April 30 - Leaving England and arriving in Providence

Terminal 5, A concourse

Tuesday morning began with warm sun and clear skies; a great day for flying. The four of us had a leisurely morning (nothing new there) over breakfast, and chatting about future travel plans; we're tentatively hoping to meet together in northern France, along the Somme battlefields sometime in early fall of 2015.

The rest of the morning was spent packing and getting ready for our respective flights: Richard and Pauline off to Toulouse to pick up their car and drive to Mouchan; Susie and I off to Heathrow and Boston Logan airport.

We said goodbye to Ellis Fields at about a quarter to one and in less than three-quarters of hour were at the drop off in front of British Airways at Terminal 5. After hugs all around we piled our bags on a trolley and pushed our way through the doors and inside, waving as Richard and Pauline pulled out into traffic on their way to Gatwick Airport and their EasyJet flight.

Once inside the terminal, which is roughly the size of Rhode Island, we began the search for our flight on the departure board. Since we were unable to check in online (for reasons that would soon become clear) we tried checking in at one of the many thousands of kiosks scattered about the terminal. The machine prompt informed us that we would need to take the coupons it kindly printed out to a desk in section A since it was impossible to continue the check in process electronically.

Ten minutes later we had our boarding passes in hand — even before the flight was listed mind you — and scooted through security in less than 20 minutes. We strolled a bit of the terminal before making our way to the 2nd floor where we sat down for lunch at Wagamama’s noodle bar. After a scrumptious meal and killing some time, we made our way to our gate.

The flight boarded on time and we found ourselves seated in the very first row of our section, which meant we had plenty of leg room.

The flight was uneventful with virtually no turbulence, and although the food mediocre the attendants were friendly and the visual entertainment pretty good. Our 6.5 hour flight passed quickly and we landed on time in a rainy, chilly Boston. After spending 20 minutes or so working our way through Border Control, we got our bags, passed through customs and out in to the main terminal.

We called for our shuttle from the Holiday Inn and they arrived about a half hour later. Upon reaching the hotel I made my way to the top level of the parking garage — having the good sense to remember to bring the pass codes with me to get into the building.

We loaded our bags into the car and headed off onto US 1 to I-93 and then I-95 south to Providence. After a quick stop at a grocery store for milk and bananas we were home by 10pm and in bed by 10:30, although not quite certain of exactly what time it was. Two things were certain: the trip had been truly fantastic and we were both tired.