Ossipee, New Hampshire

My Uncle Ralph picked us up at the pier when our ship arrived on Monday. We stopped off for Dunkin' Donuts and to see my cousin Ellen and her husband before treking to Ossipee, New Hampshire.

My uncle's place in New Hampshire overlooks Dan Hole Pond, named for a fur trapper who was popular with the local First American population.

That night we ate at Whittier House, a student union style bar decorated with old license plates, beer cans, and pewter beer steins. We sat in the screened in back porch which had a stone coy pond in the center.

Mom and I were both pleased to get into full sized beds. I could (and can still) feel the ocean. Mom swears she can't feel it, but I believe she's too exited being on land again to try.

Sunday, Mom and Uncle Ralph went shopping and then watched football all day. I wrote all morning and then planted bulbs in the front yard. There was a quick shower that soaked me - our only rain the entire trip!

Mom won a one dollar bet with her brother on the Broncos/Patriots game. She's says she's going to frame it and put it on her Bronco altar at home.

Monday, we stopped in to see my cousin Stephen on the way back and got to Logan for our flights.

And that's it! We're home!

Boston to London

Mom was at Logan to meet me at the gate. We went through another security battery and had time to eat at a greasy bar food restaurant.

Our flight left on time. We were seated next to several of our shipmates who are staying in the same hotel in advance of the cruise.

All the items in the in-flight goody bag glowed under black light and all the lavatories were illuminated with black light.

We were both impressed with the safety video which was a cartoon rendered in blocky 60s-feel characters.

Mom had a conversation with one of the crew members and asked if there was a reason why all the flight attendants were so cheerful. "Boston is an easy trip. Everyone is so polite," she said, "it's not like this flying in and out of New York."

SFO to Boston

On the flight to Boston, I met a soldier on her way to a weekend with her five-year-old. She was about to be deployed for her second tour of duty in the Middle East.

She was first sent to Afghanistan and will now be stationed in Baghdad.

I thanked her for her service.

She said her greatest reward was watching a major Afghan party run a woman for president. She openly wondered when a major US party would have the courage to do the same.