Cabin in the Woods (Last Day)

On our last day in Minnesota, Lucy and Grandpa had some quality time together, reading and building.

An enchanted audience

Building a better mousetrap

Meanwhile, Granny had quality time with Jacob and Uncle Nate.

Jacob observes Uncle Nate's technique

Jacob observes Granny's face

A foot massage too!

Angie and I had quality time packing our stuff for the trip to Maryland and the last layover on our way back to England.

Soon, we were getting ready to drive back to the Twin Cities.

Lucy at the kids' table for one last snack

Jacob says goodbye to the twins

The drive to the airport had no worries. Our plan was to drop off the car seats at the rental agency. Later that day, Grandpa would pick them up after dropping off Nate, Helen, and the twins for their flight. The rental agency was quite happy to hold the car seats, so all started well on our trip to Maryland.

The airport was another matter entirely. As we were going through security, our bag was pulled aside. This time it wasn't the diaper bag (no suspicious liquids like peanut butter in there). Our carry-on had more than one suspect item. The potential contraband items were the following: children's Tylenol (an unopened bottle that was allowed), bubble mix bottle (small enough to get under the three-ounce limit), and some silly putty that Granny gave to Jacob and Lucy (also under the three-ounce limit). Even though they were all suspect, they all cleared the TSA officer. I think it helped that we were fairly cooperative with the search and didn't complain or whine or try blackmail or bribes. We had 45 minutes to make it to the gate, so we weren't too worried about rushing either.

Someday, we'll make it through security without a hiccup. Maybe on our next trip!

On the plane, Jacob asked me why we had to make a connection going out to Minnesota but only had to ride one plane back to Maryland. I tried to explain as best as I understood. Sometimes it's easier to have everyone go to one airport and then go on to their final destination. He seemed satisfied. I still find it unsatisfactory. We were on the same airline so why couldn't they have the same service between two destinations? Not that I'm complaining about having a non-stop flight.

In Maryland, we were able to get bags and travel to the hotel quickly. It was rather late. Dinner was frozen dinners from the hotel's little market, i.e. the refrigerated cabinet in the lobby. We also had a little dried pasta that my ingenious wife was able to cook in the tiny microwave that came with our room.

Don't try this at home, kids!

A satisfying meal (for Lucy)

After a quick swim we were off to bed for a good night's rest in anticipation of our last day in America.