Going Home

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Geo: 35.0841, -106.649

The return trip from Europe requires staying up for about 24 hours, leaving in the morning and arriving home in the late evening with a seven-hour time difference.

Once we checked in for our flight, we were directed to the pre-clearance line for U.S. customs and immigration. That was the first time we have used our Global Entry passes. They did save a little bit of time, but not a lot on this trip.

The Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Chicago, was okay, but not as comfortable as the seats we had on United on the way over. We purchased business class seats using miles, and these seats did not have all the features of the United seats. These did not lie completely flat, did not have a good place to rest feet, and did not have electric outlets. They did have a holder for a bottle of water attached with Velcro to the lower part of the seat beside where your leg sits. That was a nice touch. The first flight left and arrived about thirty minutes late, but did not present a problem for us as I allowed for three-hour layovers in both Chicago and Denver.

Since we did not have to check luggage coming home, we were able to make a quick exit from the airport, take the shuttle to the long-term lot and get home a little after midnight. It was a long day, but just one little piece of a wonderful trip.

My favorite things this trip:
The Highland Games in Inverness--the best look at a local event
The Paddy Campbell Black Cab Tour of Belfast--the best tour guide
The Chester Beatty Library in Dublin--by far the best museum

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