Coming Home is Uphill

So after a week of sheer relaxation at Chauncey, Margaret and Whitney's house, Sam and I road our bikes down for the last time to Charleston, SC. It was a nice short ride, and we bought handwoven sweetgrass baskets on the side of the road for our mothers and/or grandmothers, as they are particularly fond of such things. Then we crossed the new and fancy suspension bridge over the river to Charleston. The wind was blowing so hard that on my left, a hawk was hovering, wings splayed, not moving in the air an inch, as if it were pinned there by invisible forces (come to think of it...). When we got to Charleston we road to Sam's cousin Lauren's house. She and her two roommates, Kim and Summer, were going to school in Charleston. The following day we putzed around Charleston until we could get some bicycle boxes from a local shop, and then we road with the boxes comically dangling from Sam's trailer, to a packaging center. The place was closing soonish, so in record time, Sam and I dismantled our bikes and packed them up, and soon they would be heading home. Free from our bikes we felt unfettered and alive, and skipped our way to a local watering hole, where we met a very nice middle aged couple who were originally from the midwest, but had taken a shine to the warmer weather. After a nice long talk with the couple whose names now I have sent to 90% of my brain that I don't use, nor would know how to if I could, Sam and I went back to Lauren's house. That night, Friday, we went out to a birthday party with Lauren's roommates (Lauren had flown out that morning to Ohio to see a football game, and had left Sam and I to the kind and helpful watch of Kim and Summer). The next day was to be the last day of our trip. THE LAST DAY! Kim and Summer so graciously gave us a ride to the airport, (so much kindness from people we had just met!). We bid them and Charleston adieu, and headed to our flight.
Of course our flight was cancelled. We got in to Boston and cold, wet, november weather late that night, and of course my bags were on another flight. Meh.
We were glad to be home, and alive!