Goodbye, Boston - Hello, Las Vegas

Traveling from east to west in the USA is usually pretty easy. The time zones are in our favor and there are lots of flights. If you're interested in a cheap ticket, however, the route becomes a bit more circuitous and the flight schedules are a bit more sparse. There are direct flights to Las Vegas from Boston, but in the interest of the budget, we chose a Southwest Airline flight with a 4-hour layover in Austin, Texas. There were cheaper flights, but they charge for baggage and some (Spirit Airlines, for instance) even charge extra for carry-ons which ends up costing more than the SW flight we booked. There's one thing when you have to pay for your pillow and blanket or be denied a cup of coffee on a 6-hour flight if you've already indulged in a free OJ, but charging for carry-ons? Yikes!

Lin dropped us at Boston's Logan Airport around 10:30 for our 12:30 flight. We had emptied our luggage of all the souvenirs we'd brought from our travels and then refilled it with all the presents we received plus some of the thrift shop goodies we'd purchased. The luggage was definitely crammed full and as heavy as it had been when we arrived. Miraculously, there were NO boat parts packed (although David's project, supplies and equipment took up a bit of space). This is a bad omen for our eventual trip back to Trinidad.

We sipped Dunkin Donuts coffee (Boston runs on Dunkin!) while waiting. No hassles; no stress. The all-seats-full Boeing 737-800 left on time and we arrived in foggy, rainy Austin, Texas about four hours later after an uneventful (best kind) flight. We spent our layover time listening to “Austin sound” live C&W music, checking out the airport artwork and eating BBQ for dinner. I was hoping to chat with Willie Nelson or Michael Dell (CEO, Dell Computer), but neither showed up.

We were delayed a few minutes by the weather, but arrived pretty much on time in Las Vegas. David's sisters, Mary and Karen, were waiting for us at baggage claim. Lots of hugs and kisses ensued and all of our luggage arrived promptly. The weather outside was cold and windy … are we really in Las Vegas?

Lots to do here. David's already got his list of boat parts to order and projects to complete, not to mention house projects for Mary. I have several articles due and a long list of non-boat chores to accomplish. A busy time ahead … what's new? Certainly beats being bored.