Mark and Mary's Big Adventure Comes to an End

Well, after 14 whirlwind weeks, the big adventure draws to a close.  The trip home went well.  (Well, at least after we got out of the Jersey City/Newark area, where it took us 45 minutes to get past the many detours due to construction and flooding from the hurricane.)  Even the trip through Chicago went smoothly.

So, we're happy to be back home.  We were gone long enough that we have to open several cupboards or drawers to find things.  The house was closed up and smelled like a new house when we got home.  It apparently got so hot here that two cans of shaving cream exploded in the medicine chest.  We picked up Clancy from Mike and Marnee's house.  Unfortunately, he urinated in the cat carrier on the way home, so the first thing we had to do when we got him to our house was to give him a bath in the laundry tub.  Poor kitty -- he hid under the bed for five hours.  But now, two days later, he seems quite at home.

We had a wonderful time with Julia, John, Nancy, Dan and Natalie.  We made the most of our time out in the big city.  What did we miss about Minnesota?  Family, friends, the slower pace, the bike trails, and living in our own home.

More adventures await us:  Dan and Natalie's wedding in Miami; Mary returns to New York City to take care of Dan and Natalie's cats for two weeks while they honeymoon in Europe; Mary's high school friends visit for a long weekend in New York.  After that?  Who knows, but we're looking forward to finding out.