At the outset of our trip, we wondered if 5 weeks back in the States would feel a bit long...to our surprise it didn't feel long at all and we were quite chagrined when the last day came. The kids had been planning for months about "ghost in the graveyard," eating berries, playing with Arnie, playing with cousins and a host of other things, that the time really did fly by. Before we knew it, we were at the airport (we spent a LOT of time in airports this trip...) saying good-bye.
We routed our stop-over on the way back to Bangkok through Los Angeles so we could stop to see great grandpa Kline. He's 92 and we were sure glad we were able to spend the evening with him in San Diego. After about 3.5 hours of fighting LA traffic, we had a wonderful evening with grandpa and his dog Suzie...oh, and had some great Tillamook rocky road ice cream too.
We drove back (much faster this time) to LA and spent the night in a hotel close to the LA airport. We had a great flight on the new 787 dreamliner from LAX to Narita. My daughter was my seat mate in Economy plus (more leg room for this tall dad) and it was a good 12.5 hour flight.
Once in Tokyok, jet lag hit everyone pretty hard. We had 4 hours to kill, and this is how most of us spent it:
The flight from Tokyo to Bangkok was not nearly as nice. It was packed and on an old 777. There was no legroom and the food, as is typical of ANA, was not enjoyable for most western palets (this coming from a family that lives in Thailand...). We were sure glad when we arrived after the long 7 hour flight from NRT to BKK and could stretch our legs. Our bags came off first and we got through immigration and customs without a hitch. Khun Tar quickly found us and we were able to fit all of our 11 suitcases and 6 backpacks in our small van. Woohoo!
And thus ends an amazing summer back in the States. It's great to be back "home" and was cute to see the kids chatter all the way from the airport to Nichada about home, school, and friends. We were warmly greeted by Khun Tar and Khun Jah and it felt good to be back with our Thai family and in our own beds.
Thanks to everyone who made the effort to see us...there were many of you! We miss you all dearly but our hearts are warmed by your love and embraces. Until we meet again.
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