Our odyssey is almost over, we really can’t believe it.  But it is.  After a good night’s sleep, we are up way too early (of course – jet lag!) – and downstairs for coffee around 5:15, in the gym by 5:45, breakfast (grab and go – but decent with toast and bagels and sausage egg sandwiches) at 6:30, then showered, organized and downstairs for the 8am shuttle.  Like clockwork.

Shuttle is right on time, we are at the bag drop by 8:15, fighting with the dumb machine that wants to charge us $520 for our 2 checked bags.  What?  No – first of all we paid for the flight with the UA card, 2^nd of all we are in first class on this leg and can have 2 free bags.  Machines.  An agent eventually helps us and gets the bags tagged and sent on their way, as we hoof it down the long concourse to TSA pre-check, passing the ungodly long normal security line – it had to be 100 people long!  Our line was maybe 5 people long, and we whipped right through there.  We head to the United lounge in C concourse, near our gate, to use our one-time pass since it will expire in July.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.  The lounge was full and they were not accepting one-time passes because of the capacity.  But the B6 lounge is accepting them. Back we go, through the long tunnel to B6 where we can hang for the 2 ½ hours we have before our flight.  Hey – more exercise is never a bad thing!

Hanging here, we have more coffee, snacks and generally just hang out until it is time to walk back to C concourse for the flight – which is blissfully easy, smooth and complete with great cloud formations and finally the Blue Ridge Mountains within view. Sweet.

Baggage claim is much swifter than the last time we arrived in Asheville and we are waiting for Lisa at the curb in pretty good time.  Lovely drive home, getting caught up on all the neighborhood doings.  And then we are home – just like we never left – although with the spoils of our travels, we can stretch out the memories a bit longer!

Six months to settle in before we are off on our next grand adventure….bring on Spring and Summer in the mountains!