I woke up on the last day with mixed feelings. I was super excited to return home, see my family, see Russ, sleep in my own bed and have access to the internet. Is that sad? On the other hand, I was a little sad to be leaving Cuba. If something isn’t done soon, Cuba will fall to the ground and all that will be left is rubble. The buildings that will be built to replace the crumbled ones probably won’t have the same detail and beauty that the current buildings have. With that being said, if anyone reads this, I highly suggest you take a trip to Cuba if you are ever given the opportunity. It is like no other country in the world (that I know of). it’s a place full of friendly people, beautiful architecture, beautiful beaches and a lot of need. Maybe one day it will open up to the United States. I think that will do both good and bad things for the country, but as of right now Cuba needs some sort of help.
We started the morning with our final bowl of oatmeal.
The rest of the morning was spent on the balcony, talking and watching the street. Oh, and packing!
Time ticked by, and before we knew it, it was 12:30 and Wilbur had arrived to take us to the airport. They say to arrive four hours before the scheduled flight. Yeah, right! That is way too much time!
We made our way to the airport and on the ride there I thought about our trip. I thought about all the things that I would miss about Cuba, like Pepe and Yolanda, the friendly people, the peso ice cream and peso pizza, the street life. One thing I knew I wouldn’t miss? The exhaust fumes! I’m sure that can’t be good for you.
We arrived at the airport, unloaded our bags and said our goodbyes to Pepe and Yolanda. 
The airport paparazzi:
I hope to be able to see Pepe and Yolanda again soon. Who knows if we will go back to Cuba anytime soon? As of right now, Pepe has an appointment to possibly come to the United States in 2017. 2017! That’s four years for the appointment!
We had to sit in the airport for a few hours, but at least the flight was on time. (Not the case with our flight from Miami to Charlotte!)
Adios, Cuba!
After 40 minutes, we FINALLY saw the beautiful USA! This was my second happiest moment. My first happiest moment was when we finally saw PHILADELPHIA!
Once we were at the hotel, we tried opening our room door with the key that the desk provided. The door wouldn’t open, so I went back to the desk and told the man working. He re-programmed the card and told me to “pull the door towards me to activate the battery”. We tried that multiple times and after standing there for a couple of minutes, we hear “Um, this room is occupied…” Awkward. You would think that the woman would have said there was someone in there the first time we tried to get in!
We threw our bags down, made a couple of calls and headed out on a mission to find dinner. We found a diner about a block from the hotel. We didn’t want to do too much exploring along one of Miami’s highways.
The next day was another bright and early day so that we could catch our flight from Miami to Charlotte and then to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed, but we eventually got home!
It’s always nice to get home after being away, but I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see Philadelphia. Ah, home, sweet, home!