[MSJ] - Day 23: The End of a Journey

My and others' luggage in front of the elevator
(the guy checking his bags is Jeffrey)

Yesterday was the last day of an awesome trip. I started the day by finishing packing up. It was strange to see my room bare again, reminding me of the way it was when I first arrived. With all my stuff packed up, I brought my luggage to the lounge and said goodbye to people as they left. Checkout was before 9, and we were leaving at 11, so I was chilling in the lounge for a little while, seeing people off. A little before 9 I brought my luggage down with some friends who were also going to wait before leaving. I said my final goodbyes to my friends and my RAs, then Shreejal, Kayla, Isaac and I popped into the uber that John had arrived in.

Rylee and I wearing our UChicago hoodies

There wasn't any bad traffic on the way to the airport, and we arrived relatively quickly. We checked our bags in and went through security without any problems. Coincidentally, our flight left 20 minutes after Rylee, and so I ran into her at her gate while we were looking for food.

The Bay Area from the air

I then had a delicious (like possibly the best I'd ever had) pulled pork sandwich, which I ate while waiting for boarding at the gate. The flight itself was longer than I thought, but I slept for most of it which made time go faster, and for the rest of the flight I took advantage of the in-flight entertainment offers to watch "Shaq does Shark Week". Not the most intellectually stimulating show, but definitely interesting enough for the last hour of the flight.

After landing safely, we picked up our luggage and hopped on the shuttle that would take us back to El Cerrito High. The brief amount of time between the airport doors and the shuttle was enough to remind me of the difference between a Chicago summer and a Bay Area "summer", and I was glad for my UChicago hoodie. I was designated the "official texter" for the journey back, which meant that I was responsible for sending Don texts as we approached El Cerrito, albeit slowly due to the heavy Bay Area traffic.

Getting back in front of El Cerrito High and taking pictures meant that we had come full circle from the cold foggy Thursday morning when this all started. Tired, hungry, but extremely satisfied from the trip I had just taken, I was on my way home for the first time in three weeks.