Captain of MV Maersk Alabama, Richard Phillips, leaves Moi International Airport in Kenya Friday. He was reunited with family late Friday afternoon.

Capt. Richard Phillips, the former pirate prisoner freed after five days at sea, returned home Friday to the embrace of his family and the promise of a home-cooked meal.

Waiting there was his wife, Andrea, their college-age kids, Daniel and Mariah, and his mother, Virginia.

The 3,000 residents of his hometown of Underhill, Vt., planned to give the Phillips family their privacy - although they were clearly thrilled to have their hero neighbor back home.