Mom Time
Friday, February 12-Monday, February 15
Over the President's Day long weekend, I headed east for what has now become an annual mid-winter visit to Mom. I splurged a bit on the ticket for the Delta red-eye flight on Thursday night and was able to enjoy the extra room in First Class. Delta is the only major airline that is still blocking seats to provide extra distance between passengers, so there was no one in the seat next to me, meaning I could curl up on my side to sleep a bit on the flight from Seattle to Boston. Very helpful!
I started the journey auspiciously with a double rainbow in Sacramento followed by a beautiful sunset view from above the clouds.
I had a relatively long layover in Seattle so decided to try to find an airline lounge that I could access. I tried first with the Delta Sky Club, but that has quite restrictive entry criteria that I didn't meet. However, one of the staff there was kind enough to tell me about the Alaska Lounge, which is open to anyone for a $50 fee. Perfect! I managed to find the location that was still open later at night and enjoyed some wine and snacks as I waited for my next flight.
My arrival in Boston on Friday morning was a shock into 12 degree temperatures with a wind chill that made it feel like negative 2 degrees! Luckily, I had planned well in advance and brought lots of layers with me so was able to withstand the cold weather throughout the weekend. I took a nap when I got to Mom's and then hung out with her until I needed to sign into work at 4pm ET (1pm PT) for the afternoon. We ordered yummy takeout from Mandarin Tokyo, and I was able to take a break to eat with Mom before logging off at 8pm ET.
On Saturday morning, we met with Mom's financial advisor via Zoom, and then I got to go swim laps at the Percy Walker Pool in Duxbury. Yay! I was pleased to discover that my body still remembered what to do in the water, as I haven't been able to swim in a lap pool since November when our gym had to shut down again. We did some projects around the house in the afternoon, and I was able to join the SSPCA Paw Pantry Zoom meeting in the evening after Mom and I had our home-made pizza dinner.
Sunday began with Mom attending virtual church, and then we had some FaceTime with A, R, F, C, J, C, and M, who were all together in Denver for a weekend visit. The unexpected wintry weather conditions in Austin meant that J, C, and M had to extend their Denver time for the rest of the week. Yikes! Mom and I took care of a few more house projects, and I made a shrimp and mixed veggie stir fry for dinner. Despite the cold and somewhat windy conditions, I was able to get outside for a walk both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
My pick-up on Monday for my return flight was at 10:30am, which gave me time to have breakfast, pack, read the paper, and spend some time with Mom before heading to the airport for my 1pm departure. The Delta terminal at Logan was quite sparse, with many businesses shut down, including the Vino Volo and Starbucks near my gate.
My connecting flight was in Atlanta, where the airport operations looked almost normal with lots of people and all businesses open. I had a short layover but was able to buy a veggie snack box to take on the plane before boarding. My window seat perspective provided some great views above the clouds and of the snowy landscape below as we traveled across country, gradually heading into the sunset as we approached the west coast.
posted by jms | 10:29 AM
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