The hard part is leaving.

I'm surprisingly alert, given the circumstances.

I think I'm still on my "high" from going home to Charleston over these past few days.  But I'll come down fast enough.

The traveling logistics were funky - both ways.

On the way east I had a connection in Atlanta.  There was lightning in the area so they shut everything down for a half hour.  That typically makes a mess of air traffic across the country, as it did this time.  Two of the cabin attendants who were supposed to be on our flight were still in Knoxville at our scheduled 8pm departure, so we wait.  9pm comes and goes.  10pm.  Finally, they found some replacement attendants so we started to board at 11pm.  By the time we arrived in Charlotte - where I was supposed to pick up my rental car - it was past the magic hour of 1am when the rental counters close.  In fact, it was almost past the 2am deadline when the last hotel shuttle buses operate.  End result was to fall back to plan B - I spent the night in Charlotte.

These past 24 hours have been crazed, too.  I got to bed last night at 8:30 or so.  Alarm went off at 1am.  On the road by 1:30am for the 3 1/2 hr drive to Charlotte to catch my flight - in the rain.  5am...I arrive at the CLT airport car rental return.  5:15...shuttle bus drops me off at the terminal.  5:30....going through security, I got pulled aside for a detailed search that lasted 10 minutes.  5:45...I finally got to the gate - the plane was boarding.  6am...flight leaves.  7am flight arrives in ATL, where I go from terminal B to terminal C.  8 am - plane boards, and leaves on-time at 8:20.  As soon as we landed I got my truck, and I was at work by 10:00am CT.  I  spent the day catching up.  As of now I've been up 20 hours.

In between arriving and leaving, though....well, THAT'S what makes it all worth it.  Every visit reminds me of why the area is "home".  We cooked hot dogs and brats.  We had went to Cracker Barrel.  I got my hair colored, and had a doctor appt.  I even went on a jet ski for the first time in my life.  The best part is arriving.  But the flip side of that coin The hard part is leaving.