This was our last full day in the US. It was a recover from the travelling and prepare for the journey home day. So today we spent the whole day in and around the hotel. The car has not moved an inch from its parking spot. We spent the day making final preparations, Marianne repacking her suitcase and deciding what goes in the big suitcase and what goes in the carry on.

For food we wandered up to the fifth floor (that’s really the fourth floor, as noted earlier) where there is the Blu Sky Bar & Grill. Marianne had the salmon steak and I had the sirloin steak. We both agreed it was delicious. The advantage of it was that, having access to the roof, there was a clear view of incoming planes. Des would love this. After the meal I stayed with the camera to photograph a few for him but got into conversation with a couple of Americans who work for a logistics company. And all because a wasp decided to fly all around one of them. One of them wanted to discuss the four home countries, and had a somewhat warped view of the status of Northern Ireland. He failed to appreciate that had the whole of Ireland become one independent nation in the early 20s there would have been a bloodbath in the north as many cultural Protestants in the North wanted nothing to do with the South. And with partition most Protestants left the South for the North or elsewhere. But then, most Americans don’t seem to know what the US Government did to the Indians in the 19th century.

So to bed ready to do the final packing, return the car and check in the luggage, before hanging around for most of the day waiting to board the overnight flight to Manchester. We’ll be landing in Manchester at 3.30am Atlanta time, so we’ll feel completely washed out. Marianne’s trying to make up for it in advance by going to sleep now. I will have more fun. After landing and collecting the car and driving home I hope I’ll be able to get about five hours sleep, so NO PHONE CALLS ON THURSDAY! Then I need to drive to Carlisle for my aunt’s funeral on Friday morning, returning the same day. It is possible, even probable, that I won’t make it all the way back on Friday and will have to stay overnight and finish the journey on Saturday morning. The driving will not be over then as I’ll be driving to Fareham for a few days next week. It’s my Dad’s 90th birthday this Thursday and my Mum’s 90th next Wednesday. April is coming over next week as well. So I won’t really get back into the swing of things until the week after.