Sorry, this is not about Moscow girls, Leningrad girls or JoJo, who hasn’t been on my mind.
First, indulge me in a comment on Airline Economy Class upgrades- some are nothing more than the vehicle to charge you more for a seat that has some, real or suggested, advantage – “oh look, I’m four whole rows closer to the deplaning exit..” (but you’re still in row 30 instead of 34). But the airlines DO have some wicked cool names for your freedom to pay more for essentially the same, well, everything – American Airlines can allow you to upgrade from Basic Economy to Premium Economy, United has Standard Economy to Premium Economy, Delta from Economy to Comfort, and so on.
However, one basic upgrade level I can recommend is Virgin Atlantic’s “Economy Delight”..( skyrockets in flight, economy delight…). Yes, this whimsically named upgrade has some real benefits. First, since if you are flying, say Boston-Heathrow – 5-1/2hrs and 7hrs on the return, the extra 3.5″ of leg room is great, especially compared to the 2″ additional on some other carriers. Next, you board with Premium instead of the cattle call and have guaranteed overhead storage. Seats are roomy with excellent curved headrests and worth the $ spent. As they say onboard – “Economy Delight – look for the Champagne coloured seats..”
We flew LHR-BOS on Sunday, had our baggage collected & were in the rental car by 6 p.m and headed for Maine. After traveling 4000 miles into the headwind, and inevitable delays on the taxiways of Beantown, the 90 minute drive up Rt. 1A and I-95 to our friend’s house in Maine was kein problem! We would spend only that night, the next day and the following morning in Maine before driving back to Boston and flying back to North Carolina.
Maine is a world apart by almost any measure. The year-round population of just over 1.3 million is almost exactly that of Charlotte and Raleigh, NC without their suburbs. More than 75% of the state is wooded and 13% of homes are totally heated with wood. In fact, Mainers are leading the way with decreasing dependence on oil for heating purposes, with almost 7% switching to wood between 2009 and 2014 alone. Yet, far from Utopian, Maine has about the same per capita population of folks who are finding comfort, and hellish lives from Meth and Heroin.
For all that, after moving away 19 years ago, I would still like to live in Maine….from April through October. I’m not lazy – I would just rather not spend every minute of free time shoveling snow, ice, slush and other various forms of increasingly solid water states for about 5 months out of the year.
I would rather again live right near the ocean, especially during the non-tourist times to walk on the beach in the morning, pick up hen clams after a storm and catch the “they’ah gonna be heah any day now”, stripers. 
A crowded spring beach in Maine
And if you’re a water sport, you never know who you’re gonna catch a wave with…
I’m back in NC now, back to some recreational and non-stop grass mowing, whacking away with paint on canvas and maybe throwing some mud on the pottery wheel. But part of me is always traveling……..
MB
The return of Carson.... 