We're in Chicago again enjoying pizza and Cardinal Zin with AJ and Steve. Sorry for the lack of updates, but internet has been far too expensive ($25/day at the last 2 hotels, $10-12/hour at the airports) to justify this week.
The last conference session ended a little after one, and I collected Bill from the bar where he had patiently been waiting since the 11:30 checkout. They had a late check out, but the fee was more than a bottle of water. The drive back to Birmingham involved a lot less lost meandering as shortly into it, all the signs started pointing back to the M-6. The hotel at the airport was only slightly less expensive, but a lot nicer an more conveniently located. I had one last scallop based meal and we spent the evening in, enjoying the modern conveniences of our room.
Today started at 5AM to ensure we made our 8AM flight, which included figuring out VAT refunds. The form says you have to prevent your goods for inspection. The inspection point is after security. The goods in question are liquids larger than the allowable size. The airline had not a clue, nor did the airlines on either side. The information desk explained that in the Birmingham airport, that point is actually just a wall slot to slide the completed forms into so they get stamped in the evening. Great. We can do that.
We had some fun in Dublin, making it into the cool bar that we'd seen last time. Also had some Guinness flavored caramels that were awesome. US customs has a setup there so you go through the immigration portion of returning to the country before you board the plan. The movies on the way back were not Iron Man, alas.
It's almost 3AM in our time right now.
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