Heading Home

By now, we had whittled down our possessions to a very manageable 4 checked bags and 5 carry-ons. We called for two cabs and headed to the Santiago airport, eager to make our way back to Madrid, and ultimately, home. Suddenly, Suzanne jumped out of the cab in front and frantically hailed us to pull over - she had forgotten her iPod in the apartment. The iPod was probably her most important material possession for the next 24-48 hours, as it was loaded with podcasts and new movies to help make the flight more tolerable. I rushed back with our driver and tried to figure out how to get back into the apartment, but to no avail - we were locked out and there was no way to get a spare set of keys in time. I returned to the airport empty-handed. Suzanne would have to suck it up on the long trip home. Of all the things to forget! But all things considered - other than a lost DVD player in Seville- we managed to make it through the year with pretty much everything intact. Our only other hiccup on the flight home was on the final leg from Toronto to LA. Apparently, in all the frequent flyer mile-shuffling, Casey and I got booked on a later flight and it was too late to make any changes. Suzanne had to fend for herself with the boys and all of our luggage for several hours at LAX, while I had to assuage a very tired and sad Casey, who cried for an hour straight when she realized that our family unit was to be separated. That being said, everything went reasonably well (thank goodness for in-seat videos!), and once we reunited at LAX we made a midnight drive to our home in Agoura where we would be spending the next 2 1/2 weeks before embarking on yet another family adventure.