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Sometimes, the journey is not the reward. Take, for instance, the 30-or-40-odd hour trek that Azure and I endured getting from Indianapolis to L.A. and London (respectively). We woke up at 5am (Chicago time) only to leave at 1am - Az and Em flew off a couple of hours before I did, but only after enduring a 3-hour wait on the Tarmac. I can only imagine.
As for me, I landed at LHR around 2pm local time, and am just now catching the 7:45 train home. Very. Long. Day.
Cutest bit was this: right after limping into work, I discovered that I was scheduled to interview a job candidate that very minute. I managed to run into the restroom to brush my teeth, at least, but I can still only imagine what the poor fellow thought of my employer after his interview. (My god, they’re all zombies! Catatonic! Crazy!)
Anyways, if the journey wasn’t so rewarding this time ‘round, the destination certainly was: our Memorial Day weekend turned out to be a great chance to meet extended family and glimpse parts of the country I’d never before visited. Indianapolis was unexpectedly verdant and green, and the local’s friendliness a contrast to the British reserve. I also managed to take in (A) a White Castle, (B) a live-bait vending machine, and (C) a sunny morning in a local laundromat that offered the best people-watching that side of the Atlantic.
Better still, we did stuff with Emelyn that we’ve never had a chance to do in the UK, like go to a big coffee shop for early-morning breakfast. (Naugahyde booths are one of the things about America that I miss most dearly; I don’t care if it’s a Denny’s or Cocos or a Bob Evan’s, a real-deal coffee-shop is one thing Euros just can’t seem to duplicate.)
Oh, and we can now tick one very minor item off the “not-a-real-American-baby-til-you-do-this” list: Emelyn finally got to try Cheerios, pawing them off the table into her mouth in her not-even-slightly-dextrous way.
