Goodbye Connecticut and Hiya California: Phase Four of My Travels Begins

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Fairfield, Connecticut

Goodbye Connecticut and Hiya California: Phase Four of My Travels Begins

The day dawned for our departure from Connecticut. Neither Llew nor I could believe how quickly our week in Fairfield had passed. But we felt a sese of Mission Accomplished as all our doctors’ appointments had been successfully carried out, we had seen most of the friends we wanted to meet, had eaten our favorite dishes at our favorite local restaurants and had even managed to spend a day in New York City. Still, despite the fact that we had yet another long stint of travel to which to look forward, there is always a bitter-sweetness to the departure from a place especially one you have lived in and loved for a very long time.

We had breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. In fact, I also had a pistachio muffin which I had bought from Stop and Shop (another one of my favorite things to eat in Connecticut).We then had two trips to make: one to Mary-Lauren’s porch as she had left some items for me to carry back to Bombay that had been lying in her basement for a while and secondly to our friend, Cathy’s house to pick up bottles of alcohol that had also been left behind with her. With these things in our car, we carried them into Swapna’s place so that we could set down to the daunting task of packing and distributing weight equally among our four suitcases and two carry-ons to make sure we were not overweight. This took a good part of our morning as our suitcases were left downstairs in Swapna’s living room and packing involved bringing all our things downstairs—hence, several trips. However, slowly but surely, we got everything done.

In fact, by the time we finished, it was close to lunch-time. We told Swapna that we wanted to take her and Parth out for lunch, but sadly, she had already made plans to meet a friend for lunch and could not take us up on our offer. However, she was hospitable enough to leave a frozen pizza out for us and in no time at all, Llew and I a pizza lunch as we relaxed until it was time for us to take our showers and leave. Of course, we had said our goodbyes and thanks to Swapna and Parth before they set off for their lunch appointment.

Leaving Connecticut and Arriving at Kennedy Airport:

As our flight departed from Kennedy airport at 7.00 pm, we needed to be at the check-in counter by 5.00 pm. Since we had to give up our rental car at Budget at the airport, we intended to reach the airport at 4.00 pm. and because everyone had told us how awful the traffic on the I-95 is at weekends, we decided to leave the house by 2.30 pm in order to enjoy a last, stress-free drive. I was at the wheel and we did make good time.

When we arrived at the Delta Terminal at JFK, we unloaded our baggage and I stood guard over it outside, while Llew raced off to return our car. It took him almost an hour to return, but when he did, we were able to check in at the drop-off area itself, get our boarding passes, have our baggage weighed and were able to proceed straight to Security. We were still well in time for our flight and sat down to enjoy it fully.

Flight to Los Angeles and a Great Reunion:

It was a smooth and comfortable flight to Los Angeles with darkness falling over the land just about an hour after we were airborne. I did not feel the passage of time at all as I was fully absorbed by Season Five of Yellowstone which I devoured voraciously. I really do enjoy this show very much and binge-watching it is just the way to absorb it. Soft drinks and snacks were passed out but that was it.

We had thick cloud cover upon entry into Los Angeles so that as soon as it cleared, we were on the runway. We were at the baggage carousel retrieving our bags when Chriselle and AJ and their new dog, Gracie, joined us. It was a happy reunion with hugs and kisses and the usual bustle of ensuring all baggage had been received, a cart procured and the walk to the parking lot could be undertaken. It was great to see the new dog who is rumbunctious and full of energy and curiosity (as all puppies are). Before long, we were leaving the airport with AJ behind the wheel. As we had not eaten dinner, we decided to stop at In ‘N Out Burger to pick up burgers (as they are really delicious) and with them in tow, we arrived at our hotel for the night, The Glenmark in Glendale where we had a very comfortable room for the night. We checked in and asked the hotel if we could leave four of our big bags in their storage for the next week as we’d be returning there to check in again in a week’s time. The hotel gladly agreed and we were much relieved as all we had to do was pack small carry-on bags for us to take on our trip. Chriselle and AJ had brought some gifts for us and a care package of nuts and gin and wine and with those thoughtful items left behind for us to enjoy, they bid us goodbye. They would be back at 9.00 am in time to pick us up for the start of our great North Californian Discovery Tour.

And with that, we called it a night and set our alarms to awake in time tomorrow for yet another day of travel adventure.

Until tomorrow, see ya’…