog for most of the drive. I think we had a 600 foot visibility until we got past Pacheco Pass, where the sun miraculously came out for about 15 minutes of our drive. By the time we hit Gilroy, it was foggy again. A high fog this time, so not nearly as bad. Even with the fog, our drive time got us back an hour early. We stopped at the local mall in lieu of a park. Brandon and Caitlin played in the play area, while Mom and Dad chatted with old friends we hadn't seen in a while (who randomly happened to be there), and had lunch.

Our plane flight was about the same. Mundane. On time. Yeah! No delays in San Jose like last year. That has to be the most boring airport to be stranded in. And all that's made worse when you're stranded with two little kids. We landed at 5:30, and were in our car sometime before 6:30. DIA is so large that it seriously does take an hour to get your luggage and get to your car. Fearful of delays and of digging our car out of the snow again, we opted to pay more for parking and park in a lot where the shuttle driver takes you directly to your car. Of course, it was a balmy 47 degrees this time, with no snow in sight. Thankfully the hurricane force winds we'd been hearing about had died down, and didn't start up until after we were home and the car unloaded. Last time we flew home it was Thanksgiving day, and nothing was open when we arrived. We didn't think ahead, and really had no dinner options when we got home. We had waffles. We were thankful this time that it was only New Years Eve, and that restaurants were still open, at least for a couple hours. We got to Sweet Tomatoes at 7:00, due to a request for macaroni and cheese. Luckily they were open until 8:00.

And now we are home. Doing laundry. Happy to have woken up in our own beds. I, for one, was happy to not have to shuffle through my toiletries bag for everything I need to get ready in the morning. The house is a disaster, and the bags are not unpacked, but we are happy. Caitlin, last night, put her head on the coffee table and said "I missed my home". She'd been letting us know, very specifically, that she wanted to be in "our" car and go to "our" home for the last few days now. We even went to the mall today to see what was left of the after Christmas sales and let the kids play in the play area. Caitlin is still in trip-recovery mode, and lost it early on, but we had a good time for a little while. I keep thinking it's Saturday, and that we have to get up early to go to church tomorrow. I'm kinda glad we don't. I want to enjoy a few more days of sleeping in and unhurried mornings before jumping back into our regular, scheduled lives on the 5th!