Homeward Bound, June 22 & 27

These past 48 hours have been a travel adventure. I got to enjoy the Asiana Airlines Lounge courtesy of Etihad Business Class. I got to the Incheon airport a little after 10 pm for a 1:30 am flight to Abu Dhabi. The lounge was nearly empty, probably due to the hour, and I took the time to write a blog post. Now, it's 2 pm on Friday. I'm in the Centurion lounge at Charlotte airport awaiting my 5:30 pm flight to Daytona Beach.

The Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi was a 10-hour one. I was able to lay down most of the trip, but I was conscious of the fact that the time changes were going to add up quickly. So, I set my watch for Eastern Daylight Savings and tried to trick my body with food. I ordered dinner instead of breakfast. I had wine and cheese at what would have been 8 am local, but 7 pm EDT. Then I took another nap. Arrived in Abu Dhabi with a 3-hour layover.

I went to the Etihad lounge and had a few cups of coffee. It's a nice lounge, covering three floors. Buffet, table service, drinks, family rooms, game rooms, etc. It isn't quite as nice as Emirates or even Turkish, but it's way nicer than anything in the US. A great feature of Abu Dhabi is that you clear US customs and immigration before you board your US-bound flight. It was awesomely efficient and meant I didn't have to deal with it in Boston.

Boarding for the 15-hour flight to Boston was a little hectic. There were many people from India who didn't seem to understand the concept of boarding in groups. When the counter called for wheelchair folks, the entire crowd rushed the gate. Because I was in Business, we had our own jetway. The B787 Dreamliner is a very big plane. I was in seat 8A, a forward-facing window seat. We departed at 9 am and I enjoyed a nice glass of Champagne pre-flight. The flight attendant brought an amenities kit, a pair of slippers, sound-cancelling headphones, and pajamas. The chair folds into a bed and I chose to try to get sleep, even though it was early (8 pm EDT). I slept for maybe 5 hours. It's always hard on a plane. Even with lay flat it's still a plane.

I watched a weird movie (Flow) about a cat and a flood. Then, I watched a movie called Novocaine. Interesting - about a guy with a condition where he doesn't feel pain. After that, dinner time. I had Arabic Mezza and Beef Tenderloin. It was delicious.

Arrival in Boston was painless. It took about 30 minutes before bags appeared on the claim belt, but then...wow. Some "lady" and a guy of obvious Indian descent were having a huge argument. He apparently followed her to baggage claim to yell at her because he claimed she told him to "Go back to your country". He kept yelling at her, calling her a racist and saying over and over that he is an American citizen. All in a very strong Indian accent. She was in full-on privileged white-woman mode, yelling at him in front of her 8-10 year old boy. What a mess. She's yelling for security and I'm just seeing this thing escalate to a point where there was either going to be violence or someone in handcuffs. As I saw the police coming I did a strange thing for me. I took my bags and left the area.

The Hilton airport hotel is attached to the Logan airport. It's near Terminal A. I was at E. It ended up taking me over an hour to get there. By the time I got settled, I was exhausted. I went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Had a $30 cheeseburger. Went to bed and set the alarm for 6:30 am. I awoke at 5.

My flight was at 9:30. I took the hotel shuttle bus (smart) to Terminal B and was onboard on time for an uneventful flight to Charlotte. My next (and last) flight is at 5:30 to Daytona.

I'm sorry I haven't uploaded the last of the pictures yet. I packed the camera in my checked luggage. I promise I'll get to that either tonight or tomorrow.