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Day 13 – And We Are Back!

Day 13 – by Dane Mohn and Thomas Dang

8 am CEST

After eating breakfast at TRYP Madrid Hotel, we all loaded up on the bus to go to the airport beginning our long day of travel. Security started the day with a bit of a struggle as people began getting bottle openers confiscated and others had to go through an additional security check. We all made it to our gate and had couple of hours to explore before we had to board.

11:35 am CEST

We boarded our plane, which was a Boeing 777-200, but were greatly disappointed that there were no screens on the seats. This led to a lot of people downloading the United app to watch movies and TV shows on their phones. We all boarded our plane that held 350 people and were on our way back to the States. The flight provided a lunch that was either chicken, pasta, or a vegetarian option and a turkey and cheese sandwich right before we arrived in Newark.

2 pm EST

After a bumpy landing coming into Newark, we were all back on US soil. Our group then went through US Customs, re-checked our bags and went through security. Our gate was changed from C115 to A25. The group was not very happy to have to change terminals and there were limited food options in terminal A. Most of the group got snacks or got pretzels from Auntie Anne’s.

5 pm

After our three-hour layover in Newark, we departed for Charlotte. We boarded our plane, which was a Embaraer ERJ-175. This plane was much smaller than the Boeing 777.

7 pm

After the two-hour flight, we landed back in NC at the Charlotte airport (CLT). A few people were picked up separately from CLT. The rest of us took a bus back to PPL at NC State.

11 pm

The bus ride was around three hours long. Finally, after a long trip we arrived back home to NC State.

While this was the adventure of a lifetime, we are glad to be back home.  Thanks to all who followed our posts and supported our adventure.  We look forward to sharing our report and photos gallery in the coming weeks!