An Air Travelogue

I had a wonderful flight from Chicago to Boston this afternoon. I had a window seat, the sky was clear and I saw land for the entire flight. Having driven to the east coast numerous times, I relived many travel experiences as I flew over special places.

• After a eye-popping view of downtown Chicago, we flew across Lake Michigan and soon were right over Sister Lakes. I even saw the islands on Magician Lake where my dear friend Bonnie lives. Bonnie has often hosted the entire Club 62 bunch for a multi-day gab fest which we affectionately call "El Escape"--in fact, "El Escape '09" is scheduled for April and I can't wait! "El Escape" began when I was single and in my twenties. At Bonnie's we have talked ourselves through dates, marriages, babies, teenagers, and now we're working on the dates, marriages, and babies of our children. Thank you, Bonnie, for all those very special past and future times!

• Next Lake Erie appeared. Although David thinks that Ohio should somehow be eradicated from the U.S., I remembered traveling to Cleveland with Kevin to visit the Cleveland Institute of Music when he was a high school junior. It ended up being the first "grown up" trip I made with Kevin--the first time he could help with driving, first college interview, first experiences of dining in interesting restaurants with an almost adult child, first clear view for me of what being a music student would entail.

• Near the eastern edge of Lake Erie is Ashtabula, a town with a cool name and the scene of one of my most embarrassing snit fits. Many years ago the family "dined" at an Arby's which had recently started serving deli type sandwiches. Mine came slathered in mustard - which I hate. Hating mustard, however, was not a valid reason for my tantrum! My family, of course, frequently reminds me of this tantrum, as well as the tantrum I had about some new technology a few years later. For some strange reason, a teacher shouting "I DON'T WANT TO LEARN ANYTHING NEW" is a family classic.

• Next we were over western New York which brought to mind Kevin's two summers at the Chautauqua Institution. Memories of seeing him play in the huge outdoor ampitheatre, memories of staying overnight with a Chautauqua family who happened to be parents of an Olympic skier, memories of meeting Kevin's girlfriend Jen for the first time, mixed-up memories of this lovely intellectual summer community that, nevertheless, made me uncomfortable with its extreme wealth and lilly whiteness.

• The Finger Lakes then came into view. New York wines, yum! Then Albany - site of one of our many family trips through unsavory neighborhoods. Then Schnectady, another cool name, and another memorable Kosnik episode of getting lost.
  

• Western Massachusetts brought back the memories of driving home from dropping Kevin at graduate school. Ken and I decided to take a state highway instead of the interstate across Massachusetts. David had just been married and Kevin was now in a distant city, so we were feeling like true empty nesters for the first time. It was a perfect time to dawdle at local sites such as a "flower bridge", stone monuments, and old mills. Guess this trip was one of our rites of passage.

• Then Boston came into view. I got a terrific view of the Charles River and its famous bridges, the downtown sky-scrapers, and the inner harbor. Then the plane went way out into the ocean giving a wide-angle view of all the harbor islands. Then the airplane circled south, even giving an air view of Cape Cod, before coming in for a landing. As we approached Logan from the south I searched for, but did not see, the IKEA at which Ken, Kevin and I spent most of a day in August of 2006. Let's just say that our inexperience with the "culture" of IKEA, 50,000 new college students needing furniture, and a bunch of wierd snafus resulted in the longest, most exhausting shopping day any of us had ever experienced.

Then came the cab ride to the hotel.

• Good things about the cab ride: It was a beautiful day in Boston. We drove along Storrow Drive which parallels the Charles River. People were jogging and there were even a few sailboats in the river. I remembered Ken and my highly entertaining and funny "duck" boat ride in the Charles, walks through the Common and Back Bay neighborhoods, and, of course, all the concerts at New England Conservatory and Boston Symphony. Another memory (which did not seem good at the time) was getting stranded in Boston by a nor'easter and struggling through LOTS of snow to take the "T" to Kevin's apartment for an unplanned overnight.
  

• Bad thing about the cab ride: $100.30 cab tab!! Cab driver mysteriously doesn't have any credit card slips, so I have to use up my entire weekly stash to pay him in cash.

Oh, well, an almost perfect travel day!