For the past couple of weeks Louise and I have been travelling visiting family and friends back in England. It was quite possibly one of the busiest trips I have ever made. Starting out with a good friend’s wedding the first weekend we were back where I had the opportunity to take lots of photographs for them. Then down to London on the Sunday for our appointment at the US consulate on Monday. Then we were back up to Sheffield on Tuesday, giving a talk at the University of Sheffield on some of the work I have been doing since I left last year.
On the way back up to Sheffield I managed to pick up a horrible stomach bug and thought I would have to cancel the talk but felt reasonably OK on the day. That was all in the first week back! After that we got a chance to catch up with friends and family. A friend got us a room in the heart of Kelham Island, making it much more convenient to visit several of the best public houses in the city to catch up on some long missed real ale 
We managed to catch a nephews birthday and the following week headed north to visit a friend in Leeds and another in Edinburgh. After that it was back down to Sheffield for one last day before spending our final night in England in a hotel in Manchester. We tried a new way back to Pittsburgh which involved three flights and an overnight stay in Philadelphia. We got a flight from Manchester to London Heathrow, spent over five hours in the new Terminal 5 before taking our flight to Philadelphia International.
We arrived late and tired. Thankfully all the visa stuff was fine, arriving in Philadelphia was all OK and the hotel in Philadelphia was pretty nice. At this point to be honest we couldn't wait to get back to our apartment in Pittsburgh and see our dog again. Our first time on Southwest and their boarding system is pretty stupid but they got us home.
Just in time to see the US election unfold. So tonight we have some beers and are settling in to watch it all unfold. I have no vote but do have my fingers crossed that Obama will get in. We will see if I can stay up until it is over as I have been up since 5am this morning. Keep your fingers crossed, it is pretty nice to be in the middle of it all.