Mt. McKinley (2008) - Day 30
Travel to New York
I made it to Salt Lake City. I got a decent amount of sleep on that rather long flight. The bummer of this all is that I usually look forward to the complimentary drinks that are provided in first class, but aside from the flight from Anchorage, all of these other flights are going to be in the morning. And even though my internal clock is all screwed up to the point that this may as well be the middle of the night, I'd feel a little weird asking for a scotch at 7am. Oh well.
Walking through the airport is a very slow process. But, I've found that walking is significantly less stressful when you're walking slower than everyone else. No one ever gets in your way. I just hobble along, slowly, making my way to the connecting flight. I think my feet are swelling. My shoes feel really, really tight.
Onward to Cincinnati....
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Wetzel Pretzl is the highlight of my every trip to the Cincinnati airport. I don't know why I happen to transfer through here so often. They have some awesome salted pretzels. So I got one.
I also finally got in touch (via texting) with friends back in NY. They're happy to hear that I'm alive. I may have neglected to give them any way to check on the status of our expedition (via the RMI site), so they really just haven't heard anything from me in about a month. I can't wait to get home.
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I got a car service ride home from the LaGuardia airport. There's no way that I could have taken those large duffle bags on the bus/train - especially with the condition of my feet.
Driving through New York - all the noise, the foul smells, the crowded streets, the trash - it had a really profound effect on me. As I was watching all of it from in the car I couldn't help but think, "I live here??" I'm depressed at the thought of falling back into my normal routine - going to work every day, watching my tv show or two, reading those news web site that seemed so important to me previously. I like my work and all, but this past month has been so epic for me, that getting back into my routine seems, well, sad. I'm sure I'll get over it.