Coming "home"

Day 6 GDMBR, Tuesday June 17th 2025

A kind of sad day, leaving my lovely caring friends in Culpeper. We had so much fun doing things having great food and talked about our trips! They really spoiled me very much. We drove to the Dulles international airport in Washington DC, which went steady with hardly any blocked traffic.

At the airport though it was busy people taking their stuff out of the cars and sometimes leaving them in the way of other cars, so that was annoying. Also, I had trouble with my luggage, that was expected. I already checked in two bags ($190) and had to check in the last bag at the counter. I couldn’t figure out checking in that one online. They reimbursed the $190 and in the end after a supervisor was called, they charged me $440 for the three bags. The airfare ticket was only $207! I didn’t like this, of course, but arguing wouldn’t help, so I “let it slip”.

Because Wayne was still blocked, I couldn’t say goodbye, I hugged Dianna and went through security. This went fast and well. I still had to wait some time at the gate. The boarding went fast and it was fully booked. I had a good seat at the window. But two persons next to me, so getting out was a Hussle. Also, the continental flights are probably more packed, so the legroom gave me some cramps.

When I arrived in Seattle, I could see my bags were at the airplane, due to the AirTags I had installed! I was very relieved the bags weren't left in Washington DC! At the Seattle I awaited a surprise, my bicycle box was checked with the straps just cut, such a shame. Of course, they can check my luggage, but do that with some respect.

Alex was trapped in a traffic jam and was a little delayed. This gave me time to be outside to be ready to load the luggage in the car fast. We had an almost two-hour drive back home and had a lot to talk about.

At Alex’s home I met Megan and we talked some more. Alex and I had some diner, which was great. I was shown a large bedroom with a lot of room to lay out my gear. The garage was filled with all kind of bicycles and I was shown where to get my bike ready. It was great! After a nice warm shower it was great to be in bed.