21404 miles later....

and I am back in Atlanta. Yesterday morning, I woke up, had a quick breakfast at my hotel in Charlotte, and then packed up and left to drive back home. I had an interesting moment when I turned on my GPS: I realized that, instead of typing in a city or an address, the only button to press was the one that said "Go Home".

And so I did.

I arrived at my house a little after 1pm, to find my friend Nimmi and her boyfriend Ingomar waiting for me on the front porch. My friend Brian came over, too, with a cake he'd made for my homecoming. It was so nice having a welcoming committee; I've been so emotional the past few days, and it made me happy not to have to arrive to a completely empty house.

Anyway, we all went out for lunch and then came back and ate cake. Then I left to watch the Texas-OU football game with my friend Heidi and her husband, David, at a local bar. (Texas lost.) Then last night, because I felt weird being in my house, I went back out with Nimmi to a movie. And then I fell into bed, completely spent, at midnight.

I still haven't processed everything from the past week: the end of the trip, the return to Atlanta, the reality of re-entering my job, the comfort of my own home. I have such mixed emotions right now. But it was a really nice welcome-home day, and it allowed me to have a day in Atlanta that seemed like a natural extension of the trip: a beautiful day, spent in the company of good friends. I couldn't have asked for more.