Going Home

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Going home always signifies the end of the trip. Today was that day, wake-up call given at 6:30 AM, breakfast, and on the bus by 8. We of course repacked things the night before so we be ready to go. Two groups were going home the Alaskans and the Arizonans. The Canadians were headed to a three day tour in Hong Kong.

On the bus ride to the airport everyone shared what they thought was the best part of the trip. Some were reluctant and some anxious to share their highlights. For me the best part of the trip was the people, the new friends. Getting to know the students we took on the tour was a pleasant task. All four of them are great young adults each with their own unique strengths.

At the airport we said our often-tearful goodbyes to the Canadian crew. Janet and Susan are great folk to travel with as well as their students. They helped to make the trip a richer experience for us all. Mason was sorry to see the Canadian girls leave but as they say, “all good things come to an end”. Everyone vowed to keep in touch and I really hope that we do. I will cut DVDs or the pictures I took on the trip and sent them off. And of course there is the blog, Facebook, and email. The travel blog will have new entries about China for a week or more.

The flight home is actually pretty interesting, well the departure and arrival times are interesting anyway. 10 hours on an airplane are not fun. But we did arrive in San Francisco about four hours before we left Shanghai. Now if that isn’t interesting than nothing every will be. Our Arizona friends will part from us in SFO. They will head to Phoenix and we will be off to home in Alaska. The trip was fun. Yet when I see my bed tonight I will be happy that I am home.

We got to Anchorage about a half hour early, which was fine will all of us. The kids were all picked up by 9:30 PM and Bonnie and I were home before 10. It was a great trip but it's always good to be home. Will write more later about general thoughts of the trip and recommendations for future exotic excursions.