Days 11-12 - "She'd better be!"

The entries get less and less exciting as the trip winds down. I'm sorry. But not a ton happened on this last day in Ireland. We left the hotel at 7am to get to the airport. We had to walk a lot before getting onto our flight, which wasn't the most fun experience, but everyone made it. Grandma very much wanted to get someone a birthday gift from a specific store (not mentioned here in case the gift hasn't been given yet). That store, apparently, has been moved a few times in recent months, so a few people directed us in the wrong direction a few times, but we ultimately made it there. We made it on our plane, too, which was the bigger concern.

Everyone was thrilled to be awake so early

Grandma actually didn't seem too sad to be going home...

Waiting for the shuttle... waiting for the plane... there would be lots of waiting today

Passport is in order.

Dum de dum. All that hurrying just so we could sit and wait.

Our plane

Our flight... back to the States at long last

Back in Chicago, waiting for people to pick up the car

I think pretty much everyone slept soundly on the plane... except my father... and Grandma, who had SOMEone nudging her every few hours to walk around. We landed in Chicago about an hour late (not too bad), and picked up the car that we'd left behind. It was sad thinking that our day of traveling was only half-over. My father drove the whole way back to Dearborn Heights (despite offers for someone else to drive), and we made it back in about six hours.

Driving out of Chicago was, of course, horrendous

During the car ride home, Elaine sent my parents a few text messages, jokingly urging us to drive the extra few hundred miles to Norwalk rather than just stopping in Dearborn Heights. We told Grandma that Elaine must be pretty anxious to see her. "Well, she'd better be!" I think that, even though Grandma didn't say so specifically, it went both ways. In fact, when we mentioned the possibility of waking up early and driving Grandma back to Norwalk the next morning, she jumped at the idea.

So, with utmost secrecy (so that Grandma's arrival wouldn't be too much of a hullabaloo) we woke up at 6am (which wasn't bad... 11am Dublin time!), and drove down to Norwalk. Little did we know, that even though her arrival wasn't announced, there would still be a little welcoming party for us.

The welcome spokesperson, waiting eagerly in Grandma's chair for his friend to come home

The hero of our story, dressed for her triumphant return.

The last few steps...

A proper welcome

Enjoying 14 S. Garden more than usual

And thus concludes a whirlwind tour of Ireland. It was marvellous, and I don't think any of us can wait to go back... especially Sophia Lauren. Fortunately, we packed in enough memories to last us until we have the chance to go again. So, we appreciate you following along and reading about our adventures, and in the words of the Irish,

Tanks a million!