Costa Rica to Chicago

We had a slow morning, and ended up leaving the house around 11:00 AM. It’s about an hour’s drive to the airport, and we were aiming to be there about 2 hours ahead of time.

We had a 3 hour layover in Miami, which we heard was a thing to avoid. Especially on the weekends, when all the people on cruises were returning to the states. Overall, I think we were fairly lucky as our journey home was smooth, albeit a little long.

On our way to the airport, we got stuck behind a few slow moving vehicles. Lauren noted that “it’s always a small, white car” that’s the culprit.

For a good while, we were stuck behind a very slow moving truck. The Monkey Trail, while paved, is still pretty narrow and barely has room for a car to pass another car. Given the tight curves and steep hills, it’s more or less too risky to really pass someone.

For posterity: Liz captured the moment where Lauren finally passed the slow moving truck – and in the river, no less! I’ve passed a lot of cars while driving in my time, but I’ve yet to pass another vehicle while in the water.

Liz was aiming to take a video, but didn’t capture it. Luckily though, we’ve got this image.

Creepy moment on the tram in Miami, when no one else was in our car.

We got in earlier than expected in Miami, about 25 minutes ahead of time. But then our gate was blocked for a while, due to the airplane running into mechanical issues. So we ended up on the tarmac, waiting, for an extra hour.

By the time we got our luggage and got into a car, it was nearly midnight in Chicago. And a good 30+ minutes after that, we were home. We got re-settled, upped the heat, got some food in our systems, and didn’t get to bed until 2:30 AM or so.

Long long day, after an incredible 10 days visiting with family in Costa Rica. It’s a weird sensation, to feel totally refreshed and totally exhausted at the same time.