Friday, June 9

Our last day of vacation! It came way too quickly. As much as we enjoyed the trip, I was looking forward to coming home and sleeping in my own bed.

We got up around 8:30 a.m. and packed up all of our stuff. For the most part, we lived out of our suitcases, minus our bathroom and shower items. We tripled checked everything before heading down to the lobby to check out.

Our plan was to take the shuttle back to the airport—the same one we took Monday from the airport to the hotel. There was more construction going on outside the lobby, so we ended up walking outside to wait for the shuttle. It came within a few minutes, and Josh and I, along with a couple other people, got on.

We were dropped off at the American Airlines section, and then we headed inside to check in. They had a self check-in set-up, so it took us a few minutes to figure it out and put the printed luggage tags (the ones with the bar codes and destination) on our checked bags.

After handing over our checked bags, we got Dunkin’ as a late breakfast situation since we didn’t have time to get a proper breakfast and lunch that day. We headed to our gate after 11:00 a.m. since boarding was around noon. This time we were prepared for them to take our carry-on bags; it’s like we were pros at that point.

We didn’t have priority boarding this time around, but it wasn’t too bad to get on the plane and find our seats. I had taken another part of a Xanax before handing over my carry-on, so I was prepared for the flight. And at least this time I knew what to expect when it came to the take-off. Doesn’t mean it still didn’t scare me.

There were two flight attendants on this plane—like our first flight—and the one in the main cabin with us was so funny. Prior to take-off, she was announcing what bags went where and she was like, “That includes fanny packs and belt bags. I don’t care what brand it is—Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Walmart, or Target (pronounced Tar-zhay)—or how much you paid for it. Please put it under the seat in front of you.” I was laughing; I bought my belt bag from Amazon, and it worked really well for the trip.

The flight attendant came through with her cart, and I got a Sprite and took the little package of cookies she was offering. The Sprite helped settle my stomach again, and I hadn’t eaten much that day so at least the cookies helped a little.

There were some rain storms we were flying into on the way home, so it was a bit cloudier when we looked out the window. We also hit turbulence, nothing major, but I definitely felt it; it felt like driving over a bunch of potholes on the road, just like rocking back and forth.

Similar to the flight down to DC, it seemed like as soon as the plane leveled out, we were getting ready to descend. This time I was prepared for the landing, which again, didn’t bother me at all. I just braced myself in my seat for the immediate breaking at the end.

My parents were picking us up, so I texted my mom and let her know we landed. Josh had given her our flight number before we left Reagan so she could track the plane.

We had to wait again in the jet bridge/tunnel for our carry on bags before we headed to the baggage claim. The same flight attendant from before came out into the jet bridge holding up a bag and asked whose green bag this was because “you’re gonna need it.” She was wearing it over her shoulder, and some guy said it was his, and she asked him what was inside to prove it was his. I’d like to request her on any future flight I’m on.

As we went to the baggage claim, that’s when I got distracted by the comfort dogs. Josh was like, “We gotta go get our bags!” and I was like, “I wanna pet the dogs!” Reluctantly, I went with him to get my checked bag before we headed back to the dogs. I texted my mom and said we got our bags and I was petting a dog and we’d be out shortly.

My dad looped around the arrivals pick-up area, and we flagged them down. They drove us back to the condo and dropped us off, and then we’d see them again in a few hours for dinner. A special shout-out and thanks to my parents for dropping us off and picking us up!

Josh unpacked 95% of his bags, while I unpacked about 75%. We sat down on the couch to watch some TV before leaving for dinner, and I fell asleep on the couch. Whoops.

At dinner, we recapped the trip and I showed my parents most of the pictures we took. I was also starving and inhaled most of my meal. Then I came back and slept for 12 hours, from about 9:00 p.m. Friday to 9:00 a.m. Saturday. I knew I was tired, but I didn’t know I was that tired. But it definitely helped.

Total step count: 6,056

Total mile count: 2.16

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So, we’ve made it to the final day of our Washington, DC recap. I cranked out most of these posts the weekend once we got back so that I didn’t forget anything. It helps that we took a ton of photos.

Just some overall thoughts about the trip:

I’m proud of myself for flying. I never thought I’d ever get on a plane, ever. But I’m glad I had the opportunity to go this time and that I have supportive people in my corner who were encouraging me. My parents were excited for me to go, and Josh was incredibly helpful in making sure I felt comfortable during the whole experience. It was scary, especially the take-off, but I did it. And it turned out okay.

Things happen. Having our carry-on bags taken prior to getting on the plane, especially the first time, threw me for a loop. Everything ended up being fine, but I shouldn’t have let it bother me so much. The same thing with running “late” during our trip. I say “late” because I had created self-imposed timelines for going to certain places, and most of the time was running a bit late. But it was for all things that weren’t time-related. We made sure we made it to the White House early—since it was a scheduled tour—and the same thing with the timed-entry pass for the Air and Space Museum. But everything else was totally up to us.

This was another great milestone in our relationship. Josh and I have traveled before—we went to Cooperstown and Maine last year—but this was the first major trip in our relationship. We live together now, too, but I think it means a lot if you can successfully travel with a significant other. I completely trusted Josh on this trip, especially with the airport and plane logistics, and he made me feel safe and comfortable the whole time. We also spent a lot of time together, and I didn’t feel socially drained from that. As an introvert, I value my alone time, but I didn’t mind spending the entire week with Josh. I love no matter what we do together, and it was just a really enjoyable time.

I’m grateful for the opportunity. We weren’t really a long vacation kind of family when I was growing up—we did a lot of day trips—so I feel like I’m coming to vacations now as a late bloomer, but I think that’s okay. I love all of the adventures I’ve gone in the past two years—thanks to Josh—but it’s also helping me expand my comfort zone and explore more. I’m grateful that I have decent vacation time at work that I can use to go places, along with the ability to afford trips. By no means are we going to go on extravagant trips, but it’s worth splurging on one good trip.

Total step count for the entire trip: 87,688

Total mile count for the entire trip: 34.95