New Orleans - Boston - Home (October 25)

We awoke to, or were awakened by, heavy rain and a thunderstorm.

Leaving the Pontchartrain Hotel, I reflected on the fact that it was not what I expected.  This had caused some concern that lingered through the first night before dissipating. 

As previously mentioned, it was not the grand dame I thought it would be, having only become a hotel in 2016. Originally an apartment building (which explained our room's shape), at the time it was the tallest building in NOLA.  The hotel was not cookie-cutter bright and shiny and had a certain casualness to it, but it was fun and comfortable.  We would stay there again.

It was an uneventful trip to the old airport, the new one not opening until next month.  Once there, it was apparent that the city had not recently been investing new money in an old terminal.

Our flight departed about 30 minutes late. We had a lumpy climb-out. Retracing our steps, this time over rather than on the Mississippi and then the Ohio Rivers, seeing "Paducah" (October 11 post) on the map was no longer just an unfamiliar, odd name.

Having made up time in the air, we arrived in Boston on schedule, but then had to wait to deplane while they dealt with a problem with the gantry.  Fortunately, while we sat the luggage unloading process continued so it was waiting on the baggage carousel when we got there.

About an hour after we got home, the alarm system chirped. It was a faulty smoke sensor in one of the bedrooms. Not wanting to deal with the core problem, I poked at the keypad, thinking that I had fixed it until an hour later when it chirped again. Going to bed with it chirping was not an option because there is a second panel in out bedroom.

This time I took down the smoke detector and discovered it required a CR123 battery.  What's a guy to do when you need such an odd battery at that hour of the night.  For me, it required going all the way to my workbench and getting one out of a drawer.  Problem solved.  Time for bed.

No matter how great the trip we have been on, one of my favorite parts is the first night back in my own bed.

Another favorite: I like writing my blog posts, albeit sometimes days or weeks (or months) after the day the activities took place, but it always feels good to finish the last one.

The end.