End of the Journey

Early Icelandic morning

August 3rd - Blue Lagoon

On our way home we had one night in Reykjavík, Iceland and we figured the most appropriate thing to do would be visiting the Blue Lagoon. We arrived to our hostel late and could only get a few hours sleep before we needed to catch a bus to the Blue Lagoon. The lagoon is a mineral intense spring and spa that swears by its healing and skin cleansing powers. The water is heated and circulated through a volcanic area. The landscape surrounding the lagoon is stark but beautiful. There were volcanic rocks everywhere. Once we arrived we enjoyed a relaxing few hours soaking in the water and indulging in the silica mud masks. I was skeptical of the actual effects the water would have but I did feel refreshed and had very smooth skin once we were done. We would definitely need to be relaxed since we had a lot of travel left to get home.

Volcanic rocks outside the Blue Lagoon

All we had left of our adventure was to travel home. Our flight out of Iceland was fairly uneventful. We were able to see some awesome glaciers in Greenland from above before it became mostly cloudy the rest of the way. After 6.5 hours in the air we were back in the USA! We flew into Chicago O'Hare to be greeted with the most O'Hare thing you can imagine: our flight to Michigan had been canceled. We were supposed to have a bit of a layover and fly into Flint but that had been canceled, presumably because of the weather. Our long taxi to the gate was full of contemplating our situation: would we be stuck in Chicago one night? Could we get a new flight to Detroit or Lansing? Why does the busiest airport in the USA panic so much with a little bit of rain? Throughout the whole trip, we had very few issues with flights and trains. A few minor delays here and there, but the only time we had a real issue was once we were back in the US. I had almost forgotten why O'Hare was so terrible. Almost.

We did need to take events one thing at a time and before we could rebook we needed to officially reenter the country. We both invested in Global Entry and finally were able to use it. I knew it was designed to be faster and easier but I had no idea how great it would be. We were able to scan our passports and fingerprints and get into the country without waiting in line or speaking to anyone. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who travels internationally, even occasionally, especially because you also get TSA Pre Check included for domestic flights.

Once through immigration we had to get a new flight. Maureen called up the American Airlines rebooking service which was much faster than waiting in line and after a few minutes on the phone we were able to get a seat on a flight to Detroit! The only issues was it scheduled to leave a half hour from when we called. We ran over to print our boarding passes and headed through security (thanks again Global Entry for the Pre Check), and darted through the crowds to the gate only to find that the flight was delayed even longer. Oh well. After a few more delays, we were finally able to board and fly to Detroit. We had been up for almost 24 straight hours, but we made it.

Our trip has been so amazing. We met so many friendly people and had so many great experiences, I would easily do it all again. We were also able to keep a tight budget. We kept good records of all our expenses and for the whole trip we spent less than $100 per person per day. That includes everything from transportation to housing to food and activities. Now that we are back, we are thinking of taking a road trip at some point to see our own country more. We'll keep you posted if we do that.

We are planning a few wrap up posts that go through some stats and favorite places on our trip so look out for that as well!