Friday November 22:

Flight home day!  We awoke by alarm for the first time in 9 weeks, at 5AM, and immediately fed the cats so they would complete their morning cycle early, hurriedly washed and ate breakfast.  I wanted to try at Walmart to see if the big bag was overweight; they said they had no scale I could use.  We drove past the airport AGAIN, I carried it in, asked at the counter if they could weigh it;   the lady just hefted it, and said it was OK.  She insisted she could tell....  Alright, I hope she is still on at 10:30!!   We drove to the storage lot, the entry code worked, and we were inside.  Uhhhh...WHERE is our space?  It is still full dark, and I walked around with the flashlight looking.  Finally I found it at the far end of the lot, and waved Claire to drive on down.  We carefully backed it in...not even enough room to fully open the door with the trailer parked next to us!  But we only have to get ready, and get our stuff out, then it sits for 7 weeks.  I immediately started to drain water, both the hot water tank and the fresh water tank, covered the overhead hatches on the outside with aluminum foil to keep the sun off, removed the bike rack, to store it and the bikes inside, turned off propane at the tank, sealed the gas heater, water heater, and refrigerator exhaust ports with tape and plastic against insects that like to take up residence there, packed our staple food in the plastic storage container we'd bought to keep mice and ants out, and charged the battery with the generator one last time to replace the charge used for lights this morning.  The area looks to be dusty;  there is a wind guard on the fence, and a dirt road around the outside.  We seal the hatches on the inside as well to keep any dust intrusion to a minimum.  It is time to call the cab, get the bags out, the bikes in, and close up.  I waited for the cab at the gate to let him in, while Claire closed up and locked.  She was about to declaire "Done" when she saw a curtain flutter; the driver's window was still open!  Oh well, that's why we double check.... The cab came when scheduled, the trip to the airport was an easy $8 ride, and we were happy to find out our baggage was not selected for detailed examination.  We could now put strapping tape around all the bags, lock them, and make sure they all had name tags.  We would hopefully next see them in Boston....  The plane will not start boarding for 40 minutes; time for coffee!  The kitties seem alert yet comfortable in their bags.  Boarding time...kitties come out and bags get xrayed.  I set off the alarm as always with the shoes I chose to wear;  DUMB decision, but I wanted these dress shoes back home and they are big to pack.  We get shunted aside and Purry gets hand scanned in my arms, patted down all over by the agent, and then gets handed to Claire to put back in his bag.  I get scanned carefully and my shoes and every rivet of my jeans sets off the scanner.  My shoes must be taken off and passed thru Xray.  I get well patted down, then my shoes and I are released to board.  We are told we must repeat this procedure in Phoenix too......  :-((  Claire suggests I take my shoes off and pass them thru Xray before going thru the metal scanner...now why didn't I think of that? ...DUHHHH!!!  The plane seats were a bit restricted in leg room with Purry & Pookie in position, but this flight is only an hour.  There is a bit of motion in the kitty bags as the Turboprop engines rev up for takeoff, but no audible yowls. :-))  We land in Phoenix after an uneventful flight, and anticipate another painful search....but we reach the gate without going through security!  This airport has corridors between gates that are INSIDE the secure zone!!  :-))   We had coffee  and ice cream while kitties sat on the table next to us;  we had learned that bags on the floor do not get adequate respect in airports.  Other folks roll their wheeled carts right over and against them; that is not nice treatment for kitties!!! We secure seats for all four of us, and wait the boarding for Boston. This day has started way too early for all of us; Claire looks like I feel...  :-)

The plane boards on time.  We take our middle and aisle seats; as the plane fills a gentleman asks to take his window seat in our row.  Claire mentions that she hopes he is not allergic to cats;  he says he is, this will not do for him, asks us to push a call button, then panics and says he will do that from further back.  That is the last we see of him; the kitties buy us a very welcome extra seat space for this 5 hour flight!!!  :-))  They seem quite comfortable in their travel bags tucked under the seats.

Claire recognizes Mount Humphreys near Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon's North rim reflecting the red afternoon sun; the snow covered mountains of southern Colorado are spectacular also.  

It is a long flight, into forecast rain in Boston.  We arrive in the Boston area on time, but traffic delays put us on the ground almost 30 minutes late, at 11 PM.  I was concerned for our bus connection to Framingham, and asked a driver who was leaving when the last one ran; he assured me there would be two more, at half hour intervals.  We waited for the bags, selecting a quiet corner for Pookie & Purry.  When the bags started coming, I found two, and was dispairing on finding the others when Claire announced she had them!!  :-))  We MADE IT!!  Claire secured a rental cart, and we piled it high.  

The bus came exactly 30 minutes after the one we had asked, and we were on the way; 45 minutes later we were in Framingham, bought round trip tickets for the return ride in January, and secured a Taxi.  The driver was quite helpful, and even insisted on lifting the heavy bag into the car.   The driver helped carry the bags into the house at 1AM .  He also noticed the alarm go off, when I was still wondering what was going on....  I had forgetten to turn it off when we entered, and honestly had even forgotten it existed!  Too many hours awake for this guy!!  Claire mentioned the cats as we left the cab, and we were informed the driver was allergic to them too....I'm VERY glad she waited to mention them!!  The driver earned a generous tip for this ride, and really, by taking us the shortest way, charged us less than I had paid for the same ride while travelling on business years before, even INCLUDING his tip....   The house felt COLD!   What now?  I looked at the fuse panel, noticed nothing amiss, but took time to identify the specific fuse for the furnace;  I unscrewed THAT fuse, and it became apparent it had blown very violently, obscuring the normal appearance of a blown fuse.  Replacing the fuse started the furnace!!  :-)  We will ponder the reason for the blown fuse at another time!!  It is time to sleep.  Claire grabbed an extra quilt from an empty bed, we found thermal uinderwear that had been resting since LAST winter, and jumped into bed.  Claire remarked it felt like were were camping outside;  :-))  a 44 degree house feels cold even UNDER many layers of blanket, and the cold walls will require more than a day to warm to normal.  It did not take us long to warm the bed and fall asleep this night (Morning?)  We're back home, and with the busy holidays ahead this is the last you'll hear of this trip.  Next one starts mid January, ready or not; we already have the flight reservations!!  For now,

"That's all, Folks!"