All set

  It's with all this in mind that I started to plan a trip to give me time to reflect on the struggles of the last 12 months, to regain some perspective and a baptism of fire for my new life as a solo traveler. I did fly to the US a few times a year on my own anyway so I am not a complete novice at this.

I am a bit nervous about leaving the pets for 2 weeks, the cats were fairly disturbed by the last 3 weeks of Dunc's life, a continuous stream of carers 3 times a day, hospice nurse, Dr, and friends and relatives, compared to our normally quiet and peaceful life it must have been a trauma for them. 2 of them just ran and hid upstairs but the 19year old blind and deaf cat was just thoroughly confused by the new variety of people, the room being rearranged for the hospital bed, at one stage he correctly identified the catheter drain as a bag of pee and tiddled beside it. Since then there has been a battle for the sole lap to sit on and for my attention.
  Obviously with it being Easter the chickens are getting to the stage where they start thinking "wow, look at the tail feathers on that"  they could do with a cockerel to keep them happy but I am not having some big randy bird corrupting my girls, not in my garden. So hormones rule in the garden, lots of squabbling and pecking, changes of friendship groups and one of them even went for the cat when she dared to get too close. Actually come to think of it it's the same as teaching teenagers, must remember to watch them next spring term to see if the girls are more trouble that time of year, some girls can be trouble any time of year, I know, I was a stroppy teenager at school too.

Anyway, the trip
Flying, sightseeing and a visit to my friend in New Jersey were priorities, with some good fares available for ex EU trips across the Atlantic I was obviously not taking the direct route, having lost the GC due to not flying for a year I would like to get it back and see somewhere outside the airport.
Finally settled on LHR-LUX-LHR-BOS-LAX-HNL   -LAX-MIA-PHL for the outward and PHL-CLT-ATL-LHR-BRU-LHR for in the inward, why take 2 flights when you can take 12. Why settle for 280TP when you can have 1330.

Dunc would have been impressed, Dunc would have been on it with me, I am taking some of his ashes for my friends garden, he was cremated with his passport in his pocket so he is all set to go.
We are all set to go