by Derek—2005.08.22 @ 2102
Our last day in Utah was spent at the Hogan's home, packing, playing, and planning. Kristen drove us to the Salt Lake International Airport, which is undergoing construction and is a nightmare. Our flight was an hour late, which would put us into Baltimore at 2:30 a.m.
The flight was actually great. Elise and Isaac did wonderfully, playing and entertaining themselves all the way to St. Louis, where we had a 30-minute fuel stop. On the last leg, I opened up the portable DVD player and started playing The Secret of Nymn -- one of our newly-aquired videos. Isaac didn't last very long and fell asleep. Elise did better, but about 20-minutes from Baltimore, Elise fell asleep too, across my lap.
We played round-robin at the baggage claim: baggage chutes would light up, turn on, and then turn off. The passengers from my flight moved from chute to chute expecting their luggage. About 20 minutes passed before our luggage finally erupted from chute #4. We were the only flight in the baggage claim area for some time and I think the administrators were having fun toying with us.
The $145 parking fee was paid and we were off down the Baltimore-Washington parkway and arrived home sometime after 3 a.m. On the way home, I reflected how familiar Virginia was becoming when Melissa said, "I don't know if I will ever get used to this area."