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From Houston to Points North

5/27/2013

3 Comments

 
PictureHouston from the window of an Airbus.
This trip came about because my youthful bride turned seventy. It was a surprise birthday gift given primarily by our son and daughter-in-law. Anita owns a travel agency and asked if there was a trip that might interest Sally. I told her that I had been promising her a trip to Maine and the Maritime Provinces of Canada for a long time. She said she would make a travel plan and supply the air fare and hotels. They surely did. Thanks Dave and Anita!

Sally had been looking forward to this trip since about December the 13th. I had since Anita and I began colluding. At her birthday party Sally was blown away and all the sneakiness was worth it. To do her part for the trip Sally completed her series of three shots given weekly to replace the missing cartilage and fluid in her knee. She gets them every six months as we knew there had to be some walking involved. It was worthwhile because there was, indeed, a batch of walking. For my part I did the same thing I always do and obsessed about everything. I tried to talk Sally and Anita into driving instead of flying but they convinced me to grow up and fly.

We got up in the middle of the night and as a parting shot I fed some of the outside birds and gave Bob a treat. He always knows when something is going on and was more excited than usual. Possibly seeing me up while it was still dark was a clue. For whatever reasons he chased the ducks a little more than usual. Bob and the ducks have something they do when he gets excited. He barks and chases them and they run. The rope he is tied with has been known to destroy the stability and peace of mind of whole flocks busily absorbed in eating. The ducks are huge and the chickens are not small. He doesn’t hurt them.

Indy seemed to know something the day before when I dropped him off at the   boarding facility, He wasn’t his happy go lucky self. Come to think of it the lady who owns the place wasn’t either when she realized he was going to be there for eleven days. I think she was envisioning the extra grocery runs and then the supersized bill.

We weren’t the only ones who got up in the middle of the night. Rosa was there right on time and took us to the airport. Returning, she met us. Those two trips saved us considerable expense and anxiety. They are appreciated. Thanks Rosa!

We were there on time. We found there are certain advantages to being considered old by most of the people we meet. Sally put her best “my knee hurts” look on her face and I assumed the typical blank look. When she asked for a ride on the electric cart they could not have have responded faster. When we got to Newark we found we had to chang from Concourse C to Concourse A. She put the look on her face again and we were taken by electric cart to a shuttle bus. It took us right there and we didn’t have to go through security a second time. Turns out the shuttle gets used by everyone but not the electric carts. I guess we were only half special.


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This is the plane we used for the Newark NJ to Portland ME. leg of the trip. Something caused it to be late leaving Buffalo. Rumor had it that the Buffalo board of health would not give them clearance until they had cleaned up after a load of sheep and goats. Since we had the same experience on the return trip I suspect FAA and required down time for pilots and crew were more likely reasons. I am grateful for a good trip regardless of the reason for the delay.


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This young lady was our hostess on the trip and she has a lot of patience.


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I thought Sally was pretty good catching the new world trade center when we were leaving. . It was only the prior week that we were told they were installing the spires and that it was now 1776 feet tall. If I were to work on it I might come up with some significance to that figure. It escapes me at the moment.


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The statue of liberty was doing it’s best to hide. So was the rest of New York.


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I have seen the coast of Maine through a periscope and on the radar screen. It’s pretty much as I recall. The barrier islands got my attention. Also the one little rock that made some strange and wicked looking currents and eddies. Unlike New York, they were not trying to hide.


Picture
When we got to Portland I felt a little like the time I flew into Dodge City municipal airport.. It’s bigger than that but especially compared to Newark, the feeling was the same. We found the car rental desk after playing 20 questions with a security guard. He was actually very helpful once he realized from the accent that we were not natives. He seemed to think I was joking at first. Just another benefit of the Texas accent is that he was very helpful once he realized I was serious. The Hertz man was busy helping someone with a reservation.

I have always known that dressing for success is helpful and this sharp traveling outfit probably helped.  In this photo I have the blank look and have also added the experimental "Florida Special" mouth-half-open effect. Probably because of that Hertz upgraded me from a Kia Rio to a Chevrolet Aveo. My face must not have had it’s usual blankness because I’m sure he realized I did not consider that much of an upgrade.


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    The beginning of the trip of a lifetime with lots of help from family and friends.

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