We slept well and long in the comfortable bed at the Marriott Windsor. Woke at 8, showered, dressed and packed for the long trip home.

Checked out at 9:00 am and took the hotel shuttle bus to Heathrow Terminal 4. Cleared security and then spent a very pleasant hour in the first-class lounge enjoying the delicious food while we caught up on email.

At 11:45 am we boarded the Continental 777 flight CO5 and found our seats in business class. As usual, the Continental business-class service astounded us. We had no sooner snuggled into our roomy and comfy large seats (more than enough room for my 6 feet 2 inches) than we were handed mimosas and made to feel most welcome. Although we are sad to see this chapter of Our Magnificent Journey wind down to its finality – we took our traditional “frown” photo – at least we are comfortable for the ten-hour flight from London’s Heathrow to Houston.

The huge tin bird took flight and below us passed Windsor Castle. Too soon the ancient and mysterious castles of Great Britain faded away. We crossed into the Irish Sea at Land’s End and passed just south of Dublin. The green of mainland Ireland, 36,000 feet below us, will be sorely missed.

Crossed east to west over Ireland and exited Irish airspace at Shannon, then spent the next several hours over the Atlantic being wined and dined by the incredible Continental staff. Our lunch of pasta and salmon was exceptional, as was the Sauvignon Blanc. The ice-cream sundae for desert perfectly topped off the meal.

Our flight attendant, Sheryl, was beyond fabulous and we enjoyed hearing her tell us her humorous and interesting memories stretching over 30 years of flying. We can’t say enough about the terrific Continental business class service.

Spent the next hour and a half watching “Night at the Museum – Battle of the Smithsonian.”

Entered North American airspace over Newfoundland/Labrador at 5 pm London time, then headed southwest into Canadian airspace over Montreal. At 7 pm London time, we crossed into US airspace over Detroit. Watched “Terminator Salvation” and “X-men - Wolverine” as we passed over Cleveland, St.Louis, Memphis, then on into Houston where we touched down at 4 pm local time. Cleared customs, then found the first-class lounge where we had a bite to eat and caught up on email.

For the last leg of our journey, we boarded a 6 pm Continental flight bound for Tucson and home. When we landed at Tucson International Airport, our wonderful friends Marc and Muriel picked us up, and it was so terrific to see them again. It was the perfect way to end this incredible chapter of Our Magnificent Journey.