Made it back to Boston safe and sound!

I arrived safe and sound back to Logan Airport last night. My plane arrived on time (which is rare). However, I had to wait almost 40 minutes for my luggage. For some reason, I don't think the airlines had enough employees working because my entire flight waited at the luggage claim for over 40 minutes for our luggage! I don't think I've ever had to wait that long for luggage!

Luckily, Carla picked me up at the airport - I had so much stuff to carry back home! I bought too much stuff in Russia.

I had a lovely visit with my parents and sister in IL. I was able to rest and relax for a few days too.

Some highlights:

*Dad took me to the storage place to see their new camper - here is a photo:

Dad put out the sliders to show me the full size of the camper - it's really roomy and comfortable! Mom and Dad are looking forward to living in their new home hopefully starting next summer.

*On Thursday night, Joann had a gathering at her place. We had Rips chicken! This is an old family favorite restaurant located in a town near where I grew up. Nice and greasy fried chicken - your cholesterol is guaranteed to go up! :-) Joann invited a bunch of my friends. Here is a group picture:

*Had a nice visit with Grandma. She still lives on her own at the age of 93! She asked me if I could take her grocery shopping so off we went! I forgot to take my camera so I wasn't able to capture the moment of us gals going shopping!

*Mom, Dad, Mandy, and I saw Hairspray on Friday night. Highly recommend the film - just to see John Travolta in drag is worth the admission ticket! :-)

*Mom made me all my favorite family foods while I was in IL. Thanks Mom!

*Mandy dropped me off at O'Hare Airport on Saturday. She wasn't looking forward to her company outing at Brookfield Zoo on Sunday (Hope you had some fun little Sis!). And, thanks for dropping me off at the airport.

I wish I could've seen more people but I really didn't have a lot of time. Plus, I really just wanted to rest from my journey from Russia.

I'll post more on my trip to Russia the next few days . . . I need to copy all 800 plus pictures to my computer!

Back in the USA!

Wow!

I'm back from Russia! My trip was one of most amazing experiences in my life. I have so many thoughts on what I've seen the past five weeks. The next few weeks, I'll post some stories and pictures that I can't really post on my travel blog (lots of reasons).

I'm at my parents house in Illinois right now resting and relaxing and visiting with family and friends.

I fly back to Boston on Saturday.

Feels great to be back home.

Visit me soon!

Do svidaniya (good bye). :-)