Day 56: Already?

Oh no!  It seems that somehow nearly two months have sped by me in blur, and now I’m back home!  My trip was absolutely amazing.  I did not have a single bad day, and I got to see so many things and do so many things that I never had before.  Everywhere I went was completely fantastic, and I would happily go back to any of them.  I think my favorite place would have to be Nepal.  I loved both the awesome countryside and the chances I got to see the way the people live there, much as they probably have for thousands of years, with only scattered modern improvements.  Of course, while I’d go back to any of the places I’ve been, there are so many new places to go as well.  I am certainly not going to let this trip be a “once in a lifetime” experience, rather I want to keep traveling and go many more places, like Patagonia, or Scandinavia.  Coming home seem like it would be a big slowdown, but it will really only be a shift.  On Thursday, I move in to my dorm at NC State, which will start me on yet another adventure, and keep me busy for quite a while.  This is the part where I say, “Well, at least I’m home and get to sleep on my own bed.”  As it happens, though, my mom went and got rid of my bed, less than a week after I left, no less, and completely redid my entire room.  So, like always, I have a new bed to sleep on.

My flights went very well today.  There was a bit of traffic on the highway as we headed to the airport, but we were able to drive around it and get to the airport with plenty of time.  The terminal was quite deserted, so I got checked in and through security within fifteen minutes.  My flight to Dallas, went quickly and smoothly.  There, I found lunch at a barbecue place, which was surprisingly good, but, again, not NC barbecue.  I walked the full distance between my arrival and departure gates, which filled most of my layover.  The most striking thing about the Dallas airport is the number of Starbucks.  You would pass one, and just as you rounded a bend big enough to hide it, there would be another.  I must have passed a dozen on the way to my gate.  Once again, my flight went well.  I expected the landing to be bumpy, as I could see lightning outside, but it was quite smooth.  RDU was also deserted, so I found my family quickly.  Everyone was very happy to see me, and soon we headed home.  At home, I unpacked my entire bag, showing everyone what I had picked up, and what I had not needed.  I also got homemade peach cobbler!

All of my junk.

My sister likes the various new bracelets she got.

My dad with his hat, examining foreign money.

My mom, inspecting her "Little Penguin" book.

What happened to my room?