A 36 Hour Journey Home

When I arrived in North Carolina to pick-up Matt & Ashlie they took me out to one of their favorite places to eat.

A very excited couple..........finished with finals, and ready to go home for a visit!

This little diner was adorable.............we were actually waiting on Matt to bring the car to us.........it was 90 degrees and pouring rain :(

Next stop............dessert! A new little shop they saw on TV and wanted to try! It was so cool.........we had Gapedo ice cream, absolutely delicious!

This shop reminded me of the "Cake Boss" show that Cody and I like to watch on TV

Everything on this cake is edible

They had cakes in display cases all around the store.

Our little Dessert Shop

Early in Raleigh/Durham.........still smiles!

Our 2 1/2 hour delay in Nashville..........

Ahhh, checking morning flights before our 2 1/2 nap and quick shower..........yes, we did have to 2 king size beds in the $500 a night hotel :)

The small things in life..........Ashlie was so excited when I called the front desk and had them bring a razor and toothpaste!

Yes, day 2 and still wearing the same clothes..............

This was the last and most DIFFICULT journey of them all. I knew it would be difficult getting Ashlie & Matt home from Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina but I really didn't think that we would spend almost 2 days running from gate to gate trying to catch a flight!! I decided @ 9:00 pm on Wednesday that I needed to leave on the 6:00 am flight the next morning to North Carolina to help get Matt & Ashlie home. As a Southwest Flight Attendant, if I fly with the person on the buddy pass it bumps them to the top of stand-by status..........so off I went to bring my last kiddo's home!

We were at the airport in Raleigh @ 6:00 am........all smiles :), thinking it would be tight, but we would most likely get on the 1st or 2nd flight out.........WRONG!! Waiting, waiting and waiting........starting to panic.........just short of screaming.............Matt helping with Ashlie and the random tears :(...........wondering which airport we should fly into, just to get out of this one for the night ..........sorry to say, but I started praying for a small accident on the highway (no injury's, just a delay so some people would miss their flight)..........oops, that's exactly what happened :(............at the last minute we were told to run fast and board the plane that was about to leave..........this was approx 7:00 pm..............so, excited and thinking we had it made...........WRONG!.............2 hr. ground delay due to mechanical in Nashville, finally arrived in San Diego @ 12:30 am!! One of the flight attendants on our plane said that she wouldn't need the hotel room the company provided for her, so she gave it to us!! (just what every son-in-law wants to do..........spend the night in a hotel with his MOTHER-IN-LAW :) the Captain made sure that the van driver allowed 2 non-employee's to ride the van...........we got 2 1/2 hours of sleep and a wonderful shower in a $500 a night hotel.............we were off again @ 6:00 am to catch our flight out of San Diego to Sacramento.............easy, WRONG!!.............once again, running from gate to gate, standing in line for hours..............one of the flights we were waiting for, we got bumped at the last minute.........Ashlie burst into tears, 1 of the 4 Captains and First Officers waiting to get a flight out actually went on the plane to make sure they couldn't fit us in............no luck, but all the guys were now rooting for the poor teary-eyed blonde girl (and her poor helpless husband) to get on the next flight out!!..........once again at the last minute a flight from San Diego to Oakland opened up and we ran like crazy!!...........sent a text to Loren to pick us up in Oakland!.............2hr. drive home, some more last minute things to throw into the car and the last family members were on there way to catch up with everyone else waiting at the cabin............yeah! Time for vacation!