North Carolina. January 17-20, 2024.

There are several reasons for this trip.  Anne and I have both visited NC for study and business reasons, but never as tourists; our friends Vivian and David moved to a retirement community outside of Raleigh recently; and we had to use up some United Airlines credit before the end of the month.

Because of Anne's teaching duties (started today, Wednesday 1/17) I booked a 7:10 pm flight EWR-RDU.  That flight used the 737 Max 9, which has been grounded by the FAA due to a door plug issue.  I notice United would substitute a 737-900 for some of the flights (UA2654), and cancel others.  A couple of days before departure Flight Status showed a 737-900.

Wednesday 1/17.  We have had a cold spell for the last couple of days, but fortunately not a lot of snow.  Forecast actually says snow again on Friday, so we will see if our travel will get interrupted.

The plane United "found" was to arrive at Terminal B from Cancun at 6 pm.  One would think that would make a 7:10 pm departure at Terminal C impractical.  Indeed it was.  We had a 7:28 pm (no kidding), and then a 7:44 pm, which they met.  And the plane landed at 9:27 pm, less than 30 minutes late.  (Of course if everything had clicked arrival would have been an hour early.)  No one foresaw the Max 9 to be grounded, and it is a large fraction of United fleet, for some perspective.

RDU (Raleigh-Durham) looks like a modern airport, although all the shops were closed when we landed.

When we got to the Hertz parking lot, there were quite a few cars in our class (compact).  But the majority of them were EVs, which I wasn't ready to select.  We got one of the few remaining ICEs (in that class).  It was a short drive to Towne Place Cary (but called TP Raleigh Cary Weston Parkway by Marriott).  Check in was around 10:15 pm.   The clerk told us a few fast food restaurants close at 11 pm, so we grabbed a couple of burgers at McDonald's for a late dinner/snack.

United managed to find a substitute for the scheduled MAX 9.  It was to arrive at Newark Terminal B at around 6 pm.  Our schedule departure from Terminal C was at 7:10 pm.

First delay was 18 minutes.

Then it was 34 minutes.

Actual departure was at 7:56 pm.  A lot better than a canceled flight.

Photo of RDU taken at 9:38 pm.  I thought shops were closed because it was late.  On our return trip we found many of them were closed, or not opened yet.  There are 500 or so flights every day at the airport.

Accommodations: TownePlace Cary (3 nights).

Thursday 1/18 and Friday 1/19.  We spent most of the time with David & Vivian, Monique, a Cornell Aluma living in the area, also stopped by.

We had breakfast at our hotel, but ate the other meals with the Yee's.  Lunch and dinner on Thursday, and dinner on Friday.  For lunch Friday we ate at Clyde Cooper's in Raleigh, a BBQ restaurant that's been around since 1938.

Meals at Glenaire were relatively inexpensive - and we used the Yee's account as they needed to use up their 900-point allotment by 1/20 anyway.  Monique paid for the BBQ lunch.

In addition to touring the Glenaire facility, we also attended a Bible study on Thursday.

Close to the hotel is this Lake Crabtree.  One can imagine it bustling with activities in the warm seasons.  Few people were about when we visited on Friday; it was freezing out, very cold by local standards.

Lunch at Glenaire.

The Yee's have a spacious apartment.  Two bedrooms and a den.

This complex started admitting residents late last year.  A shuttle runs between this building and the older one across the street.

Coffee and soda after dinner.

We stopped by Lake Crabtree Friday morning.

Clyde Coopers' BBQ comes highly recommended.

TownePlace kept getting my name wrong: it was first Doug, then it was Chandra.

Saturday 1/20.  We were on our own today.  After a leisurely morning, we drove to Duke to visit.  Parking was quite impossible.  The campus was quiet, but cars were not allowed (and certainly no parking allowed) on most of the campus.  We did find parking the visitors' lot on Duke University Road (close to Nasher Museum) and by the Duke Chapel.  The former may or may not be legal parking as we didn't have a "permit;" the latter required payment.

The Nasher Museum has on an exhibit "Utopia and Dystopia" curated by ChatGPT, I don't know much actual human input was involved, but eh exhibit made a lot of sense.  The other exhibit - Love and Anarchy - actually was more confounding.  From this one example, ChatGPT worked out better for the cursory visitor, it seems.  Photography (no flash) is encouraged.

After that we went to Raleigh Museum of Art for a quick visit.  There seemed to be a lot going on, we couldn't quite get the idea given our lack of time.

Statue of James Buchanan Duke in front of the Duke Chapel.  He is called an Industrialist and a Philanthropist, technically correct.  That he was a tobacco tycoon does get mentioned on Duke's website.

Nasher Museum have five "rooms" like the ones in this photograph.  We saw exhibits in two of them: Utopia and Dystopia; Love and Anarchy.

A Liberia mask work by judges among the Mano peoples in Liberia.

By Andrew Wyeth.

"Hot Rhythm" (1961) by Archibald J. Motley, Jr, a chronicler of African American life in Chicago.  Here a Jazz concert is depicted.

A Dali.

Picasso.

The Gothic interior of the Duke Chapel.

The statue of Robert E. Lee has been removed.

Installations at North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.

As with many of these modern museums, the interior designs are sometimes more interesting that the exhibits.

Our rental car registered 130 miles.  So we probably could have checked out an EV.  Hertz charges $35 to charge the vehicle if returned without a full charge.  I paid less than $15 for gas.

The A319 we flew back on (Registraion N898US) is about 16 years old (young) and has an updated interior with these huge overheads.  Flight time was a short 1:01 hours.  We took an Uber home.

Great Wolf Lodge, Scotrun, PA. January 2 - 4, 2024.

Ellie booked 3 days at this resort during its Thanksgiving sale.  They were still offering discounts (not as generous) at the end of 2023, so we decided to join them for a couple of days.  This entry won't be a day-by-day account of the trip, just some photos for easy access (not all taken by me).

1/2/2024 Tuesday.  Google suggested a route that connected Route US78 with US80 via US46.  On paper it may be desirable, but the traffic was quite slow at times.  The drive took close to 2 hours.

We had dinner at a pizzeria called Mad Dawdz, with a "grand opening" banner hanging on the window (credit card receipt says "Tony's on the Mountain").

I tried to put in some steps by walking on the grounds of the resort, and tripped because I missed a curb.  Thankfully no broken bones, but a couple of bruises, mostly to my ego.  I need to be more careful while out and about.

Accommodations: Great Wolf Lodge, 2 nights.

1/3 Wednesday.  Spent mostly with the grandchildren.  Played a game of "miniature bowling" and did quite poorly.

For lunch we took Everly to Poconos Chinese #1.  It was doing good business.

Dinner was at Barley Creek Brewing Company.  Ellie had a beer that cost $3 - I assume that's very inexpensive.  I had the Fish and Chips, but forgot to take a photo of it for my "collection."

1/4 Thursday.  Ellie took the older kids skiing at Camelback.  We hanged out with Everly and Kuau.  Returned home after lunch.  Traffic was heavier than I expected, but no real tie-ups along the way.  We took US80 to US280 and then joined the Garden State Parkway.

Most burgers look nothing like their advertisements, this pulled pork sandwich with bacon and onion rings, served at the Fireside in Great Wolf, is a rare exception.  It had to be disassembled before it could be eaten.

Massachusetts. November 24-29, December 15-21, 2023.

We hadn't visited Joe Jr and his family for a while up in Somerville, so we thought we would stop by.  Another reason was they just purchased "downstairs" of the building Joe has lived in for over 15 years, so we wanted to see that.  The "upstairs" was bought when Joe was still single, now there is a family of five, so things get a bit tight.  It's been about a month now, downstairs is still pretty much vacant, except for a minimally furnished bedroom that Anne and I use for the two visits, and a couple of folding tables and chairs.  Not luxurious hotel accommodation, but certainly convenient, and more than adequate.

The second trip was for me to attend an ACCESS board meeting on December 16.  Anne and I will fly down to NJ with Emmie and Harrison on December 21, so we decided to hang around for a week.  Joe, Jess and CC will drive down either Thursday night or Friday.

I am not going to record events as they happen every day, just a few "noteworthy" ones.

11/24 Friday.  Flight to Boston was uneventful.  We took a late flight that arrived at 8:11 pm.  While the Priority Pass APP says it closes at 10 pm, Stephanie's was closed by the time we got there.  Since a lot of other places were closed as well, perhaps it's because of Thanksgiving.  So it was dinner at Kelly's at the airport before Joe picked us up.

The bathroom in the 737 MAX 8 is very small.  I think this is the first time I stepped inside a MAX bathroom.

Kelly's Roast Beef "closed" at 8:30 pm (when this picture was taken).  But they "reopened" to serve several more customers.

Accommodations: Somerville house (5 nights).

11/25 Saturday.  We had bought tickets to a Messiah performance for December 15, by the NJ Symphony and the Montclair chorus.  It was easy enough to cancel and have the cost credited to my account, but the agent made sure I really wanted to cancel as "once they are gone, you are not getting them back."  For NJ Symphony, Messiah concerts are one of the few that sell well.

Jess mentioned the Handel and Haydn Society had concerts for this weekend, and we got two tickets for the afternoon event.  We would see the some chorus on December 12 in a New York Philharmonic concert.

Handel's Messiah performed at Symphony Hall by the Handel and Haydn Society.

11/26 Sunday.  Joe Jr had bought tickets for his family to attend today's Nutcracker, performed by the Boston Ballet.  He got it through a half-off promotion.  Two seats close to them were vacant and we bought them, it was easy to swap for adjacent ones at the concert.

Both concerts have been written up in my review.  Here I just wanted to remark audience members seem less concerned about talking during performances.  That was particularly so for Nutcracker.

Anne went to see Emmie playing at a soccer game.  She's the one in the middle of the photo.

Nutcracker performed by Boston Ballet at the Boston Opera House.

11/29 Wednesday.  We took a late flight back to New Jersey.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Club is supposed to be a high end facility.  Making your customers wait probably detracts from that reputation.  While our wait was only 15 minutes, we only managed to grab a few things to eat as most food was to be ordered.  My two visits to this facility have not turned me into a fan.

Dining options at Newark Terminal A are very different from Terminal C.  This is an otherwise ordinary burger, but the bun had words seared on it.

12/15 Friday.  A few remarks about our shared car service driver, a young woman who moved back from Florida recently.  The car reeked of smoke, she ran a light, missed a turn, and drove through "EZ Pass Only" lane on the turnpike, probably because the car has temporary FL plates and she was counting on the system not be able to identify the registration.  Very pleasant otherwise.

This was a nice day, and our 12:33 pm flight was supposed to land at 1:45 pm.  When the plane finished taxiing, the pilot said a "check filter" light came on and he had to return to base.  From the emails United sent me, the departure times were changed to 2:11 pm, "back on our way shortly," 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm, "needs more time," 5:15 pm, 6:00 pm, and finally 6:20 pm.  Actual departure was 6:55 pm, arrival 7:37 pm.  It was a new crew.  Things could have been worse as it is not always a given a fresh crew is available.

Some time during the delay we were sent $20 meal vouchers, but these delay notices made it impossible to have a proper meal.  We already had sandwiches before the vouchers showed up anyway.  The late arrival disappointed the kids (they do enjoy our visits), and we couldn't stop by Stephanie's for a meal as they close at 8 pm.

As soon as we landed, there were emails offering us compensation.  We chose the mileage option, 5000 for me, and 3750 for Anne.

This display was taken at 5:41 pm, and is completely inexplicable.  UA1375 originally left from Gate 21 but returned to Gate 23.  2:11 pm was the first revised departure time (which was impossible as the plane had not even returned to gate yet).

Things looked bleak when the flight information display panels show scenic pictures.  This was at 4:51 pm.

This was the last revision for the flight, we reboarded at 5:53 pm, left the gate at 6:19 pm, and took off at 6:53 pm, touched down at 7:37 pm.  The pilot at one point said we had to hold for the dispatcher.  (The times were from messages I sent to Joe to update our progress.)

I used to think the toilet in the 737-900 was small.  But they managed to designer a smaller one for the MAX (see photo at top of this blog entry).  The lighting is purple.

Joe took us to Panda House for takeout.

Accommodations.  Somerville (6 nights).

12/16 Saturday.  I spent most of the day in Quincy for the board meeting.  In the morning a 20-minute trip on the Mazda, the return was 10 minutes longer due to moderate traffic.

ACCESS meeting in basement of Quincy Lighthouse Fellowship.

For dinner we ate at Panda House, we particularly appreciated the "veggie" side dish option.

12/17 Sunday.  We had use of the Mazda again.  We went to CBCGB for morning service while Joe and his family went and did different things: soccer game and Chinese school being the main activities.  Lunch was at Kelly's.  Dinner was at the Tsai's.  They are flying to Charlotte to visit their younger daughter and Jess would be in NJ when they return.  They did their Christmas gift openings tonight.  They won't see each other until after the New Year's.

Dinner at the Tsai's in Lexington.

12/19 Tuesday.  Emmie, Harrison and CC all attend the same public school in Somerville.  Today there was the winter concert for Grades 3 to 8, so both Emmie and Harrison participated.  The music teacher Ms. Liu has been at the school for 17 years, and indicated that this annual concert has been produced for many years.

Emmie played the cello in the orchestra, and sang in the Grade 5 chorus group; Harrison sang in the Grade 3 chorus group.  The auditorium (cafeteria usually) was quite full.  We had to leave early because Anne had a class to teach (postponed by 30 minutes).

Emmie with her new cello from the rental program.  She just moved up from a 1/4 size to a 1/2 size.

Part of the Grade 3 chorus.

After Harrison came back from school, I took him to the Science Museum.  He had a class trip last Friday but didn't get to see a few displays, including the trains set up for the season, and the "polar explorer" exhibit.

The "Fur Collection" at the Boston Science Museum.

12/21 Thursday.  We are bringing Emmie and Harrison with us to New Jersey.  Joe, Jess and CC plan to come down tomorrow.

There are news articles wondering if CLEAR is worth the money, with some claiming the process has slowed down considerably.  Our experience today didn't help.  When we came up from NJ a few days ago we thought we went through the "new" setup, but today we had to rescan our drivers' IDs and provide new biometrics from our eyes.  These hiccups occur so often that one does wonder if the system should charge such a high subscription price.  Mine being complimentary and Anne's discount doesn't excuse the poor system performance.

We got to the airport before 4 pm, and headed to the Chase Lounge.  The wait was about 30 minutes, so we had something to eat at Stephanie's.  The plane left and touched down early, but we had gate availability and jetway personnel problems, so ended up disembarking only a little early.

Harrison is into trains, so we hurried to the EWR train station via the monorail and caught the train with 3 minutes to spare - the train was late for a few minutes in either case.

Harrison and I walked home as quickly as we could and picked up Emmie and Anne.  WiFi controlled heaters allowed me to turn on the heat so we returned to a somewhat warm home.