Last day!

Em and I flew out on Friday the 26th. We spent the morning packing and such, and then took off for the airport. Max was able to get out of work early enough that we had plenty of time to get there on time. Since things were going smoothly, we decided to drive through Oxford. It's one of the places I had wanted to visit, but didn't get around to going. We were going to drive through after Hatfield on Wednesday, but after Tuesday's adventures, there was no way I was driving around in another big city.

But anyway, we set Bruce and took off. We didn't have time to get out at all, but I took lots of pictures of the University. I used to want to go there so badly, so it was nice to see. It was really beautiful.

We got to the airport like 3.5 hours before the plane left. We got there at 2:30, and they wouldn't even tell us our gate until 4:45. I guess they do that a lot, though, because they have big seating areas before the passages to the gates. So, Em & I sat around for a couple of hours and read.

The ride back was much nicer than the one out. There were free magazines & newspapers at the gate, and a good gossip rag is a nice way to start any trip, even if you don't know who half the celebrities are. It had stuff about the royal family, so I was happy.

We were on the side this time, instead of in the middle. The sides have a row less than the middle, so there is that much more room for your legs. We were also in the very last row in the plane, and our seats laid further back than any airplane seats I have ever experienced. I was as comfy in those seats as I am on JetBlue, and I do love JetBlue. It was early enough that we could watch a movie before we went to sleep, and we got another little amenities kit. The only real problem was that we had two very noisy children in the row in front of us, and they wanted to chat. Ah, well. Better than many things that can be wrong on the plane. We had lovely dinners, and super yummy raspberry & dark chocolate ganache for dessert.

So, Virgin Atlantic is super strict. During takeoff and landing, you not only still aren't allowed to listen to headphones, but you also have to have absolutely everything stowed. Blankets, pillows, eye masks, everything. Poor Em just wanted to sleep, but they made her take everything off.

When we landed, the flight attendant came on the intercom and told us that it was 9:15 pm local time, and that it was "dead warm." That's my new favorite phrase. She also told us thank you from the pilot, all of the crew, and the Oompa Loompa. I think she was a little punch drunk.

It was indeed dead warm. 93, according to the thermometer in the car. It was quite a punch in the gut after such lovely cool weather.

We got through immigration & customs in pretty good time. We were the only plane at that time. I did have to answer yes on the question about whether we had been on a farm. I was kind of afraid they would confiscate my shoes, but when I said it was more of a petting zoo than an actual farm, they let us go. I just knew that if I had said no, Em would have told the agent that her favorite part of the trip was visiting the farm, or something like that. But, we escaped with our shoes, and we did it legally. :)

We got our rental car, and the first thing we did as we drove through Leesburg was to go through Taco Bell. I had the worst burrito of my life, but I didn't care. It was 11 at night, it was a drive through, and they had Dew with ice. What more could you want?

We got home around midnight, and the kitties were very, very glad to see us. :) We went and got Max on Saturday afternoon. His flight sucked. Now, it's Monday, and I'm still friggin' exhausted.

Worth it, though, a million times over.