mayhewblog.com

On Saturday we were down in Boston for the day picking out wedding rings. It was hot and humid so afterwards we headed for the North End to be by the water. I shot the following video which shows part of the Boston Skyline and Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. The area between the park and Haymarket has also been made into a park area with water fountains and picnic tables.

For my first weekend in the U.S. (as an immigrant) my fiancée treated us to a vacation in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The weather driving up on Saturday morning was less than desirable but cleared up nicely by the time we arrived and stayed pleasant for most of the weekend.

We started the trip with a little walk around town. Boothbay has a lovely selection of shops, restaurants and beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean. At midday we managed to get tickets to Cabbage Island for a clam bake! We had tried for tickets earlier in the day but they were fully booked. Luckily they had a cancellation and we were able to get tickets about half an hour before the boat was due to leave. The boat ride out to Cabbage Island took around 20-30 minutes and provided lovely views back towards Boothbay as we left the harbor.

Upon arrival to the island we were greeted by the Moore family (the hosts) and took a seat at one of the many picnic benches around the beautiful 5 1/2 acre island.

The lobsters and clams were steamed on seaweed a short walk from our table and a bell was rung when the food was ready. Upon hearing the bell everyone queues up for the food and returns to their tables to eat.

The bake started with a cup of clam chowder which is a traditional New England soup, followed by the main course comprised of two bright red lobsters, tender white steamed clams, corn on the cob, an onion, a jacket potato, a hard boiled egg and drawn butter for dipping the lobster meat. There was certainly enough to eat! I had not cracked lobster before but picked it up pretty quick.

The lobster was delicious, in fact we ate mostly seafood whilst in Boothbay and it was all exceptional. After we were done eating, we spent a bit of time exploring the island before boarding the boat back to Boothbay.

As we were leaving the island we looked back and saw an Osprey and its nest. A welcome end to a wonderful trip.

On Sunday we went puffin watching! Another boat ride takes you out to Egg Rock, an island with a colony of 110 puffins which were re-established on the island by the Audubon Society (similar to the RSPB in England). The weather was foggy on the way out but cleared shortly after arriving at the island. We circled the island looking for puffins and almost straight away saw 4 of them sitting in the ocean (baby puffins take to the water for 5 years before returning to land to breed). We saw a further 4 puffins before heading back to the mainland.

The B&B we stayed in whilst at Boothbay was the Atlantic Ark Inn. It had 6 bedrooms and was run by a very friendly and welcoming lady named Donna. An ample breakfast was served each morning with tea and coffee all day long. We stayed in two rooms named ‘Lightness’ and ‘The Cottage’ and both were very comfortable.

Yesterday started with an early rise of 5am to do a final weighing of my cases and breakfast with my parents. I barely found room in my packed cases for my insulin which was the final thing to be packed. My parents then drove me to London Heathrow for my 11:10 flight to Boston, MA. We were there a little early so I had my cases tagged and waited 10-15 minutes before dropping my bags off. I then said goodbye to my parents and made my way through the security line. I was expecting problems at security as I was taking several months worth of medication and needles though. It was painless though. They didn’t ask for my prescription or doctor’s letter or even ask me to remove my shoes or laptop from its case.

I boarded flight BA213 at about 10:40 and found my seat. It was at least 95 degrees in the aircraft! Apparently the APU was broken and therefore there was to be cold air until the pilot turned the engine on before push back. We were then left waiting for an hour while ground crew were involved in putting out a nearby vehicle fire. The sweat was pouring down peoples faces as they fanned themselves with the B747 emergency foldout. I asked the air hostess for some ice for my insulin which I was given.

On the aircraft I met a lovely Italian lady called Anna and her son Carlo. They were on route from Italy back to Boston and were very friendly. Amazingly the lady met her husband (another Italian) in Boston 48 years ago and found out soon after that he came from her hometown in Italy and went to school with her brother! It’s a small word! I spent quite a bit of the flight talking to them both, it made the flight a lot more interesting than usual.

The flight was a little late arriving at Boston due to the delays in London and a last minute change of runway. I made my way through immigration with ease. The immigration officer didn’t remember how to process a K-1 visa so she called for help. She took my I-129F petition and stamped it, she also stamped my I-94 landing form and passport. I also had my picture taken and fingerprints done. She didn’t ask me any questions as I think she was more concerned with processing my visa correctly!

After clearing customs I met Meghan at arrivals and we got a cab back to her car and drove up to Plaistow, NH. On arrival we dumped the cases, unpacked my medication and went to Wal-Mart to buy some toiletries. After that we went to the Longhorn Steakhouse for a really tasty filet steak with blue cheese dressing and a few coronas.

So day 1 is over! Today we are going to sign on the new apartment, go outlet shopping, meet with the wedding photographer and then travel up to York, Maine to stay with her aunts before driving up to Booth Bay in the morning.

I have finally made some progress with my packing. In some ways packing to move abroad is easier than packing to go on holiday. For example, when packing for a holiday I always make sure I am extra careful about leaving plenty of room in the case to bring my purchases back, when moving abroad I don’t have any such concern. Also, when moving abroad I am fully prepared to leave my hundreds (sometimes feels like thousands) of t-shirts behind in favour of buying new ones when I am there.

My hand baggage is proving to be far more of a concern than my checked baggage. All of my camera equipment goes with me on the plane, no exception. My medication also needs to go with me as well as my visa documents, x-ray, master copies of my birth/police certificate, drivers licence and passport (complete with K-1 visa). I will also take my electrical items onboard. If I was not such a geek and therefore feel the need to travel with loads of personal gadgets each with their own USB cable and power pack, I might actually get away with travelling light.

I will breathe a sigh of relief when my cases and I have touched down in Boston!