Heathrow Terminal 5 Station

I dropped off Kim, Deb, and Nikki at the airport before 6am this morning. They are continuing on to Northern Ireland, and I’m headed home. I only made one wrong turn without an additional navigator but got the rental car returned. The car rental guy inspected the left side of the car very closely, including the hubcaps and tires. Luckily, I haven’t hit a curb since the second day, and I managed to return it without any dents or scratches. After looking at the mileage, he found it auspicious that I had driven exactly 888 miles in two weeks. I don’t know that I’m lucky, but I am exhausted from having to pay close attention for 888 miles.

Once I was approved to leave the rental return, I caught the tram out to the airport and flew to London. I took a bus from the airport to the underground. It was nice not to be driving, so I could enjoy the scenery. We drove by “Jack the Chipper” and I was sad that I didn’t know about that restaurant until now. While I waited for the subway, a group of about 10 young men, mid-twenties, walked up to the platform. They were fully decked out in Harry Potter outfits. Each one was a different character, with wigs and garb to perfection. There was even a Hermione with skirt, wig, and nicely trimmed beard. He looked happy to have drawn that straw. My favorite, though, was Dobby. The guy was bald and had huge ears glued to his head. At first I thought it might be a tour, but it wasn’t a tour vibe. I wanted to ask if there was a party at Hogwarts, but they didn’t make eye contact. I hope they enjoyed their Saturday night and wherever they were going.

I rolled in to my hotel at Heathrow around 7pm. Unbelievably, it took me about as long to get from Edinburgh to here as my flight home tomorrow. I spent the evening packing and prepping for the long trip home.Read more