Headed Home

In the morning, Megan was up and off to work before either of us got up.  We got cleaned up and organized, and set out for the airport at about 8:30.  It was a half-hour drive, and my flight was at 11:05.  Cathy's wasn't until 2:00 or so, but she said she could either wait in Megan's apartment or at the airport, and the people-watching was better at the airport.  That's how we could share an Uber.  I called it, then we figured out how to share the fare as we drove.  My $10 credit made my fare $5.00, and hers was $15.  We dropped her at her terminal, then had to actually leave the airport and circle back around to get to my terminal.  I don't know how they do it, I really don't.  The traffic would kill me.

Once I was at my terminal, I bought some cereal and orange juice for breakfast and headed for my gate.  When I reached it, I wasn't at all sure I was in the right place.  It was full of little single-person booths with an internet-connected tablet attached.  There was also a high counter with stations all along it.  No regular chairs attached to each other with nowhere to set your stuff. It looked like some kind of higher-level business lounge or something. Each booth and station had a power hookup, too, so I charged my phone while I ate, surfed the net, and waited.

The flights home were uneventful.  In Atlanta, I bought a bottle of diet Coke, then found a place to buy a sandwich for lunch.  They saw the pop in my hand and tried to charge me for it, since they sold the same bottles (note to self: put any recently purchased drinks, etc., away before attempting to buy anything else, particularly since most places sell bottle of diet Coke even if they also sell fountain drinks).

It was such a great trip!  I came home feeling like it had been a week or more instead of just four days (really, just 2 1/2 days plus Monday morning, which was spent traveling to the airport).  I can hardly wait to go back!  There is already some talk about a possible return in October, so we will see.  All in all, I didn't find it as overwhelming a place as I had imagined.  The streets are numbered south to north, and the metro and buses are easy to understand. We all got along well, and we did a mix of what everyone wanted to do - and I already have a list of things I want to do next time, whenever that may be.