Home Again, Home Again

4:45AM


Flying at 4:00 in the morning is awful. No, I correct myself. Flying is awful. I love to travel, so I should blame myself. But since moving to the Caribbean I have been on 34 separate flights. Many of these flights are segments, but they all have required long waits and lines.

This morning is very bad. My bag weighed in at 55 pounds so I had to remove 5 pounds in order to check in. This may sound easy. But the reality is much different. I am now carrying a plastic bag filled with tea, Glad sandwich bags, a carton of Whoppers, and a computer modem. The biggest loss is I am having to wear my the clothes I just had dry cleaned.
This should be a reminder that I need to always travel with a second luggage bag that I can check when I buy extra things. I did this last time, but stupidly thought I would not need a second bag on this trip.

There use to be a real romance to flying. But now I hate flying. From now on its cruise ships only for me.

5:30PM

I have arrived safely in Providenciales. Though just my luck, I missed the early flight to Grand Turk by about two minutes. The time it took me to clear customs. I am on the 7:00PM flight so I have jumped into Gilly's to get a hamburger. I have not had any food today. I try not to eat to insure that I won't have a bathroom problem on the plane. It makes long days, but I guess not as long as one could be...

The conference was very good. I made one very good contact, Frederick Smith, the author of Rum. I have a museum, a research library, a publication, and unlimited opportunities for original research. He has a Ph.D. program looking for thesis opportunities at the College of William and Mary and is a Caribbean specialist. I think we might try and work together.

Well I am going to eat. By the time I get home it will be dark. But still 82 degrees.