home again, home again

Hello everyone!
So at last i'm home in the states!
It was quite the adventure getting there though! On my last night in Cambridge, several friends had taken me out, and although we didn't stay out late at all, I still had to pack and clean my flat...which meant that i didn't actually get to bed until 3am. Then, i had to wake up at 5:30 to catch a taxi to my train so i could get to the airport exactly 2 hours before my flight...and I figured everything was going pretty well! My train was running about 20 minutes late, but i had counted that into my 2 hours, so everything was going great...until my first stop. To get to Gatwick airport I had to make a changeover from one train, to the tube, to another train. Too bad no one had reported to the National Rail Company that 'emergency construction' had shut down an entire line of the tube (which happened to be my line!). So i had to wait an hour (which i did NOT count into my 2hour time for the airport!) for another train, so that i could get on a different line of the tube...now keep in mind during all of this that i'm moving back to the states after 3 months--I have my computer bag, as well as 2 fifty pound plus bags--the stations i stopped at had no lifts, which meant carrying these bags up 2-3 staircases, and then across the lines, and down 2-3 staircases...my back was a little sore.
All through this though, i met some really nice people! A couple of moms traveling with their daughters were calling their husbands at work to try to get different train times, tube connections, and taxi fares for me...they were really nice! I also had a Texan (50 but still backpacking Europe) help me on the tube, and an Arab guy help me carry my bags up 2 flights of stairs...and another lady let me call the states on her cell phone to tell my mom what was going on! I tried calling Jordan to see if he could check me in online (alhtough that didn't work), and he was great to wake up at about 2 am to try and help me!
So anyway, after getting all different connections than i planned on (and literally running through all the stations) i finally arrived at Gatwick airport with 63 minutes before my flight was supposed to take off...although as i was running up to the checkin counter with my passport in hand, the intercom blared out that flight 2227 to Atlanta (my flight) was now closed for checkin--umm...set in first stage of panic. But i went up to the counter, and the lady was nice enough to extend it for me, and she started to put through my stuff, until she looks up from her computer screen and tells me that they overbooked the flight...second stage of panic. So while she's trying to find a flight for me within the next 2 days, i call my parents (though it's about 3 in the morning there) to tell them what's going on.
So as the minutes are ticking away, this one guy and i (he's in the same situation) are waiting to hear just how long it's going to take us to get home...when the lady at the counter tells us that there are 2 people getting off the flight, so there's room for us...if we run. By this point there's about 12 minutes before our flight is supposed to take off, and what do you know...our gate is the furthest possible in all of Gatwick airport. So we cut line after line through security, and start sprinting (and i mean sprinting) through the airport. We were so close that i made it...and he didn't. But at last , i was on my way home!
So after all that, i sat down for a very enjoyable 8 hour flight of doing nothing but sitting. And now, after the drive, and some great time with the fam...i'm home! (that is until Thursday when i go back to Covenant!!!)