My son is finally home.

I had an interesting day yesterday in picking him up.

The last leg of his flight home, from Newark to Detroit, had been cancelled due to bad wether two nights ago. It had been rescheduled for yesterday morning.

Well, I work second shift, so do not do mornings well. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, got dressed, grabbed a slice of bread and a can of pop, and dragged my butt out to my vehicle. All the way to the airport I was chanting you-must-stay-awake-while-driving-you-must-stay-awake-while-driving to myself.

Never got the message through the phone chain that the morning flight had been seriously delayed over the weather, too. Luckily, another mother from the high school soccer team was also there, and we sat around in the baggage claim area (where you are supposed to pick up passengers at the Detroit ariport) and waited. Another flight had come in from Newark, and the luggage was going around and around the carousel in front of where we were sitting. Everyone around had claimed their luggage, but there was still a lot of it riding around and around...I noticed some of it looked like Bill's, got up to check -- and about half of the school group's luggage, including these weird long skinny boxes were there!!! The other mom and I rescued the luggage, and were sitting there for a few hours with about thirty bags, boxes, and suitcases.

The kids did eventually get in, hours late. I had not realized how bad the storm was, as I was below ground. But it was bad enough to uproot big trees, and had torrential rains. I am really really glad that the kids made it in OK!!!

When he got off the jet, he came running up to me and threw himself into my arms. He was very hyper. "MOM!!!! You would LOVE France!!!! Everyone there had such kind looks on their faces!!! All the people were SO NICE!!!!!!"

He had a great trip. In Paris they saw the Eiffel Tower, the gardens of Versailles, the Louve, Notre Dame, and other churches and museums. The last day there the kids were out shopping when a huge storm moved in with heavy rain. The ceiling in the store they were in started leaking, so they got to help the shopkeeper move his goods around out from under the leak. They actually got a big kick out of that!

The they went to the resort city on the ocean of Biarritz. The guys loved the topless beaches, needless to say. The city was having its town fair, so there was plenty of amusement rides, music, and dancing. The kids had a great time.

They then went on to the historic city of Borgos, Spain. It is one of the ancient capitals of Castille, and the home and final resting place of El Cid. They were having the town fair there, too. Lots of dancing and music, and the kids again had a great time!

Last stop (not counting the unexpected night in New Jersey) was Madrid. the kids actually used Madrid more as a place to sleep, and went on busses to other places, like Toledo where they got a huge kick out of going to a sword factory. Bill brought home a beautiful, beautiful sword.

Its so good to have my big guy home! I really missed him!!!