I hate that the trip has come to an end. Not only is all the fun over and I have to start thinking about work and diets and stuff like that but I have a whole day of flying to look forward to.

I thought I had enough time in the morning to do one last thing in London but sadly our car was scheduled for 9. We did get up earlier than expected and since we were all packed we decided to have one last stroll through London.

One of the things I had planned to do was check out this old umbrella shop that was not far from my hotel. Originally I had thought that I would splurge on a fancy British umbrella for my main souvenir. I mean nothing quite says England like a big umbrella and bowler hat. Since the hat wasn’t really an option I had big plans for the umbrella. I didn’t want to get it when we first arrived and have to fit it in my suitcase but or hindsight I should have done it when I had the chance. We didn’t have any chance to make it while it was opened but this morning I thought at least I could window shop. Now I am really sad that I didn’t have time to shop. I would have loved to have brought one home. The store looked amazing from the windows. It had that I have been here forever and will be here forever feel. I doubt much has changed since it opened. It will definitely be on my list if (no when) I make it back to London.

After drilling over the umbrella we went back to the hotel to catch our ride to the airport. Even with the extra bag Val’s main bag was still overweight and we had to switch stuff around and we were left lugging our heavy carry-ons through the airport. We had time so we waited to get our tax refund. However on second thought I wouldn’t do that again. Although the line didn’t look that long everyone had wads of receipts and it took forever. You had to fill out your name,passport number and address on each receipt and it didn’t appear that anyone did that before they got in line. Most of my purchases had been small and although I splurged on the dresses they didn’t participate in the program so I couldn’t get that back. So I stood in line without air conditioned for about an hour to get $15 back. The lady beside me was getting about $800 back. I felt really stupid with my measly 2 receipts when she probably had 50. Oh well I took my $15 and got out of the way for the next person with his crumpled wad of receipts.

By then it was time to head to our gate and get on the plane. Again I am so glad we splurged for the upgraded seats. The extra leg room makes all the difference. I watched three movies listened to a couple of cds and watched some tv shows. I didn’t sleep at all.

We arrived in Atlanta on time but everything went down hill from there. Going through customs with global entry was a breeze we were basically the first ones to the baggage claim. However we were also the last ones to leave baggage claim. We waited and waited but Val’s luggage never came. I think they just hold back the bags that are marked heavy to make you squirm for a while so you won’t do it again. Finally after pretty much everyone had moved on her bags showed up.

At first I was very happy to see that we didn’t have to go back out to the airport to send our luggage back through but that happiness was soon replaced. Even though we never left the secured area we had to go back through a security checkpoint. And unlike in the main airport there was no TSA precheck. Since our bags were so late we were the last of our flight to get in line and I think a couple other planes got ahead of us as well. The line was horrific moving maybe a step a minute. For some reason this checkpoint was testing new security protocols and everyone had to pretty much take there carry-on apart and send them through in separate trays. All your books, food, electronics, shoes and liquids had to go in separate trays so everybody had at least two trays and most of had four or five. This really slowed down the process.

I of course had carefully packed my bag with books at the bottom (I had a signed book from most of the historians on the tour) and all my cups and breakable stuff on top. By the time I was through the line I had about 30 minutes to get to my plane so no time to neatly repack my bag. I am just cramming it all back in and nothing fits and it won’t close. So I have books hanging out of my purse and feel certain I am probably breaking all my souvenirs.

We have to ride their subway to get to another terminal so thankfully we don’t have to actually run through the airport. We get there right before they start pre boarding. Val has time for a bathroom stop and to grab water but that is it and we are back on a plane for our short flight to Dallas.

The flight is uneventful and I finally sleep so after all the hassle the flight went well. We did not have near the wait for our luggage in Dallas and we stepped outside to catch our ride home. The heat immediately took my breath away. It was almost 10, completely dark but still in the high 90s. So not the pleasant low 70s we had enjoyed for the last two weeks. It was not the welcome home I was looking for but it is home and after a day of flying I was glad to be back in Texas.