A Christmas Holiday in 3 Parts - Act I

Well, y'all, I wrote 3 blogs about our trip back to America, and I just didn't post them for some reason. It's nearly April, so I guess it's time for me to talk about how it was...

IT WAS FANTASTIC!

As you probably know, we went home for the first time in 16 months and made our grand journey all around the South in the States, trying to soak up as much America as we could. It all started with a 26 hour journey/wait for the flight.

I got a great deal on a off-peak train from Leuchars to Manchester. I was pretty proud of myself, keeping an eye on ticket prices, and buying it like 16 weeks in advance saving us around £180. Unfortunately, "off-peak" in this situation meant leaving Leuchars at 7:47pm, arriving at Manchester Airport at 4:00am. No big deal, right? I can sleep anywhere, right?

UGH. I slept on the 1st train to York. I slept on the 2nd train to Manchester. I slept sprawled out in Terminal 2, waiting for the Delta desk to open at 6:00am (while some Christmas Critters got dressed behind me? see photo attached). I slept at the gate waiting for the plane. I remember brushing my teeth in the bathroom at the airport and looking like someone threw olive oil in my hair and then stomped on my face.

BUT. We got Business class! Perks of flying stand-by (and my grandmother being an amazing former employee of Delta Airlines). So began an 8 hour flight. Other than eating a 4-course meal, watching Elf and Tommy Boy and Parks and Recreation, and having a "Warm Cookie Break" halfway through the flight, it was pretty uneventful.

I wasn't kidding about that warm cookie break!!

Got to Atlanta around 3:00pm EST and so it began. My parents picked us up from the airport, and I finally got all the hugs that I wanted. We ate Chick-fil-A at the original Dwarf House in Hapeville, and I could have cried from all of the joy that I felt in my heart.

Mels, Truett, and Moo

 And so began the whirlwind week.
Christmas Eve/Day with the Rowes.
25th - To Melody's in Bethlehem to take a billion pictures in matching sock monkey pajamas.

26th - Breakfast with Grandparents and Aunt Carla. Marietta with the Turners. ALL of the Turners (even the ones in Indonesia!). Like my childhood all over again.

27th - We ate two meals with the Stepps in two of our favorite restaurants: Fox Brother's BBQ and Farm Burger, two amazing meals that are impossible to duplicate in the UK.

28th - Church with my parents and grandparents, then Natalie's birthday party in Walnut Grove.

29th - Breakfast with my parents, and then off to NOLA!

Are you dizzy yet? We were. We. did. not. stop. Usually, these kinds of trips last about a week, and we're used to that. Make sure we see everyone we want to see in a tiny amount of time. But 3 weeks? and with jet lag? It was going to be interesting...

Carm