Day 7

Homeward bound.  I think this might be one of the only trips that I was really looking forward to going home.  We were all just done.  It was fun, but we were done.
So, we woke up on our last morning in New Jersey and loaded up to drive back to D.C.
We wanted to drive a scenic route and it took us through another state.  We crossed really pretty bridges and enjoyed the sea side views.

We stopped in Delaware and took a walk along a boardwalk.  The kids looked at the shells strewn about and tried to find ones that were still in tact.  We saw a man catch a huge fish...we felt the sun on our backs and the cool breeze and enjoyed the moment.  It was a beautiful day.

We dropped the rental car off without incident and made it to the airport and through the baggage drop off.  That's when I realized I left my wallet in the rental car.  What is it with us and leaving wallets and credit cards behind on this trip!?

I frantically tried to get someone at Hertz to answer the phone and then rode the shuttle back to the rental car drop off.  I am making the story seem a lot less stressful than it was, but I ended up getting my wallet (minus some cash...those darn thieves at Hertz) and made it to the terminal just a few minutes behind Mike.  He had gone a whole lot slower because he had to get the rest of the family through security.

After I was all settled on the plane, the kids started asking for snacks, so I opened up my bag to get them going.  When I found full juice packs I was shocked.  I had meant to have the kids drink them before we had to go through security.  I couldn't believe that they went through security!  In Washington D.C.!  They are well over the TSA limit for liquids.  Yikes!  Maybe they're fine to have, but I would have thought it was a no no.  I've been detained at the TSA counter for less.  (My wands from Harry Potter world for one).

Anyway, the flights home were long and we were all longing for Charlie and our own beds. 

We saw and did a lot on this trip.  We went to Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and our Nation's Capital.  It was a big trip.  There were a few floundering foibles along the way.  There were a few fits, and more than a few tears were shed.  Allie even lost a tooth as we pulled into the rental car return.  (I was just sure that it was a permanent tooth, it was so big!  We called our dentist and my brother Warren because I was just so sure that she had just jiggled loose a permanent tooth.  She was in tears and worried that she'd be a hillbilly for life...it was a mess.  But one that was righted as soon as Warren and Dr. Larsen alleviated our fears).  

It was a trip for the books.  I'm not interested in taking the kids on another one any time soon, but it was nice to go.  My mom always says "it's good to go and it's good to come home".  Such true words.  Yay for family vacations!