A bit jet-lagged, yes. A bit culture-shocked, definitely. Glad to be back? Yep, so far … 
But I could have easily stayed.
My brain and energy and enthusiasm are still in Europe. I’m a bit overwhelmed with the transition, I think, and have moments where I really don’t know what I’m going to do next. My bank account tells me I need to pick up some freelance work immediately. My travel bug tells me I need the next new adventure. But all I can and want do right now is relax and rest and readjust. I’m not in a hurry to do anything. So much has changed and so much it going on, it’s hard for me to do nothing with people to see, places to go and life to live.
I’m staying at James’ house, and it is a great place to veg-out - high-speed internet, plenty of dvds, music, beer … it’s also not near anything and without transportation here, I’m going nowhere fast, which is ok for now.
I had a great last day in London. I left Jim’s place about 8:30 Sunday morning and made my way further west to the Brentford area to stay with Sarah, who I met at Kerry Alternative Technology in Ireland. She graciously offered to put me up for a night! We ended up hanging out most of the day, chatting, eating chocolate croissants, cooking stir-fry, etc. She had a penny-whistle lesson/course to go to in the afternoon, and I chilled out at her place while she was there. Then in the evening I met her in Hammersmith (on the way I encountered some interesting flooding) and we headed to South Bank to meet up with some friends of hers.
I had a great time with them, and it was a nice way to spend my last night. We walked along the Thames, stopped off at a bar near the Globe Theater for a drink and then had dinner at a great Turkish restaurant called Tas Pide. Good stuff!
After eating, we all walked a bit more along the Thames and came upon a rave of sorts. The tide was out and there was quite a crowd out enjoying themselves. Quite a cool scene. We joined them, only taking in the scene briefly, as Sarah and I had to run to catch the last train from Waterloo to Brentford.
We chatted a bit more, had some tea and I showed some photos from my wwoof adventures. I wish I had more time to spend with her! She’s beautiful and interesting and I think we have a lot in common. I had to get up early the next morning to catch the train to catch my plane. Which, I did without a problem and even got a free train ride because I couldn’t buy a ticket! All the automated machines take only chip and pin cards. I did find one cash/card machine, but it only accepted COINS! I’m guilty of dodging fare - come get me! ha ha … It was only 9.30 GBP, so I didn’t skip out on too much.
The flight was smooth. I ended up sitting by two cool people. Ruth is an almost 30 web designer from Scotland and Mike is a teacher from Embry Riddle in Daytona Beach, FL. Virgin Atlantic is such a great airline! They keep you well fed and well hydrated are very attentive and the entertainment options are pretty good too. It definitely makes travel nice.
We arrived a little early. Customs was easier than expected, thankfully. There was a slight mix up with who was picking me up - I was looking for Lynn and Jeff and James comes walking up! A surprise, but good to see him and Sam, nonetheless.
So, that brings me pretty much to now. It took me most of the day to write this post. I started it almost first thing and got sidetracked so many times during the day and had to take a nap in between. I tried to join WWOOF USA, and did, I think, but their web site is pretty crap. I didn’t even get a confirmation email! I thought about offering to help, but I really am not sure if I want to do any web design at all. Maybe it’s just my jet lagged mood right now.
I’m off to my sister’s place in Minneola tomorrow and it will be great to see them and little Cam. I’ll be closer to other friends as well, Darin, Ryan and David, so it would be easier and quicker to see them as well. I definitely still need sleep!