Sweet Home…Pennsylvania! 🇺🇸✈️🏠

After spending an amazing 17 days in Aruba, the day had finally come to head back to reality — back home to PA. Our AirBnb hosts popped over the day before to go over checkout protocols. Although the listing said check out was at 11am, we were able to checkout around noon without issues.

The morning of our departure was mostly stress-free, dad and spent time buzzing around getting everything packed and cleaned up. I was mostly packed, with just a few ancillary items (pom tayer and rotis) I needed to grab from the freezer and pack.

The most stressful piece of the puzzle was our flight schedules. We were originally scheduled to leave Aruba at 5pm local time, landing in Charlotte around 9:30pm. Our flight out of Charlotte was scheduled to leave just after 10:30pm, so the layover time was REALLY tight. However, I received notice that our flight out of Aruba was delayed by 30 minutes, leaving us even less time to make our connection in Charlotte.

After coming to terms with the flight issues and making sure we’d gathered all of our belongings, we checked out of the house around noon. Our host, Nicole, was there to see us off.

Recommendations for flying out of Aruba stated being at the airport 3 hours prior to scheduled departure, making our airport arrival time around 2pm. Our rental car also needed to be dropped off by 2pm, so we had a few hours to kill.

We headed over to Renaissance Marketplace in search of any last minute souvenirs, as it was about a 5 minute drive to the airport. It was a very hot day so leaving the frozen food items in the car was a bit stressful — the food items were gifts for my mom. We walked around the mall for a bit, I grabbed a passionfruit boba tea from bubblebee+ and we sat down under the cover of shade to pass some time. We then took a last stroll along the marina boardwalk, before heading back to the car.

Upon arriving at the airport, we headed to the rental car drop-off area. It was INSANELY PACKED! It seemed like everyone on the island needed to drop off a car that day. I felt bad because the guy from the rental place was very overwhelmed…I could tell he’d been yelled at all day. He spoke Dutch with us and we had an instant connection, and probably also brightened his day. After about 10 mins (he had to help 2 other customers in our group), he had us all checked out. We also had to stop in at the Dollar rental kiosk to sign the final paperwork, so we were able to reconnect with the woman (Lila) who checked us in all those days ago. We chatted with her for a few minutes as she signed off on our paperwork. Our final payment actually ended up being a few hundred dollars less than originally quoted. I guess it’s true what they always say: friendliness and kindness will get you far in life!

Once the car was sorted, we headed over to the US departures building to check into our flight. A few days prior to leaving, I managed to find a First Class upgrade for our flight to Harrisburg for ~$100. Because of this, we were awarded two free priority checked bags per person for our entire journey. We ended up saving almost $100 by upgrading since we had planned to pay to check 4 total bags. Check in took about 45 minutes, even though I had checked in via the AA app the night before. Not all kiosks were operational, and some kiosks were causing issues, so an attendant had to help almost every passenger using a kiosk. Our kiosk didn’t print all bag tags… 😑

After checking in we were FINALLY ready to start our customs journey. The process for going back to the US from Aruba is as follows:

• Clear Aruba departure customs
• Go through US arrivals customs in Aruba

Up first was Aruba departure customs. For the first time ever, there was no line outside. I wasn’t sure if this was typical for a Monday afternoon, or if we just got lucky. I saw pictures of the line last Saturday and it stretched all the way in front of the Panda Express restaurant, between U.S and non-U.S. departures buildings. We stood in line for about 15 mins, we had to talk to an actual customs agent because we have Surinamese passports (only U.S. passport holders can go through the self-service electronic kiosks).

Once we received our stamp, we went through TSA bag check #1 of the day. I was fortunate enough to be pulled aside for a “random extra search.” The agent swabbed my hands with a gadget and tested it in a machine (assuming it was checking for drugs?). Of course nothing was found and I was sent on my way.

Our next stop was US arrivals customs. For this part, we had to pick up our checked bags. Our priority status that came with the First Class upgrade came in clutch here, as our bags were neatly placed in the first row of bags in the room so they were easy to find. From there, we waited in yet another line to be admitted by US customs agents. A few days prior to our departure I downloaded the MPC app and filled out the customs form. Having it allowed us to avoid a nearly 2 hour long line. I showed my completed form to the agent at the front of the line, and she funneled us to a side line, where we stood for about 10 minutes before being admitted back to the US. From there we dropped our checked bags off one last time, went through one last TSA bag check (luckily no “random search” this time), and headed upstairs to find our gate.

All in all, it took us about an hour and half to get through customs.

Pro Tip: Check if your departure airport supports the MPC app. If it does, download the app, fill out the forms, and reap the rewards of shorter customs lines.

After that whirlwind customs adventure, dad and I were pretty hungry (it was around 3:30pm at this point). We decided to stop at Panda Express to grab a late lunch.

While sitting at lunch, my concerns about our flight schedule were starting to grow. At that point, our flight to Charlotte was still scheduled to leave at 5:30pm, arriving at 9:10pm. Our flight out of Charlotte was still on time, leaving at 10:35pm. Our gates were at opposite ends of the airport and dad isn’t as mobile as he used to be, so my biggest concern was getting to the gate on-time. I was hoping for more of a delay on one or both flights. We were able to get wheelchair assistance for dad at the gate in Charlotte, so that relieved some concern as he wouldn’t have to try to walk that long distance.

After eating, we made our way to our gate. The gate itself was PACKED due to a delayed flight taking off at that gate before us, so we waited at a nearby gate. One thing to note: on the day of our departure, hurricane Beryl was making its way across the southern US, so many flights across the country were delayed or canceled. Charlotte actually had a complete ground-stop the day before due to bad weather (not hurricane related), so they were still trying to make up flights the following day.

While waiting to leave Aruba, we found out our flight to Harrisburg had been delayed to depart at 10:50pm (25 minute delay). Phew! That would be just enough time to make it to our gate with the wheelchair for boarding.

After another delay in Aruba, we finally took off for Charlotte around 5:45pm (45 minute delay), with expected arrival of 10pm. Upon arrival, wheelchair assistance was waiting for us as promised. This was a godsend as we landed at gate A2 (instead of B10) and we needed to end up all the way at E38. Our helper Latoya was the absolute BEST! On the way to the gate, we stopped to pick up dinner at Bojangles (our first time eating their food), and we bought her a meal as well. After walking across the entire universe, we finally arrived at our gate.

A short time later our gate was moved to E9, which was on the other side of the E terminal. We requested a wheelchair, but no one showed, so we slowly made our way over to our new gate.

Our flight to Harrisburg was scheduled to leave at 10:50pm. The incoming flight from Illinois was severely delayed, so more delays for us were inevitable. Our flight ended up being delayed multiple times, so our earlier concerns were negated. Our departure times were as follows:

10:35 → 10:50 → 11:34 → 11:49 → 11:58 → 12:16 → 12:31 → 12:55

After A LOT of waiting, we finally took off for Harrisburg just before 1am on Tuesday morning, with arrival time just before 2:30am. As I mentioned earlier, we flew First Class on this leg. It was our first time flying this class. Unfortunately we were both just too tired to fully enjoy the experience, which was a bit unfortunate. On a positive note, we got to board in Group #1 and we were served complementary drinks and snacks: I ordered a ginger ale and popcorn.

We landed in Harrisburg a few minutes after 2am, where mom was waiting for us. We headed to baggage claim to collect our checked bags. Another perk of Priority: our bags came out first!

We arrived home just after 3am, it’s about a 40 minute drive from the airport to home. Once home I unpacked the frozen items and electronics, took a shower, and sunk into my bed and crashed.

Overall, this was one of the more chaotic travel days I’ve ever had. The amount of delays we experienced was so crazy, but I’m glad nothinwas canceled and we were able to make it home safely.

Even though the day was far from perfect, I wouldn’t let any of it deter me from looking at where I want to go next.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series from Aruba. Stay tuned for my next adventure!