Back to New England Again

Since I last wrote, I have been to Maine, Boston, and Urgent Care. My apologies for going radio silent but when I have not been working or traveling, I have been trying to recover!

The long weekend in New England began with a red eye flight from San Jose to Boston the evening of April 24, followed by a 6am bus ride to Portland, Maine. Friday was a quiet day of relaxing, ending with my favorite grilled chicken salad in Falmouth with my mom, a visit with Grandpa (who celebrated his 89th birthday 3 months ago), the latest episode of "Lost" on DVR with my dad, and a Red Sox loss. Saturday started early with an 8am 5K for Safe Passage which I completed with my friend Mary. That afternoon I made the requisite trip to LL Bean (and replaced all my Nalgene water bottles), baked cookies with mom, and generally just basked in the joy that is being in Maine. We had a family dinner that night - including dad's famous "beef dish" - and then watched the Red Sox lose again.

At 2:30 am on Sunday morning, all the bad stuff started. I awoke with the worst sore throat I have experienced in recent memory. Once it was daylight, I decided a trip to Urgent Care was necessary, both for the throat and for a cyst on my head. As Urgent Care did not open until 9am, I first went to breakfast with my parents - to my childhood favorite, Down East, which is closing this year (a Walgreen's will soon grace the property). By this point the fever had set in. Fortunately Urgent Care was moving quickly once I arrived and I was seen right away. Sure enough, my cyst was infected causing my whole sinus/lymph/drainage system not to work properly. I did not have strep throat but received a prescription for antibiotics to heal me up. Mom and I filled the prescription, bought me some lunch at Amato's, and then I finally boarded the bus to Boston.

I arrived in Boston a few hours later than planned, meaning I did not get a visit in to Old South Church. Fortunately Matt and Leslie's wedding celebration (the whole reason I planned the trip) ran from noon to 8pm. I met up with Anthony and Chris at their apartment and we headed over to the party. While I most certainly was not in top form, it was fantastic to see the happy couple. That night I relaxed with Anthony and Chris, ate plenty of frozen yogurt, and slept soundly on their couch. The next morning Anthony dropped me off on Beacon Street in Brookline, where I spent the morning with Emily, who also had a vacation day, and we lunched at Mr. Sushi. Despite being under the weather, I had a great visit to New England although these trips are always a little bittersweet. Thank goodness for Jet Blue and their affordable direct flights!

My flight from Boston arrived in California around 7:15pm local time on Monday night. Surprisingly I was still fairly functional - I unpacked and readied myself for the work week. Yup, I worked all week and for the most part am now feeling better, although my sinuses are emptying so much it is very embarrassing to be in public. I even burst some vessels in one eye due to all the blowing of the nose. Super.

As for my next trip to New England, it is not set in stone, but I might go back in July. Stay tuned...