Monday -- Reluctantly Returning

We caught a bus at 8:00 to Ennis. We talked to a German lady at the bus stop while we waited. She said with her EU citizenship, she didn't even need a visa to come live in Ireland. She told us about the cheap flights that Ryan Air offers all around Europe. And she pointed out to us that the Bus labelled “Dublin” was the bus we needed to take to Ennis.

The bus driver was chatty, sharing the news of a rescue in Doolin with all the passengers. Apparently someone was diving off the cliffs and had to be rescued by helicopter. (We're guessing this was the same emergency that caused the sirens we heard on Sunday.) The bus driver seemed to know many of the passengers, and all the drivers of passing vehicles waved at him.

We waited in Ennis only five minutes before the Cork bus came to take us to the Shannon Airport. We had one last Irish Breakfast, then browsed a few shops.

Irish security is a bit more intensive than American, but the security guards are so friendly. After the security gate with the xray machines, after the Immigration desks where they stamped our passports, after the gate where they checked our IDs, we reached a desk where two security guards opened all the suitcases and glanced at the contents – but they were friendly and pleasant the entire time. (Quite a contrast to the Vegas security guards, barking orders at everyone in a grumpy authoritarian manner). There was a delay of half an hour or so, and then we flew away, over those lovely green fields.

At Newark airport, we landed very near our next departure gate, but we had to walk through half the airport first and go through security again before coming back to the departure gate. The plane was delayed a bit, and the next gate over had a departing flight to Glasgow. We sighed, wishing we could just take off to misty Scotland instead of returning to the oven that is Las Vegas in June.

Although the restaurants in Newark had smelled fabulous on our way out of the US, nothing appealed to us now that we had returned. I made the mistake of buying a scone, which was about as flavorful as cardboard.

We landed in Las Vegas and a friend from Bible Study picked us up. The house was clean and tidy and all the kids were asleep. L was awake very early the next morning and treated our return as nothing too out of the ordinary. The little girls gave us big sleepy smiles and hugs when we woke them up. L told me a few days later that she wanted us to go away for always so that Auntie N could take care of her.