Fall Foliage Tour V

Today was the day to leave our amazingly wonderful bed and breakfast in Falmouth, the Inn on the Sound. We joined some of the other guests for a delicious breakfast. Our host Howard chatted to us about the local weather and the working of the town. The food and the service were beyond belief. The attention to detail and the accommodations were all perfect. We will definitely make a point of returning the this beautiful spot and this particular bed and breakfast. After making our farewells, we drove the short distance to the local Jewish Center. We walked in and were greeted by a few of the people we saw. We were introduced to Pamela, who heads up the lifelong learning center. She could not have been friendlier or more helpful. She told us all about the synagogue, introduced us the the Rabbi and gave us a personal tour of the 1793 meeting room in which they hold the special events and high holiday services. This was a fascinating experience. We are going to try to time our next visit so that we can experience services in this historical building.

We decided to make a short detour from our route to Marblehead, to visit Plymouth. We saw the Plymouth Rock, where a very nice young man explained the history and the significance thereof. We then spent some time on the Mayflower II. A few actors in period costumes explained what life was like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the Mayflower and landing on these strange shores. They were excellent in their depiction of the people of those times. We enjoyed this history lesson thoroughly. We would recommend this to any patriotic Americans or visitors to the USA.

We them made the 40 mile journey from Plymouth to Marblehead, taking over two-and-a-half hours. The roads were blocked. It amazed me how bad the roads around Boston really are. The freeways are either blocked or have many uncoordinated traffic lights causing long delays. On reaching Marblehead, we found our bed and NO breakfast. To be honest, it is a disgrace that a place like this is allowed to operate. I would stay away from the Marblehead Summer house. The owner clearly has no clue about the hospitality industry. Oh well... We quickly changed and drove to Newton for Sabbath dinner with a long time friend. We had to battle the traffic again, taking an hour and fifteen minutes to drive twenty miles. This would be enough to put me off from visiting this side of Boston ever again. Dinner however, was wonderful. It was so enjoyable seeing marty, his wife, son, mother and two friends from Israel. It was a pity we were so tired and had to leave just after 10pm to get back to Marblehead. It would have been wiser to stay on that side of Boston. An interesting day, none the less.

Fall Foliage Tour IV

Today was a perfect day in a beautiful part of the USA. We woke to a partly cloudy cool day in Falmouth Massachusetts. We went downstairs in this amazing bed and breakfast, the Inn on the Sound. Breakfast was laid out in an appealing way. There was fresh cut fruit including grapefruit, berries and pineapple. The croissants were warm. Flavored Greek yoghurt was on the sideboard with the muesli. We helped ourselves to hot coffee and fruit and went to sit on the cool porch overlooking the sound, facing Martha's Vineyard. we watched the boats sail by and the ducks and birds fishing in the water in front of us. The host, Howard, offered us the daily special for breakfast, which was French Toast with berries and maple syrup. we shared on, which was quite ample. After breakfast, we drove into central Falmouth to the bicycle shop, where we rented two cycles. The cost was surprisingly reasonable; $34 for the whole day. We cycled the short distance to the Shining Sea Bikeway. It is an old railway track that has been paved. we started on the trail from central Falmouth to Woods Hole. We stopped a number of times to see the view, particularly when we reached the sea and the Woods Hole Marina. Photographs were a must.

On entering Woods Hole, we decided to visit the Pie in the Sky bakery, which had been recommended by fellow guests at breakfast. It all looked scrumptious. We ordered a cup pf soup each, a tomato bisque and a minestrone. They were served with a slice of bread each. It was a worthwhile stop. After our snack, we rode around woods Hole, which is very small and then returned along the sea to Central Falmouth. Some of the views were amazing. We then decided to cycle towards West Falmouth. We came across some marshes and a number of magnificent homes, mostly situated along small lakes. We returned to the cycle shop after four and a half hours of enjoyable relaxing cycling, with plenty stops.

We took a detour to see Mashpee, a town nine miles up the road. We decided to return to woods Hole for dinner at the Landfall restaurant. The reviews were very good. Our reservation was taken and when we arrived, we were seated promptly at a table next to the window, allowing us a good view of the harbor. We watched the ferry leave for the Vineyard. I tried a pumpkin beer, brewed for Thanksgiving. Interesting. We both ordered the Scrod, which was very enjoyable. I particularly liked the way it was cooked; firm but not underdone. It was not greasy at all. Lovely. We returned to our B&B where we made ourselves a cup of tea to enjoy while the sun sets over Martha's Vineyard. A good day!

Fall Foliage Tour III

An early start in Newport. Downstairs at the Almondy Inn, the hostess had laid out an appetizing breakfast of muffins, fresh fruit and coffee. She quickly whipped up a cheese omelet with a biscuit. we chatted to our fellow guests. This is one of the advantages of a good bed-and-breakfast. After packing up, we were wished farewell as we went on our way. First stop was the Tennis Hall of Fame. The building itself is a major attraction. It used to be a Casino/club in the old days. The cedar wood tiles are very pretty and five the whole place an air of history.

We paid our reasonable entrance fees, adding the additional $3 for the audio tour. The audio tour was informative. Definitely worth doing. At 11am, we joined the guided tour. This added to the stories and history of tennis, the players and the place itself. After both tours, we wandered around to the grass courts, enjoying the ambiance. We would like to come back to play tennis with some friends on these grass courts. We then drove the short distance to the "40 Steps" from where we started along the beautiful cliff walk, with the ocean breeze gently blowing in our faces. It was a gorgeous day in the mid 60's (degrees Fahrenheit). Part of the walk is damaged as a result of Hurricane Sandy. We still managed to walk at least three miles. We then drove along the magnificent ocean Drive marveling at the magnificent homes and mansions. We arrived at the Castle Hill for lunch. We selected to sit outdoors on the balcony overlooking the lawns and the sea. It was a great choice with such good weather. We ordered fish wraps made with lemon sole. Good choice. We ended up talking to the diners at the adjacent table. All-in-all we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, the food and the overall experience.

After lunch, we had a quick stroll to the nearby lighthouse. Pretty. We then drove all the way to our next destination Falmouth Massachusetts. Our bed-and-breakfast here looks absolutely amazing! After checking in, we took a nice cuppa tea and some biscotti onto our balcony to watch the sun set over the sound. We can see Martha's Vineyard from our balcony. More news tomorrow....

Fall Foliage Tour II

Today is the first day of our Fall Foliage Tour, not considering yesterday as a tour day because of travel and friendship time. We packed up our things and checked out of our hotel, the Dolce Villa. They tried to charge us an extra $126 for some strange reason, but we did not get caught. We decided to join the Rhode Island History Society's walking tour of Benefit Street. We met at the Brown House, where they have their offices. The ladies at the reception were most helpful and got us paid and organized in a jiffy. There was another couple on the tour with us; a small group. The tour was excellent, taking at least and hour and a half. Highlights included the wonderful architecture and the very special Athaneaum, a beautiful library, where Edgar Allen Poe wooed his fiancee. (They never married). After the tour, we walked along the river walk, through the memorial to 9/11 and back towards benefit street. We found a small restaurant called Parkside Rotisserie, where we enjoyed a light but tasty lunch, looking over the adjacent park. After lunch, we returned to our car for the short drive to our next port of call, Newport, Rhode Island. We arrived in a short time amazed by the beauty of the town. We loved crossing the two bridges across the water with the yachts sailing below us. We found our bed-and-breakfast easily. The Almondy In turned out to be delightful. Our hostess welcomed us at the door and showed us around. The place was very tastefully decorated and is exactly what we would have expected in Newport. After dropping our cases in our room, we walked the two blocks down the the Newport wharves. We wandered around, popping into shops and enjoying the surroundings. we returned to the Almondy Inn where we enjoyed cheese and wine with the other guests in the beautiful sitting room. The conversation was enjoyable and lively. Our hostess joined us, adding tips on the area and titbits of information when necessary. This was an added bonus to staying at the Almondy. After drinks, I walked along the quaint Spring Street, among the small homes and shos until I reached Touro Street, which has the USA's oldest synagogue. I joined the congregation present for the evening services, which was a treat. I returned to the Inn, after which we walked two blocks down to the Moorings restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious fish meal. We shared a salad with a unique orange dressing, some fish tacos and sole. The sole helping was large, so we shared it. Another fun day in Rhode Island.

Fall Foliage Tour 2013

Well.... it's time to get this blog started again. Now that I have rejoined the ranks of the unemployed, we will start traveling again. We left home this morning at 6.30am. The weather in Houston was gorgeous, so now we leave for other shores. Mike and Gill picked us up to get us to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in time for our 8.45am flight. Fortunately we missed the traffic to the airport and got there with plenty of time to spare. We checked in yesterday, so all we needed to do was drop off our luggage at the United counter. As is United's way these days, the lady behind the counter did her best to ignore us and did us a huge favor in checking in both of our under-weight suitcases. We were allocated the "Pre" security clearance. This meant that we did not need to take off our shoes or belts, take our laptops out of our bags or empty our pockets of everything. What a pleasure! Boarding the plane with group 1 is easy, with lots of overhead luggage space. We were upgraded to Business/First. The seats were comfortable with live TV. We actually took off on time; a rare event for United Airlines these days. The service on board was good. We were served a pleasing breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh cut fruit, yoghurt and pastries. I skipped the pastries. Gotta lose some weight. This flight was a perfect opportunity to work on some video editing, while wearing my Quiet Comfort Bose 15 headphones. The headphones really improve the flight experience; cutting out the painful whooshing aircraft noise. We landed at Newark 20 minutes early, BUT guess what? Our onward flight to Providence is an hour late. Here we go again.. This messes up our next two arrangements for Providence. Then we were told that the plane is only 10 minutes late. Then we were told it is now 40 minutes late. Boy, can United mess you around! So we eventually left an hour late. We arrived in Providence, received our baggage very quickly at the carousel and walked across the sky bridge to the car rental facility. It is an absolute pleasure to use National, where we simply pick the car we want; any car on the lot, and drive out. All we need to do is show our drivers license at the exit booth. Quick and very easy! The drive to our boutique hotel in Providence was short. even though it was rush hour, it only took around 20 minutes. Our hotel was located on the very picturesque De Pasquale Plaza. The hotel Dolce Villa was interesting. No elevators, so up the stairs with our luggage. The rooms use a number combination lock. No keys or key cards. The room was large. Actually it had two bedrooms, a sitting room and a kitchen. It was clean and functional, but not quaint or pretty. We met our cruise buddies, who we hadn't seen for over four years. We walked to the Trinity Brew house, where we sampled some of their beers. Their strawberry ale was delicious, but had an alcohol content over 12%! It was a most enjoyable two hours, catching up on news and family events. We walked them back to the car. Shortly thereafter, we met up with an old high school friend and his fiancee. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Siena. We returned to our hotel tired after a days travel and an evening of dining with old time friends.

United's Latest rip-off

Like most ex-Cons; the old Continental Airline frequent flyers, I am totally disappointed with the merger with United. Today I was privileged to discover the latest rip-off; another way to fleece customers and drive us to search for a viable alternative. I am booked to fly on tomorrow's flight at 7.30am. As I am within the normal 24 hour window, I decided to try to get a later flight, on which I know there are plenty seats. Looking online, the airline tried to charge me $236 for the change! Previously, as a Platinum, or 1K frequent flyer, I could make changes within 24 hours if there were seats available. Now United has cleverly said that there is no change fee, BUT they use a new fare basis, which is calculated as if I tried to reserve a one-way fair at this time. This results in a very expensive "L" class ticket. They then try to charge the difference between my original reasonably priced ticket and the expensive one-way ticket; a real rip-off. So, it means that I will not change and that I am angry with United.... again!

USA-China Quickie I

Flying to Hong Kong via Tokyo, Denver via New York and back to Houston. Because this is such a short flight, I thought I would discuss the airports, the lounges and the flights. So here goes.

I was dropped off at Houston George Bush Intercontinental airport (IAH) at 08.45am this morning (or yesterday morning). Having printed my international boarding card at home, and not having any check-in luggage made the process quick and easy. Terminal E at IAH is always the quickest. The security line was reasonable. My new Checkpoint friendly backpack did not require me to take out my laptop and put it in a separate basket. It was a pleasure.

I was through the ticket check and security in about ten minutes. I walked to short distance to the United Club, which was formerly the Continental Presidents' Club Lounge. I was hoping to have some cereal and yoghurt for a light breakfast, but there was no yoghurt, so I decided to skip it. of course, there was going to be plenty food on the flight to Tokyo. The lounge was fairly empty and quiet. I like these lounges as a haven of peace, where I can get a snack, something to drink and do my e-mail. I had some coffee while waiting to board my flight.

They announced the flight, which was a bit unusual. I am not used to having flights announced in this lounge. Good thing though. The walk over to gate E7 was short. My platinum status allows me to board the aircraft first, which is preferential. I can get my carry on bags into the overhead bins before the mad rush. I had been upgraded to business/first class using a free systemwide upgrade. My seat, 4D was one of the two centre seats in the front of the plane. I prefer these, because neither passenger has to bother the other to get out as is the case from the window seats in a 2-2-2 configuration.

I dozed off, as usual, before takeoff. When I awoke, we were still on the ground. We took off almost 45 minutes late. Amazing! Almost 75% of my flights have been delayed by more than 30 minutes. I wasn't overly concerned, as I have a 3 hour layover in Tokyo.

After takeoff we were offered a drink. I opted for some Argentinian wine, which was pretty good. Warm nuts were provided. I noticed that they were only cashews instead of the mixed variety we used to get. The meal was enjoyable. I chose the chicken breast, after some sushi starters.

I always find it odd that cheese, grapes and port wine are served before their ice cream sundaes, but it's fine with me. The cheese and port were excellent. No ice cream for me, thanks.

During dinner I watched a light comedy and then popped a sleeping pill for a few hours of sleep. I need the rest after a terrific New Year's eve party at Cecil and Mireille. Thanks guys!

I woke about three hours before landing. A hot cup of tea was ordered, while I watched another light comedy. "Breakfast" was served an hour before landing. Considering that it was actually 3pm Japan time, I chose to eat only the fruit; not the omelette, the croissant or the sticky bun.

We landed in Tokyo, went through transit security and now I am ensconced into the ANA Start Alliance lounge, but there's no sushi here!! Go figger!

More from Hong Kong. Sayonara for now.