Monday, March 21, 2016

Back to the USA, March 9 - 18, 2016

On Wednesday March 9, my ticket acquired with frequent flyer miles took me from Alicante, Spain to Brussels, Belgium, on Brussels Air and then to Frankfurt, Germany, on Lufthansa.  Both were comfortable flights and on time.  I then stayed overnight at the Hilton Garden Inn at the Frankfurt airport before flying on Lufthansa to Boston.  I splurged and paid for the upgrade to Lufthansa's Premium Economy - and it was worth every penny.  On the Boeing 747, economy seats are ten across in a three, four, three arrangement.  But Premium Economy is only eight across in a two, four, two arrangement.  That means the seats are both wider and have more legroom (Premium Economy on United gets you more leg room but not wider seats).  And there was better service - it was nearly the same as I have experienced in Business Class.  This is definitely the way to go.

After landing in Boston, as usual I took the Logan Express to Framingham and was met by my sister Helen.  We drove to her condo where we had dinner and drinks, and then crashed.  Friday, I was up at 5:00 and left for Vermont at 5:30.  I arrived just a little before 9:00 for my meeting with Shyla, a student who would miss my Friday afternoon Tax class because of work.  Then another round of Assessment of Prior Learning portfolios from 9:30 to 1:00 before driving to Johnson State for Federal Tax class from 3:00 to 5:30.  Then on to Waterbury for an overnight at the new Fairfield Inn and Suites and for a 7:00 p.m. meeting with Travis who is doing an independent study with me so he can graduate this spring.

Saturday morning, I drove back to Hudson where Helen and Phil were babysitting their grandsons.  We all visited for a couple of hours before heading over to Jennifer and Anthony's apartment for Allie's 7th birthday party - it was more of an extended family gathering with about 30-35 people there, all ages from toddlers to Phil who is 71.

Saturday evening and Sunday morning, I got in some time walking in Hudson - some by myself and some with Helen.  When I went out by myself, I met this wild turkey who is one of several who live here - 248 Main St in Hudson is some 120 condos in two buildings right in the center of town, yet they have wild turkeys residing there.



On Sunday's walk, among other places, I went on the Assabet River Rail Trail where there is a lot of artwork from the local schools.







And then Monday, it was back on Logan Express and United Airlines and Supershuttle to get to Phoenix.  Here is a shot of my lunch at the United Club in Boston and my plane from Boston to Houston.


After getting home late Monday night, I turned on electricity and water, then went to Basha's to get salad fixings and cheese, pepperoni and crackers for the Tuesday Docent Potluck lunch.  I made a spinach, bacon, almonds, strawberries, craisins and feta cheese salad with poppyseed dressing and the cheese plate for an appetizer.  Tuesday morning was fasting bloodwork at 7:30, then make the salad, then the post office at 8:30 to get the month's accumulated mail, then on to the DBG.  I did an hour from 10 - 11 at the Cactus Station, then got Jane at the airport, brought her home and returned to the DBG in time for the luncheon.  After lunch, it was back to the airport to pick up Patty on her return from Portland.  The rest of the week was spent running errands, doctor and dentist appointments, two evenings volunteering at the Bruce Munro exhibit at the DBG and getting ready to head to Cozumel for a week of scuba diving.

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