Of Planes, Trains, Shuttles, and Scammers: Nightmare in Florence-1
Part One: On the Road
Monday, 24 April 2023
6:30 a.m. PST. Boarded a flight in San Franciso headed to Boston. Shoved Mia and her carrier beneath the seat in front of me. She hates it. 😡
11:00 a.m. MST. Post meal, flight attendants take a break so, feeling safe, I drag the pet carrier out, set it on my lap and zip it open to allow Mia to poke her head out. I stroke her soft head; she wriggles her body to widen the opening and try to scramble out. We wrestle to no avail so I grip her midsection to hold her in the carrier. She insists on freedom by letting out a single bark. There’s movement in the galley so I glance back. We’re safe and I bend to tell Mia “shhhh.” She plays deaf and lets out another bark. I open my mouth to sing “Soft Kitty,” then realize I hadn’t performed in decades so decided to spare my fellow passengers my rusty, creaky voice. 🎶🎶
Noon-ish CST. Returned to her carrier, Mia snores. I push my seatback back to snooze. After 3 minutes I resume watching ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD for the 5th or hundredth time. Brad Pitt is on Leo’s rooftop preparing to fix an antenna. He pulls his shirt over his head to expose his chest to the sun. I melt 🫠
3:15 p.m.-ish EST. Boston! 🎉 But with grey sky and drizzle 🥶 Wonderful. Sun FINALLY arrived in California. Rain FINALLY departed and the temperature zoomed up to 70. I’m about to step into in dreary, rainy east coast 50-degree weather. Harbinger?
4:00 p.m. Dollar Car Rental agent urges upgrade and other accoutrements, raising the initial cost of the auto by approximately a gazillion dollars. Depart Logan airport and head to the Andover Inn.
5:45 p.m. After checking in, I walk the grounds of Andover’s finest hotel where Mia absolutely refuses to pee. Spoiler alert: knowing I plan to leave her in the room while out for dinner, Mia decides to hold everything in. I settle her and her favorite blanket in her fluffy pink doggie house. She throws me a stink eye.
8:00 p.m. Return to the Inn to discover Mia’s revenge; I step into the room and land SQUISH into it. With a weak stomach and no desire to wash my shoes in the sink I consider throwing them out. Instead, I wipe off the remaining brown mass, throw the paper towel into the toilet and flush. I bend over the tub to wash traces of brown off the shoe, so now that’s not fit to use. No shower tonight OR tomorrow. Ugh.
Tuesday, 25 April 2023
10:30 a.m. EST. Checked out of the Andover Inn and drive 10 miles into Lawrence to visit the world’s best bakery — Tripoli’s, est. 1944. I order cannoli, cookies, biscotti, and a fat whoopie pie. On the way out, I grab lunch in their pizzaria.
1:00 p.m. Cross over Massachusettes’ border and pull into the rest area for a photo op at the Vermont Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial. Dedicated on October 30, 1982, it’s the first government sanctioned Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the nation.
Vermont has a lot of firsts. Our state was the first to outlaw slavery in our Constitution. On July 2, 1777 Vermont became the first colony to ban it outright. Not only did the legislature agree to abolish slavery entirely, it provided full voting rights for African American males (yeah, I know—sadly, there’s that). Read about Vermont’s participation in the Underground Railroad.
A serpentine through the Green Mountain State to enjoy some lovely and a few not-so-lovely centuries old homes, parks with gazebos, small towns and covered bridges. For more, go to https://Dedicated.com/covered-bridges-vermont/
2:45 p.m. On to Middlebury College’s main campus. Forbes once ranked my alma mater #2 among the country’s Liberal Arts colleges but it has slipped to #11. From there, drove up to Bread Loaf Mountain, passing Robert Frost’s homestead and on to Middlebury’s Graduate School of English.
6:45 p.m. Arrived Colchester, Vermont. Checked into the Hampton Inn then up to Mallets Bay on lovely Lake Champlain, 6th largest lake in the country and home of Champ, cousin to the Loch Ness Monster.
Pulled in to my daughter’s home, just two miles from Lake Champlain’s Mallets Bay where Mia will live for a month with Kelli and family while I’m in Italy.
Wednesday 26 April 2023
Something o’clock a.m. Slow drive by my former homestead in South Burlington. ❤️ Returned to Mallets Bay to pet Mia and steal Parker away for lunch at his favorite restaurant, Chili’s. I didn’t get to see my grandson’s baseball game this trip, but guess who did? The same guy Parker and Kelli ran into at Burlington International Airport weeks earlier.
Thursday 27 April 2023
Sightseeing the last day and a half in Vermont included:
Cold Hollow Cider Mill for hot-from-the-oven, apple cider doughnuts
Ben & Jerry’s to snag a dish of Lights! Caramel! Action!™ and selfie.
Vermont’s state capital in Montpelier One of three in the U.S. with a gold leaf dome.
Walker’s Maple Sugaring where the owner gave a tour and introduction to the art of maple sugar making.
A final visit with Kelli and family, and Mia who is settling in fine.
Thursday 27 April 2023
10:15 p.m. Left Colchester, Vermont to drive back to Andover, Massachusettes for the night. In the morning, it’s Boston’s Logan Airport to board a flight to Italy! Ciao!
What an amazing travelogue…. Thanks for taking us along.