For the first 23 years of my life I grew up in a quaint little town on Cape Cod called Brewster. Massachusetts's eastern most peninsula is filled with beautiful sandy beaches, great ice cream shops, and my family and friends. Once a year I visit for as long as life will allow and try to spend time with my family and say hello to as many people as I can in the (inevitable and always too) short time I have. 2009's trip begins on June 17th, the day after my 27th birthday. Usually Emily comes with me to visit, but her summer classes wouldn't allow it this time unfortunately. Next time though!
My trip began today with a flight leaving at 11am from LAX (Los Angeles) Airport. My friend Dan Edwards was nice enough to drive me from Emily's house to the Virgin America terminal around 9am and get me on my way. On the way into the airport we were stopped at a random vehicle search by the LAPD which was moderately interesting, but besides that my goings on at the airport were relatively uneventful. A quick self check-in at the Virgin booth, about 10 minutes through security and a ninety minute wait for take-off.
The plane ride itself was great! I fly back here once a year and this is by far both the fastest and most comfortable trip I've had in a while. With a swift tail wind the plane arrived almost a full hour ahead of schedule, about a four and a half hour trip. Virgin America is a great airline as they offer you lots of room, internet, plugs for all your gear, LCD screens on each seat, and all the drinks you could ever want. They even had real Absinthe on the flight. Very interesting!
I arrived at Logan International (Boston's Airport) around 7:30pm and my Dad, Step-mom, and brother were there waiting for me. My brother Jeff is thirteen and in the past year has grown I think three feet taller since I last saw him. I barely recognized him! It was so great to see them all again, sometimes once per year just doesn't seem like enough.
The drive home to Cape Cod is about an hour and a half or so, depending on how fast you like to drive. Massachusetts and California have very differing opinions on highway speeds, as all of the highways on and on the way to Cape Cod have a maximum speed of 55 mph. Some smaller highways on the Cape even have a 45 mph speed limit. Can you imagine a 45 mph speed limit on a freeway in California? Neither can I.
On the way home we all stopped at the Ninety-Nine restaurant where my Dad bought me a nice steak dinner for my birthday. We all sat around eating, drinking, and just being merry. Good times and great food.
An hour or so after the meal we arrived in Brewster where I was going to be dropped off. I had made plans to stay with my Mom at her place that night and when we arrived she was up and waiting for me. It was so nice to see her again. Another one of those moments were once a year just didn't seem like enough. We talked for awhile, catching up and just enjoying the time before I headed to the guest room to get some sleep. Traveling is always exhausting, so I hit the hay to prepare for whatever tomorrow was going to bring.
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