Our final day in Ireland consisted of an early breakfast at 7:00 am and then a taxi ride to the airport. Our flights would retrace our flight path here, landing in Chicago first, and then Des Moines in the evening where Nancy and Tony W’s daughter would drop Tony and me at home before continuing on to her parents’ house. She currently lives with them while she finishes her PhD in occupational therapy.

Breakfast at the Castle

Our final Irish breakfast was fantastic, but they have all been fantastic, each one with some differences. Most of them had a partial buffet with a menu to order entrees. Our first hotel Number 31, was small and they served us all of our food as did the two B&Bs. Each morning, Nancy got her first americano or some coffee serving to start her day. And as expected, they all had delicious, hot tea with a pitcher of whole milk on the table. Each morning, that milk was mine to enjoy:)

Flight to Chicago

Going through Customs has changed since our last international flight. We moved through the TSA checkpoint, then followed the signs for international passengers, got in the short US line, and passed through the facial recognition camera/passport check station. That’s it. No forms to fill out like the old days and no screens with questions at all. And we were cleared in Dublin rather than in Chicago. Nice!

We sat on the tarmac for an extra hour while something in the software on the plane was fixed. This leg of the journey is about 8.5 hours long. I made the mistake of watching a touching Irish film (500 Miles) about two brothers running away from home when it seems like they will be split up between their divorcing parents. I thought it would be funny or sweet, but Tony had to check on me when I was quietly sobbing in my seat. I’d highly recommend it, but be forewarned that it is a little heart-breaking.

Flight to Des Moines

We had enough of a layover that the delayed takeoff in Dublin allowed us to easily make our flight home from Chicago. However, once we were all boarded, we were told by the captain that an issue had been discovered with the plane and we would be delayed once more while it was being fixed. This time, they allowed passengers to get off the plane, since we were still at the gate, as long as all belongings were taken off, too. We were settled, didn’t want to wrestle the carry-on out of the overhead bin, and had onboard movies to watch, so we just stayed on board. It was hot and steamy in Chicago, and Tony was amused by the condensation flowing from the aircraft’s vents as we waited.

Eventually, everyone came back on board and our plane got in the long line for takeoff. This final leg is much shorter, of course, at about 1.5 hours, with just enough time for a quick drink offering. A message would come up on the seat’s movie screen if you picked something that would take longer than the flight, which is a nice feature so you don’t miss the ending.

Home Again

We practically melted in the heat as we stepped out into the open Des Moines air. We arrived home about 8:00 pm, but to our jet-lagged brains it was already 2:00 in the morning. We fought to stay awake until 10:00 PM for a normal night’s sleep in hopes of getting back on Iowa time.

Afterword: In reality, it took several days to get over our jet lag and get back on our normal sleep routine. It probably would have been quicker if were on a forced schedule, but hey, retirement is great!

Our two furry roommates were happy to have us back home. Trust me, they were excited…