Food, forests, frustration, and finally, Flights

Well, I've finally made it to this point.

I'm about to take 3 flights to get from New York to Kuwait!

Flying home for a whopping 4.5 days was always going to be a bit of a mad dash, but I'm glad I did it!  (And had to, sort of) 

I arrived Thursday afternoon into the blistering heat of Newark Airport in mid-August, bleary-eyed and exhausted, but Damn, it felt good to see some familiar sights.

(a view of the New York skyline from across the river) 

The next day was my only chance to catch up with friends, eat sushi, and uphold a trans-Atlantic tradition of cider-drinking with the Mortimers, and then Saturday was dedicated to nothing but NATURE!

My dad and his girlfriend took me out for a 12 Mile hike around the Mohonk Preserve in beautiful, verdant Upstate New York that included lunch under a waterfall,

And a swim in the clear, cold water of Lake Awosting

It was amazing!

The next day I was rewarded for all of that physical exertion with a plate of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and coffee (Cawwfee, for the Brits reading 😉)

Sunday was all about celebrating my niece's 10th birthday and getting to see my stepdad's family for the day.

And then, this morning, a few hours before flying to a new country to work in a New school and experience a whole new lifestyle, I spent THE ENTIRE morning sorting out my shipment of boxes to Kuwait!  Ugghhhh. Not how I was hoping to spend my last morning in the US. 

 Just in case anyone is thinking of shipping personal items, be aware!  UPS looks like the best option because its cheap and well-known, but they will not ship personal belongings anywhere except the US abd Puerto Rico. 

Boy, that was fun...

But you know what?  I'll figure it out.  Life is always full of unexpected things, sometimes they're mishaps, or upsets, and sometimes they just are what they are.  And you crack on regardless.

So now I'm about to board the first plane, sample some fab airline cuisine, and start a big adventure.

Thanks to the Mortimer clan for seeing me off from the airport!  Can't wait til our next cider-date!

 And of course thanks to my parents for putting up with my blink-and-you'll-miss-it visits and general cloud of stress that was hanging over my head for the past 4 days.

Here goes!