Home again

As many of you already know, one of my aunts passed away last week. I hurriedly put together a trip back to upstate New York hoping that I might see her before the end, but I didn't make it in time. Still, it was good to be there with the family to share grief and memories and to catch up with each other.

Clifton Park, NY. By morning the streets were clean, but cars remained coated with a layer of ice and snow. I am not used to that kind of cold.

The travel was eventful. Because it was a last-minute trip, I didn't have a lot of options. The best air fare I could find sent me to Chicago to change planes to Albany. I took the train from Tours to Paris and spent last Thursday night in a hotel at the airport before my Friday morning flight. The international flight was good, pleasant, in fact. But there was an ice storm going on in Albany. Many flights were canceled, but mine was still on, and on time. Until we got close to our destination. The Albany airport closed its longer runway again and we were forced to land in Buffalo. We stayed there for a few hours, waiting (and hoping) for Albany to reopen its runway. We finally got the ok and took off again. We landed in Albany at 01h00 on Saturday morning, three and a half hours late. There were many late planes and the car rental agencies stayed open into the wee hours, so I got the car I had reserved.

My uncle (my aunt's brother) had offered his sister's apartment for my stay, but it was too late to get the keys when I finally arrived, so I spent that first night at a suburban hotel where my two out-of-town brothers were staying (the rest of my seven siblings live in the area). I was too wired and jet-lagged to sleep when I checked in a 2 a.m. I spent what was left of the night messing on the tablet, trying to get the hotel internet to work. It wasn't easy. This was the view from my room when I opened the curtains at sunrise.