I made it back to the U.S. with no issues — and have spent a very enjoyable several days catching up with family, friends and the JWOC Board!

Soon after arrival on Tuesday, I was sitting at a sidewalk cafe up the street from my brother Erik’s house in Rockridge (Oakland, CA) enjoying lunch, some great weather and great company:

Later, we went for a run (yes, I actually did that on first day back!), had a terrific dinner out — and watched the recording of Matt’s All-Star Game that Erik made for me (more to come on that in a separate post).  I spent the next couple days catching up with friends in SF and Oakland, getting my hair cut, my toenails done, and generally relaxing.  And had a wonderful evening in Walnut Creek with my dad and stepmom, Lewis.  We decided to take advantage of us all being together to celebrate Dad’s birthday a week early:

From there, I headed up to Truckee and finally got to meet all of the JWOC Board members in person.  We had quite a productive meeting along with some really good socializing time — hosted by Philippa and Dudley at their beautiful, comfortable, welcoming home, nestled in the mountains around Lake Tahoe.  I’ll let you all decide what was more remarkable: the JWOC Board or the surroundings!

After a spectacular drive from there to Ashland, Oregon — I had another incredible meal with my mom and stepdad, Bob.  You’ll note that I seem to be enjoying a LOT of good eating and drinking along the way here…!  In fact, tonight, I will be enjoying a made-to-order rhubarb pie from my mom 🙂  Yummm!

The trip itself was pretty smooth.  One of the cool things was that since I had a 9-hour layover in Seoul, I was able to leave the airport for a bus tour and got to see downtown Seoul, a temple and a palace.  Also got to eat a delicious Korean lunch and wander around the shops.  We made it back in plenty of time for the flight, but not with time to spare to enjoy some of the other amenities of the Incheon International Airport, which include a full-on movie theater, free showers, a spa and sauna, several cultural programs and lots of great restaurants and shops.  Apparently, you could live for at least a week there without getting bored!  Beats the heck out of JFK…

Jet lag hasn’t been much of a problem — as was the case when I flew to Siem Reap.  I think that having a full 24+ hours to travel is helpful since it gives you time to make yourself stay up all night and then force yourself to sleep in what would have been your day.  By the time you arrive, you’ve already gotten through a full cycle on the new time so a bit of a head start!  I know you’ll be surprised that before I left in each direction, I scribbled out the itinerary in every relevant time zone…. and (knowing I was going to be a bit groggy!) noted exactly where I should try to sleep.  Seems to have worked!

I realize that there are a few of you who are only following the blog to keep up with the various exploits of my  suitcases… Nothing interesting to report this time.  Came through without a hitch and I immediately tucked them in the trunk of the rental car and headed on my way!  But, here’s a picture anyway!