Day 13--TX to Home

Our wake-up call came earlier than intended as Grandma called Mom’s cell phone at 4:30am. Going on less than 4 hours of sleep, Mom thought it was the alarm we set on the phone and turned it off. Seconds later, the voicemail alert went off. I told her that it was Foy’s cell on the missed call list. She checked her voicemail and returned the call. Apparently Grandma thought we had to be at the airport at 5:30am and wanted to get a hold of us to tell us that Nita picked the earrings over the cross necklace. Tried to go back to sleep and finally gave up on any peaceful sleep, getting out of bed by 5:30am. Had breakfast at the hotel (much better than Irish breakfasts I might add), and then headed to the rental car agency and airport for our 8:15am flight to Salt Lake City. We had an hour layover in Salt Lake and managed to find stuff to spend money on. We got back on the same plane, with the same staff, but we had to carry our backpacks and cameras with us during the layover. The final flight back was pretty quick since I fell asleep before we even took off. Dad and Daniel greeted us at the airport. Bob and Martha, Ford family friends, were also there dropping off their daughter when they bumped into them, so they waited a few minutes to greet us too. Got our bags and left. First stop—Hawaiian Charbroil. Talked to the new owner (okay, for about 6 years they’ve owned it) about traveling and also the old owner who moved back to Hawaii for a while. He’s opening a new place here in two weeks, much closer to our home. Next stop was to pick up some building materials that the guys ordered, another errand, and then home. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the kitchen is done except for a few trim boards. It’s been ripped out for months. Daniel has worked very hard the last two weeks to get everything done. Mom and I emptied our bags and distributed a few gifts. We nearly gagged from the reek of our dirty clothes. Though the day is not quite over, it is the end of this journey. The experience was great for all three of us and was really a once in a lifetime opportunity for our three generations to journey to the land of our heritage. 13, days, 10,000+ miles traveled, 10 flights, and more than 30 hours on airplanes, I find myself back home with Daniel whom I have never been away from this long in the eight years we have been together. I am glad to be home with him again, but the experience I’ve had over the last two weeks will stay with me forever.