Final WR Travel Days (12/1/12 – 12/2/12): Philippines to HOME
Well, I have completed this journey called the World Race and I have made it safely home. I have included the outline of the final travel experience below. I’m sorry that it took me so long to get it up this time . . . would have thought it would have been quicker given the endless supply of wifi here in America. However, life just seems to have a way of distracting me a little more here too . . . go figure! Please excuse the excessive use of smileys in the later part of the outline but I was a little excited to be HOME!
Saturday, 12/1/12 (extra long day that lasted 40 hours due to time change)
6:00am – Breakfast
6:26am – Big packs loaded onto truck
6:37am – Begin loading onto vans
6:48am – Vans pull away from the children’s home in Manila
7:37am – Arrive @ manila airport and unload
7:50am – Arrive inside through 1st security checkpoint and WAIT b/c it is too early to check in
8:53am – Get into check-in line and fill out embarkation cards
9:30am – Complete check-in and terminal fees payment process & proceed to the immigration line
9:50am – Complete immigration; Go through 2 more security checks; proceed to gate waiting area
11:53am – Begin boarding the plane
12:15pm – Plane pulls out onto the runway
12:32pm – Plane takes off
2:40pm – Plane arrives in Guangzhou, China
**LAYOVER – eat snacks and watch several television episodes on my laptop
8:43pm – Begin boarding the plane – HUGE double decker (China Southern A380)
9:56pm – Plane takes off bound for America (inflight time change: moves back 16 hours)
6:22pm (local time) – Arrive @ LAX . . . Back in the USA!
6:27pm – Ben reports that Alabama won the SEC championship game . . . wasting no time on checking our football scores . . . some things don’t change 
6:45pm – Exit the plane and head towards customs
7:01pm – Complete customs and head over to baggage claim
7:12pm – Obtain pack and get into the 2nd customs line
7:20pm – Make it through the final customs check
7:30pm – Arrive @ the shuttle stop outside with Jenna . . . ONLY Jenna . . . strange!
7:45pm – Board the hotel shuttle
8:05pm – Arrive @ hotel for the night . . . comfy LARGE beds, LOTS of pillows and towels, BIG TV
**Dinner visit with my cousin Jay and his family at the hotel Bistro . . . First meal in USA = Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and ice cold water
**Only slept 1 hour in the hotel that night . . . jetlag is no fun 
Sunday, 12/2/12
4:00am – Check out of the hotel & go out to the shuttle stop
4:11am – Board shuttle and wait for others to load
4:16am – Shuttle pulls out towards the airport
4:22am – Arrive @ my stop @ airport and say my final WR “bye” to Jenna and head inside
4:28am – Finish check-in process and get into security line
4:47am – Complete security & proceed to the gate
5:30am – Begin boarding the plane
6:20am – Plane takes off (inflight time change: moves ahead 1 hour)
8:15am (local time) – Plane lands in Phoenix, AZ
*short layover
9:46am – Board the plane
10:33am – Plane takes off . . . FINAL flight for the year J (inflight time change: moves ahead 2 hours)
4:24pm (local time) – Flight arrives @ HOME
4:30pm – Exit plane and walk briskly to be greeted by a group of family and friends @ baggage claim
My first stop at home was Bojangles . . . Cajun fries and SWEET tea! My second was the local hospital to be reunited with my mom and to spend the night there visiting with her . . . one of the most comfortable places that I slept all year J. (She is home now and recovering slowly . . .thanks for all the prayers.)
Thank you again for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement throughout this journey. I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you! Stay tuned in the next few months to find out what’s next!
