Surprise! We're Home Bitches!

When we arrived at the Dayton airport it was just as I suspected, tears from my sister and shyness from my 4 year old nephew. Luckily, the time and money spent sending him foreign currency, postcards and Cholita wrestling masks worked because he didn’t forget us! In fact, he picked up right where we left off. When they dropped us off at the airport before we left for South America, we played a game of what we thought everyone should be for Halloween. It was October after all. Grandpa was going to be a ghost and grandma something equally scary. It was not enough for Dusty who, as usual, kicked it up a notch. My nephew caught on quickly and pretty soon everyone was something like a giraffe playing basketball with mashed potatoes on their heads. Seven months later, he remembered and insisted we play it the entire way home. Dusty, once again, kicking it up a notch by encouraging people to have poop on their heads or whatever. My sister was really excited about that addition to the game.

Dayton airport is an hour away from home but we couldn’t wait that long to get some Cincinnati chili in our mouths! It had to be our first meal. We dreamed about it while we were away. It DID NOT disappoint!

For those of you unfamiliar with Cincinnati chili, it’s not your typical chili. It has chocolate and cinnamon in it. This may sound disgusting, but I assure you it is not enough to really taste it. Well, maybe the cinnamon. I think it is an acquired taste, to be honest. I’m not sure I know one person who has visited from out of town and liked it. Anyway, they probably just have really crappy taste buds. We downed some cheese coneys (hot dog with chili, cheese, onions and mustard) and 4-ways (spaghetti topped with chili, onions and a mountain of cheese). Mmmmmmmmmmmm……..

With Skyline, our favorite version of Cincinnati chili, under our belts….we were ready for the next indulgence. After a few hours of settling in at home, we prepared ourselves for our next feast, Buffalo Wild Wings (BW’s). Our excitement didn’t last long. We typically go to BW’s with 3 different couples and their kids. One of them had to bail due to illness. I then checked in on the other two who then told us they couldn’t make it!

I tried really hard not to be pissed off. I mean we had been gone for 7 plus months! Didn’t anyone want to hang out with us?!? I mean, I know we aren’t rock stars, but I missed them…didn’t they miss us!?

My sister was going to meet us there, but since we had seen her at lunch earlier and I was feeling a little tired, I thought maybe we’d just stay home and rest. No way. Dusty really wanted those wings!

The whole car ride to BW’s was centered on one subject. It’s something we prepared ourselves for before we entered the States. Not everyone is going to want to hear all about our travels. In fact, we had read about this many times. When people “reenter society” after traveling for long periods of time, they’re shocked to find out that not many people cared what they were doing all along. Dusty consoled me by saying, “They are busy…they have things to do. I’m sure they want to see us but they’re probably thinking they’ll see us sometime soon. It doesn’t have to be on our first night back.” Whatever…whatever.

Well, BW’s was delicious. Great wings and super awesome beer. They have special bubbles or something. We enjoyed our meal with my sister and nephew. My mom and stepdad stopped in which was nice. Then some family friends stopped in….then….I realized what was happening. Only my sister, Erica, would concoct something crazy like this. About every 15 minutes, friends of ours showed up. This happened for hours! I think…I’m not quite sure. It’s the bubbles in those beers I tell you!

Even our friends who we thought had bailed on us were in on it and they were the last to arrive. They are so sneaky! We didn’t even bother to bring our camera. I would have loved to capture the 40 or so people that welcomed us home! :( Too bad. We’ll get them next time! Hopefully, we won’t take a really embarrassing photo of them and post it on our blog for the whole world to see!

Thanks to everyone that joined us (or tried) on our first night home! You made returning to Cincinnati so much better!