Headed North: the trip recap (with a lot of flower photos)

Travel is discombobulating. I wanted to go on this trip, I'm glad I did, I had lots of fun, but wow has the reentry into regular life been bumpy. 

But let's not dwell on that now, let's revisit the fun of the trip, right?

Unlike my usual trips to Boston, when I fly JetBlue because it goes non-stop, this time I was flying American to use expiring flight credit, which meant changing planes. As the trip will show, there are pros and cons to this! No actual catastrophes on this trip, though. Before I left, I decided to splurge on extra-legroom seats. I got on my first plane and this was it:

It made me want to go to the back of the plane and check out the knee room back there, because surely I would have been knee-to-seatback!

Up into the clouds and officially on vacation.

Soon we were coming in to land in Charlotte.

We landed close to on time, which was especially nice as the pilot had mentioned we got re-routed a bit to avoid some storms.

Well. We were not the only plane to land when we did, see? All the planes?

Once we were on the ground, we sat and sat and sat, waiting for the gate to open up. I watched the app on my phone, which showed me that my connecting flight was going to be all the way at the end of terminal D (we were coming in alllll the way at the end of terminal C, of course), that it was going to be on time...and eventually that it was starting boarding...all while we sat. 

Comic relief: doesn't that plane look like it's coming right at us? Of course it wasn't.

I was near the front of the plane, so I felt okay about my chances of getting off quickly, but in the end I basically had to (unintentionally) fall into the aisle to stop the flow of passengers hurrying off, doubtless also rushing to make connections. It was stressful and I did bruise my leg against the armrest (I'm so coordinated).

But I made the plane. I was in boarding group 5 and they were already on 6 when I arrived, panting, at the gate, boarded, and dropped into my thank-god-it's-the-exit-row seat. Now there's some leg room.

Hello, Boston!

Ah, Logan Airport, and the giant that looms over it. Well, that's what I thought when I was a kid, anyway.

My friend E picked me up and drove us to her house (stopping on the way to get me some dinner, since my "grab something in the Charlotte airport" plan did not happen). I ate, we talked, and eventually we sat outside where her husband was setting up the fire pit he got for Christmas. It was neat.

In the morning, we didn't have to rush off, so I had time to admire the dogs and the garden (lots of pictures, I remember no names).

This stuff was soft! Not spiky or poky at all.

When I was a kid, a friend had this growing in her yard. We would pluck the flowers and sip the nectar. 

Hello, bird!

Hello, more birds!

Hello, pupper napping on the deck.

We eventually got ourselves together and drove to M's house in New Hampshire, joined there by the fourth of this friend group as well, yay! I was happy to see that in NH, the lilacs were not all gone yet, as they were in Massachusetts (well, where I was, anyway). Mmm, I love that scent.

How to tell which one is my friend's house: the flags. This one:

And this one:

More pretty flowers!

And a welcome inside.

Where the cats deigned to inspect me, but were not otherwise inclined to interrupt their naps.

We had such a nice afternoon, talking (about everything), and eating really good food, and talking some more. We get together on zoom most weeks, which is a lot better than nothing, but it simply isn't as good as being in person.

Finally we had to break up the party and head out. E drove me to my friend J's house, back in Massachusetts, and she and I chatted and went to one of my favorite restaurants, Pearl Street Station in Malden, for a delicious dinner.

In the morning, I took a few pictures in the garden.

All right, this one isn't in the garden, but it's photo-worthy anyway.

On Monday, which was Memorial Day, the family invited the whole extended friend group over in the afternoon, and quite a few people were able to make it, which was such fun! Though we were all ready for a quiet evening after all the socializing.

J had to work part of the time I was there, but she was able to take a long lunch break on Tuesday and we went to another favorite of ours, Bertucci's--a number of locations have closed in the last few years, so we were glad to get to one that was still there!

On the way back, we stopped in at Wilson Farms in Lexington. They had so many colors of hydrangeas... 

Lilacs! I can't remember seeing them for sale before.

Pussy willows.

And, hey, fresh peas! It wasn't local yet, I was too early for that, but the ones from NJ are still good, just not as fresh after their trip. (When Wilson's has their own, they're picked either that day or the day before, so they are FRESH.)

Back in the yard, with a deep purple flower:

And a bunny! Uh oh.

We had a peaceful afternoon and a quiet evening in; I like a vacation with some down time. 

And I slept in again on Wednesday--wearing a sleep mask is amazing for rooms that let in a little light, as I have learned at home, and I will bring one on every trip from now on. I went out to run a few errands, including to the nearest yarn store, ahem, who me, yeah. 

After hanging out with my hostess for a while, I borrowed her car again to go have dinner with another family close to my heart, which was great fun. And had cats!

Can you believe this fluff? My hand sank right in.

Thinking deep thoughts.

The other cat was less social, but was lured out with treats, and was willing to say hi briefly before leaving again. Which is fine, you can't force cats.

Very well coordinated with that rug.

On Thursday, J and I headed up to the north shore, starting with lunch in yet another all-time favorite restaurant, Woodman's in Essex. Although it gets crazy-busy in summer, we weren't expecting much of a line on a rainy, cool weekday in late May, and that would have been true if we hadn't pulled in right after a school bus that was unloading a ton of kids. 

Ah well, what can you do? We got in line behind them all and braced ourselves for the wait. However! Not five minutes later an employee came over and asked us if we were with the group. When we said no, he told us to come with him, and slid us in at the front of the line. Woo hoo!

Do you know what you want to order? he asked. Do I! I always get the same thing. I don't know what they do to their chicken fingers to make it ten times better than the best chicken I have ever had anywhere else in my life, but wow. Maybe they put cocaine or heroin in the batter? I just don't know, but it is the platonic ideal of this simple food item

The fries are good, too.

As we were finishing eating, the last of the kids was ordering...we really lucked out with that man noticing us. (And the kids actually took their food and ate on the bus, which is a bit gross to think about, frankly, but it meant the restaurant wasn't complete bedlam.)

Our next stop was a nearby yarn store, Coveted Yarn, one of my favorites, and I had a good time there. We had planned to go into a nearby candy store next, to get those fruit slices my mother likes, but that one wasn't open, so we went a bit further up into Rockport and went to Tuck's. Yum! Worth the rainy weather. And I noticed this view between two buildings on our way back to the car.

Quite picturesque. Once back in the car, we drove around the area a bit, looking at the views and the houses and the gardens. More pretty flowers!

On our way back, we stopped into another candy store (more slices for taste testing), and two different employees commented on the rainbow shawl I was wearing (bundled around my neck because brr). Always nice to live my mother's dream that people will stop me to compliment my knitting.

From there, we went into a coffee shop I remembered liking, Kushala Sip in Stoneham, where I had the Kushala Mocha, which was just as delicious as I remembered.

And then we went to one more yarn store! This is the one that was closest to where I lived, and it's even better now than it was then! They pack a lot of great stuff into a small space.

I had a really good time in there!

Random flower photo!

We love Pearl Street so much we went back a second time. Soooo good.

And then it was Friday, and time to head home. Passing this familiar sight on the way to the airport.

I got through security no problem (I don't travel often but I still think TSA Precheck is well worth the money), and was walking around the terminal before boarding when I saw a pallet of boxes outside one of the stores. How do you pop popcorn by hand?

On my first flight, I had an empty seat next to me! I just love that, it makes the whole experience more civilized. I didn't want to get off and change planes.

Goodbye Boston.

Say goodbye to the skyline for now.

I wasn't the only one looking either: the girl in front of me was holding up her bear to look.

And there's Charlotte again.

Changing planes was not as problematic as on the way up, but it's time for me to admit that Charlotte is not the simple-change airport I keep thinking it is. When I lived there, it seemed like a very manageable airport, but first of all that's more than 20 years ago, so probably the traffic is much higher, plus I wasn't changing planes then, was I? No, I was not. 

Of course, I don't know where would be easier to change planes (to go to Syracuse next time: for Boston, I'll be back to direct flights on JetBlue, thank you). I mean, are JFK or Atlanta any better? Doubtful. (Chicago, have I changed planes in Chicago? I can't remember.) And why are some proposed layovers 4+ hours and some 30 minutes? You are not making that 30 minutes! Hell, I was supposed to have over an hour on my trip up, and barely made that. Crazy fantasy scheduling.

Anyway, back to this trip. I did not have another empty seat next to me, sadly, but I hung my knitting up and made the best of it.

Landed safely and more or less on time, and took the shuttle to long-term parking and back to my car. May I say, they could do a much better job signing where the exit is from that huge lot? I drove around and around trying to find it. But eventually I did, of course, and got home to her highness.

"Ahem."

"You were gone forever. Never leave again."

I was out most of the day yesterday (story on that later), and she was pissed. Apparently I am not very obedient. 

So that's the trip! Whew. Any questions? Any trips you have planned?