Had to drive to the north suburbs of Boston today (for work) and left my house at 0555. For the first time, I drove (via I-89, NH-3A, I-93) to Massachusetts during a typical commute period for my neighbors. Not surprisingly, I hit traffic as I crossed the state line. Through stop and go gridlock, I continued south to I-495 and then traveled to Burlington, MA. I arrived at the FAA Regional Office at 0800 and then took care of some work phone calls. Between 0815 and 0845, I was able to pick up new ID Card from the nice people who worked there. After a few more work calls, I drove north, towards home. Last night, I'd decided that I should stop for a walk on another one of the trails listed "New Hampshire Rail Trail Challenge" and my intended target was a Rail Trail at the Manchester Airport and I traveled via US-3A and Everett Turnpike. After finding the trail crossing on Harvey Road (0930), I parked and attended a meeting on Zoom (finishing just after 1000). When I was ready for my walk, I looked around at my surroundings: I was parked on the edge of the Manchester Airport property (southern end) and at the western end of the Londonderry Rail Trail. From the internet, I could tell that I'd have a chance to walk for about 4.5 miles to the southeast and, because the weather was so nice, I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity. The trail was paved and very well traveled - the latter point made sense because the weather was awesome! There were marker stones with mileage to “L” and “M” and lots of signs & benches. I thoroughly enjoyed my 9ish mile walk over just under three hours (I learned later that the railroad bed is part of the 120+ mile Granite State Rail Trail Project - Lebanon to Salem - so I was really just continuing my NRT walk to Boston). After getting done (1300), I drove around to the north side of the airport and took NH-28 to the Golden Corral near the Mall of New Hampshire. Using a gift card I got on Veterans Day, I was able to eat a (free) lunch there (1315). It was strange to be in a buffet restaurant after all the chaos and special rules of COVID-19 but the food portions were great, as always! I wrapped up my (filling) meal at around 1415 and headed for home, using I-293, I-93, NH-3A and I-89. I made several work phone calls on the way so the time passed quickly - I was in my condo by 1530. This was a nice diversion from my typical work routine but I'm glad I don't have to drive to the Boston area every morning!
