Don't drink tea in the US
And I mean that, really, don’t. That isn’t tea. Of course, the opposite applies, in that you really shouldn’t drink coffee in Britain. 
Saturday 22nd November
This was Grant’s birthday, and we set off for the airport to celebrate it in the unique fashion of spending it in flight. Unfortunately, because of bad weather in Amsterdam, we were late in taking off and missed our connecting flight to Boston for that day. They rebooked us for early the next morning, so after phoning Grant’s Dad to let him know, we booked into the Sheraton on the airport complex. We then set out for a cute little local bistro where we then celebrated his birthday in style, and had an early night. It was perishing in Amsterdam.
Sunday 23rd November
The flight was uneventful, but I must say, the approach to Boston Logan is spectacular, comparing only to Vancouver in Canada for the beauty of the coastline area, visible for miles on a cold, frosty morning.
Grant’s Dad was there to pick us up, together with his Uncle Tommy. It was good to meet his father and I was struck by the likeness between them. We stopped just outside of Boston for lunch, in a restaurant called Harvard Brewery. It was just like an English pub, and the food was great.
Later, we met Grant’s Dad’s second wife. An odd little anomaly: we had not been aware that she was 16 years older than he, and it seems that both Grant and his Dad prefer older women. They live in a little town called Shelburne Falls, in western Massachussetts, a beautiful, peaceful, retired spot.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Grant had picked up a stomach bug and was unwell for a couple of days. We had only planned a family time, so he lay on the couch for that time.
The weather remained beautiful, and we drove around the area, meeting different people. The stomach bug caught me, and I spent Thanksgiving in Grant’s place on the couch. Betty, his stepmum, was also feeling ill, so we kept one another company and the rest of the family ate the usual trimmings. I was not sure about being able to fly out to Phoenix the next day, but knew I had to.
Friday 28th November
Grant’s dad took us to the airport. I was still feeling wobbly, but the second leg of our journey was to involve meeting lots of his friends and family, and I didn’t want to miss that.
As it happened, the US laws allow Grant to drive the car we had hired and so, since he knows Phoenix like the back of his hand, we settled for him driving around. The car we had was a nice Toyota Corolla, loads of room and good to drive.
The temperatures were in the 70s and 80s (unbelievable, as there were Christmas Carols coming out of all the music outlets, it seemed so odd).
Meeting Grant’s grandmother and seeing his boyhood home was great. Most of our time there was spent meeting his many school and boyhood friends, and some of our online ones, namely Beig, and Raven and Gypsy.
Beig has a lovely little flat in a Phoenix suburb, which she shares with her youngest boy. I was wonderful to meet her face to face, although Grant has known her for some time.
Whilst there, Grant took me to Denny’s every day for breakfast. I must say that the English Muffins there are really like English Muffins. It’s a lovely, cheerful little chain of fast food places, I think.
Grant also took me to the suburbs and all his favourite Mexican restaurants, with real Mexican food, (not Taco Bell!). I loved it.
Monday December 1st
We took a trip down to Tucson to meet Raven and Gypsy. We were a little later than expected because our hire car took a hit from a flying stone, which cracked the windscreen. When hiring the car, I had taken out full insurance, so we simply changed the car at Tucson airport.
It was tremendous to meet them face to face, and we enjoyed their wonderful hospitality. We all went out in the evening to eat in a Mexican place Raven knew, and the one really surreal experience was listening to Grant explaining to a Mexican waiter, in Spanish, the basic principles of Asatru.
We didn’t want to leave the next day, but we did have a tight schedule.
Hello to Jinglebutt……………
Wednesday December 3rd
We flew out of Phoenix to Boston Logan again and stayed there for a couple of days, in a really nice hotel called Four Points by Sheraton. This hotel was linked via a complementary shuttle to various key points in the city.
We spent one day in Salem. This little town is…………. touristy, and whilst I liked the historical dramatisation of the events in 1692, I was a little unsure about the rest, which would be best described as a celebration of Neo-Wicca. Grant had steam coming out of his ears, but knows how to behave in a public place, so we just enjoyed the day.
The second day we spent in Boston itself. We did the trolley tour, had lunch at Cheers! (the original one) and visited the Constitution.
We have already decided we will and must come back to Boston. I have travelled Europe and other parts of the world and I have never met such friendly people as in Boston, people who, without prompting, could all give you help and historical accounts of their beautiful city, of which they seemed quite justly proud.
Saturday 6th to Sunday 7th
The return very uneventful, and, like General MacArthur, we will return!
Saturday 22nd November
This was Grant’s birthday, and we set off for the airport to celebrate it in the unique fashion of spending it in flight. Unfortunately, because of bad weather in Amsterdam, we were late in taking off and missed our connecting flight to Boston for that day. They rebooked us for early the next morning, so after phoning Grant’s Dad to let him know, we booked into the Sheraton on the airport complex. We then set out for a cute little local bistro where we then celebrated his birthday in style, and had an early night. It was perishing in Amsterdam.
Sunday 23rd November
The flight was uneventful, but I must say, the approach to Boston Logan is spectacular, comparing only to Vancouver in Canada for the beauty of the coastline area, visible for miles on a cold, frosty morning.
Grant’s Dad was there to pick us up, together with his Uncle Tommy. It was good to meet his father and I was struck by the likeness between them. We stopped just outside of Boston for lunch, in a restaurant called Harvard Brewery. It was just like an English pub, and the food was great.
Later, we met Grant’s Dad’s second wife. An odd little anomaly: we had not been aware that she was 16 years older than he, and it seems that both Grant and his Dad prefer older women. They live in a little town called Shelburne Falls, in western Massachussetts, a beautiful, peaceful, retired spot.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Grant had picked up a stomach bug and was unwell for a couple of days. We had only planned a family time, so he lay on the couch for that time.
The weather remained beautiful, and we drove around the area, meeting different people. The stomach bug caught me, and I spent Thanksgiving in Grant’s place on the couch. Betty, his stepmum, was also feeling ill, so we kept one another company and the rest of the family ate the usual trimmings. I was not sure about being able to fly out to Phoenix the next day, but knew I had to.
Friday 28th November
Grant’s dad took us to the airport. I was still feeling wobbly, but the second leg of our journey was to involve meeting lots of his friends and family, and I didn’t want to miss that.
As it happened, the US laws allow Grant to drive the car we had hired and so, since he knows Phoenix like the back of his hand, we settled for him driving around. The car we had was a nice Toyota Corolla, loads of room and good to drive.
The temperatures were in the 70s and 80s (unbelievable, as there were Christmas Carols coming out of all the music outlets, it seemed so odd).
Meeting Grant’s grandmother and seeing his boyhood home was great. Most of our time there was spent meeting his many school and boyhood friends, and some of our online ones, namely Beig, and Raven and Gypsy.
Beig has a lovely little flat in a Phoenix suburb, which she shares with her youngest boy. I was wonderful to meet her face to face, although Grant has known her for some time.
Whilst there, Grant took me to Denny’s every day for breakfast. I must say that the English Muffins there are really like English Muffins. It’s a lovely, cheerful little chain of fast food places, I think.
Grant also took me to the suburbs and all his favourite Mexican restaurants, with real Mexican food, (not Taco Bell!). I loved it.
Monday December 1st
We took a trip down to Tucson to meet Raven and Gypsy. We were a little later than expected because our hire car took a hit from a flying stone, which cracked the windscreen. When hiring the car, I had taken out full insurance, so we simply changed the car at Tucson airport.
It was tremendous to meet them face to face, and we enjoyed their wonderful hospitality. We all went out in the evening to eat in a Mexican place Raven knew, and the one really surreal experience was listening to Grant explaining to a Mexican waiter, in Spanish, the basic principles of Asatru.
We didn’t want to leave the next day, but we did have a tight schedule.
Hello to Jinglebutt……………
Wednesday December 3rd
We flew out of Phoenix to Boston Logan again and stayed there for a couple of days, in a really nice hotel called Four Points by Sheraton. This hotel was linked via a complementary shuttle to various key points in the city.
We spent one day in Salem. This little town is…………. touristy, and whilst I liked the historical dramatisation of the events in 1692, I was a little unsure about the rest, which would be best described as a celebration of Neo-Wicca. Grant had steam coming out of his ears, but knows how to behave in a public place, so we just enjoyed the day.
The second day we spent in Boston itself. We did the trolley tour, had lunch at Cheers! (the original one) and visited the Constitution.
We have already decided we will and must come back to Boston. I have travelled Europe and other parts of the world and I have never met such friendly people as in Boston, people who, without prompting, could all give you help and historical accounts of their beautiful city, of which they seemed quite justly proud.
Saturday 6th to Sunday 7th
The return very uneventful, and, like General MacArthur, we will return!