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XXV BLOG Toto Travels
4 June

Saturday morning and time to go back to the USA. We are both up early and ready to go. Fiona offered breakfast early, but we declined. Our stay at 17 Homestead has been a good one. I would probably not stay this far away from central London again, but it is a quiet neighborhood, a very nice small accommodation with easy access to the Underground and to bus service. It is also less expensive than most central London hotels. There are many places to eat within a block or two and a couple of grocery stores just outside Parsons Green Station.

Calling a cab was a brilliant idea. I had originally dissed the idea because I thought the cost would be astronomical, but it was only about 30 pounds and soooo well worth it! Service door to door was very welcome with our luggage, some of the “best” money we spent for sure.

Arriving Heathrow over 3 hours before our flight, security was a breeze. Having said that, it WAS a bit confusing to get through all the different areas for a couple of country bumpkins from basically the rural USA.
We were soon settled into the main area of Heathrow. After a lousy breakfast at Starbucks in the terminal, we did a little browsing, bought David some whisky and the kids one last thing. We are hopeless.
Time to check in arrived and we were off to the gate for AA flight # 109 LHR to BOS.

We had a good, smooth flight back across the pond and landed in Boston just a bit late. After asking some questions again, we figured out the system at customs and were happily back on the USA side of Boston Logan waiting for the shuttle for the Hampton Inn Boston Logan.

This Hampton is a bit isolated so there is a small restaurant and bar in the hotel that serves a limited menu. They also offer a shuttle to two restaurants, both Italian. Mike was exhausted and went to bed. I ventured down to the bar for a bite to eat.

The bar was somewhat crowded, but there were places at the bar and a couple there that looked to be around my age, so I picked the bar stool next to them. They were quite chatty and were from southwestern Iowa about 90 minutes from Kansas City. Nebraska fans, they also had a soft spot for KU.
As we started talking basketball and football, the chap next to them started talking about American Football and the New England Patriots. He was obviously from Scotland! He said something about Glasgow. I told him we had recently been in Glasgow and asked if he lived there.
“No, just north of Glasgow,” he replied in the wonderful Scot accent.
“Ah, around Balloch, perhaps?” I asked.
He beamed and said, “You DO know the area. I lived in Balloch many years, but have recently moved over the hills into the glen.”
“My wife looked down the hill at the school and library near our house and sighed and said, ‘It’s perfect.’ ”
He continued, “I looked up the hill at the golf course and the pub and smiled and said, ‘It is perfect.”

It was a pleasant, enjoyable time spent at the bar, eating a bite and drinking a Sprite, with fellow Midwesterners and a Glaswegian.

Sunday morning, July 3rd, we had breakfast and coffee at the Hampton and then took the shuttle bus toward the airport to the MTA Wood Island Station for a quick ride into downtown Boston, leaving the MTA at the Aquarium Station. I was pretty sure we would not last long, but we walked about Boston’s North End. Some of the sites were the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy garden, Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market and the harbor. The Marriott Long Wharf was the perfect place to print our boarding passes for the flight from Boston to Kansas City tomorrow.

Mike checked into some harbor boat rides, but decided to take the ferry across the Charles River to Charlestown and the USS Constitution. Commissioned in 1797, it is still an active naval vessel with a crew. It actually sails periodically, and it scheduled to participate in the July 4th Independence Day Celebration on the Charles River. What a great place to spend a bit of time looking at history and also at the lovely skyline from the Charles River.

Departing the ferry at the Boston North End Harbor, we decided on lunch at The Chart House. Mike had eaten there years ago when he was here for a workshop. It is a neat old building with quite a history and the food is wonderful. The clam chowder was perfect and full of seafood. And my cod sandwich was more than I could eat, but yummy.

After lunch I was DONE! We walked around a little bit, but I was ready to go back to the Hampton Inn and settle in even though it was only about 4:00 pm. So we took the MTA back to Wood Island and called the Hampton for the shuttle. I was told it would be a 15 minute wait, so I was calling Kristin when the shuttle arrived just a few minutes later. We rushed to catch it, they had decided to stop for us on the way to the airport instead of on the way back – YEA.
Nice short day in Boston, the weather was very pleasant, but we are ready to be home!


Monday, June 6 is the day we go home! Our flight leaves about 11:00 and so we are off to Boston Logan about 9:00. I was wearing my Ireland sheep shirt with several rows of white sheep and one black sheep in the middle of the flock. The TSA lady commented on the black sheep. I told her that my husband thought I was the black sheep. She grinned and held up her marker, “Ok then, we will just write your name right on that black sheep. “ I just love it when people have a sense of humor.

So it was Southwest to Baltimore, a change of planes and then to Kansas City. Kristin was a wonderful sight as she picked us up and delivered us to Lawrence. Dinner at the Mad Greek with Kristin and Jeremiah made us feel like we were definitely HOME.