Since we had to leave for the airport by 7:00a.m. we skipped breakfast at the hotel. Checkout went relatively smoothly, although at the usual leisurely "island pace". While waiting for our cab we watched an early arriving employee feeding the resident cats and were surprised to see what seemed like all the chickens (and their families) congregate to eat the dry catfood scattered about. 
Fortunately, the ride to the airport was only about 5 minutes, and just as we stepped inside, it poured --- probably the most rain we had seen the whole time we were here.
The line was incredibly long, and moving at island speed, but eventually we got our bags weighed, then were given our customs paperwork and instructed to take our bags through to customs after filling out the paperwork. We needed only declare the souvenirs we purchased in addition to giving our personal information.
One of the customs employees took our bags, and we were quickly called to the window. A cursory glance at our passports, "where are you from?" "Do you have any liquor or firearms" (where I divulged that we had one bottle of Pusser’s rum) and we were clear.
Since the wait in line just to check in had been so long, we had just a short wait until boarding. The trip to Miami took a little over 2 hours. I got to see "Nights in Rodanthe", which I enjoyed because I had already read the book.
Miami airport had no free WIFI, so we spent our layover there people-watching. There are a LOT of strange people who pass through airports these days!! Miami to Los Angeles was the next leg of our trip, and the longest. This flight was announced as full, but the seat next to me was never filled. Each seat had been issued a blanket and pillow, so I used the extra pillow (with mine) and the extra blanket to construct a "super pillow". Since they showed "Nights in Rodanthe" again, I took a long nap. I woke up to the last 2/3 of "Failure to Launch" (Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew McConaughey), which was cute if predictable.
Dana, of course, doesn’t sleep well on planes, and the seats are very uncomfortable for his back. He spent most of his time trying to get comfortable.
One more layover in LA, then on a plane again for the short flight to SFO. Baggage came through with no problems and our "driver" (my brother, Mike) was waiting at the curb for us.
Hailey and Caleb were waiting on the step when we drove up to the house --- Caleb running up and down the walkway saying "Hi, Mima! Hi, Poppa!" and Hailey dressed to the nines in her new princess dress and tiara!! It was really good to see them, as well as Krista and Ness, when she got home from work.
I swear the babies each grew an inch while we were gone, and Caleb is talking SO much more now than he was 2 weeks ago!!
Really good to get home! Good to get the travel laundry taken care of, and best of all, to sleep in our own bed again.
We’ll have a few days to rest up from all the travel, and then will both be back at work.
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