The Road Trip Home

So it figures that pretty much everything went smoothly in Senegal and it was only in the U.S. that we had major travel issues.  

The Dakar airport was chaotic, with uncooperative Delta representatives, invasive security screenings, endless lines, stray cats meowing everywhere, and the standard airport hassles, but at least we got on the plane on time.  The flight to Atlanta was bumpy, but we were all too tired to care.  When we reached at Atlanta we realized why our descent was so rough-- there was a winter storm in the area.  

Well, at least a 'storm' by Atlanta standards.  The 'storm' was apparently going to be bad, so the airline cancelled most of its flights out, including our flight to Detroit.  After waiting in line for ages we finally found out that the next flight they could put us on was on Tuesday afternoon.  And this was on Sunday morning.  With all the work we had waiting for us, and how exhausted we were, we decided that we couldn't afford a 2 day sojourn in Atlanta.  After debating our options and weighing costs, our intrepid IEDP board did some fast work and rented us a mini-fleet of cars to drive back to Ann Arbor.  After a quick lunch we headed out to get the cars.  To our surprise, it was actually storming out.  In Michigan people may have referred to it as a flurry, but my Georgia standards it was the blizzard of the century.  The snow was starting to accumulate when we left, wet, heavy snow.  By then end of it, 3 or 4 inches had fallen in Atlanta, totally paralyzing the city.  

Even though we were all pretty tired, the 12 hour drive home was (at least for some of us) energizing and fun.  There were 3 or 4 of us to a car, usually with people we didn't get to see much of during our time in Senegal.  Some cars passed the time with sing-alongs, others by re-enacting classic moments from the trip, others by counting the number of giant cement crosses and/or firework shops along the highway.  

After Senegal, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan seemed like foreign lands.  The Smokey Mountains were majestic, and the open plains of Ohio peaceful and calming, but not as beautiful as the gleaming white beaches of Dakar.  The neon lights of gas stations and fast food joints were a stark contrast to the cardboard signs of the stores and restaurants in Senegal.  The french fries and mini-pizzas we ate along the way were tasty, but not as delicious as roasted fresh fish and plantains.  Nonetheless, it was nice to be "in the heart of America" and ease back into our regular lives.  

Our fleet of cars rolled into Ann Arbor at various points between midnight and 3am, 12-15 hours after departing Atlanta, and a lifetime after leaving Senegal.