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Oct 1, 2023

Boston 2023 - Coming Home

Well if today wasn't like a typical "travel day started wrong" movie type of deal it probably wouldn't have been half bad haha.

I set my alarm last night to wake us up at 1 AM (this would be 3 AM in Boston since my Fitbit never switched time zones). I remember thinking "even though I know that's 3, my brain is still thinking we're getting up at 1 AM and that's harsh! Better sleep now to get as much rest as possible."

Several hours later, I am slowly waking up thinking "I have a feeling I'm not going to like what time it is...as long as it isn't *computing time difference* 2 I'm okay", looking at my Fitbit to see it's 2:09!!! I jumped up yelling for Stace to get up because it's past 4 (and remember, our shuttle was schedule to take us to the airport at 4...why didn't I make it 4:30?!). Luckily, I figured, as long as we could let the front desk know we were coming so not to cancel our shuttle then we'd still make it to the airport in time, we just had to hurry and eat, get dressed, and pack the last little things. It was VERY chaotic. I called down to the front desk to let them know we just woke up but we'd hurry down for the shuttle, to which the guy replied "uh.........the shuttle........I think she already left..............but she should be coming back so....." so I told him that was fine and we'd hurry up (because the guy from the night before said it would only be about a 10 minute drive to the airport at 4 so I figured as long as we were down within like 10 minutes it should be back around that time). Turns out the shuttle only comes around once an hour, it seems, so they told me it wouldn't be back till about 5 and asked if that was too late. We figured our flight leaves at 6:45, if she was back by 5 and it was only 10 minutes we should be able to make it, it's quick, but possible (and this is why I HATE flying as my traveling transportation option). She ended up coming back around 5:10 and quickly drove us to the airport (with other travelers so, of course, we ended up being the last ones off).

Luckily, we were able to quickly check in for our flight, check our bags, get through TSA, go to the bathroom, brush our teeth, and get to our gate right before they started boarding so it wasn't HORRIBLE, just not the way to start a very long (and VERY early) travel day.

Our first flight was really short (not even a full hour) so they didn't offer anything but drinks. I was still pumped up from the rushed morning I couldn't really rest. Stace, not so much, she PASSED out haha. We landed in JFK and then quickly found our gate. We decided to walk around to look for food since our layover would be around lunch time. We walked back and forth, back and forth, and only found a couple things that sounded...okay enough. We ended up sitting and Stace rested some more (she took something to help her with flying and her nerves, but it knocks her out) and I just people watched. About an hour before our flight we went to get food and eat it before we had to board. This flight was longer and I felt like I could actually rest, but trying to sleep sitting up was hard so I'd switch between trying to rest and trying to watch some show on the TV (I never have headphones that plug in so I have to rely on what has cc options). I didn't want to watch a movie in case I got sleepy so it was kind of frustrating. Stace...not so much, slept almost the whole time haha. The flights were pretty boring (thankfully....that's what you want in a flight, boring and reliable) so nothing to note, other than it was REALLY nice when we landed knowing I just had a few more steps before I could see my family again.

Stace got her bags and headed to go meet her mom so we said our goodbyes and "had so much fun!" moments at the baggage claim. I then went and waited for my lovely mini van to show up. When it did everyone seemed so happy to see me and they even brought me flowers (awww!). I was SO pumped still I was able to get home, unpack, get things wiped down, get laundry started, and make a grocery list. I feel so productive today!


So, while it REALLY didn't start the way I had wanted, it was a good day. I'm so glad we were able to make our first flight, that helped a ton. I'm glad we were able to get decent enough food, and we can cross another trip off our list.

Boston was SO much fun, I enjoyed a lot of it and have SO much appreciation for this country and how many men fought to make it as great as it is. I'm definitely wanting to go back and stay in Salem overnight. That city enchanted me and I'll never forget it. The girls keep asking if they can go to witch city one day and I told them for sure, we're definitely going to make a family trip out of it!

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