Antarctica Trip - Day 16

The red-eye flight was not conducive to rest because the seats were too narrow, the leg room was scanty and my neighbor was fidgeting.  People kept bumping me throughout the night - at one point, the two people inside the row tried to climb over me “without waking me” but it scared the bejeezus out of me!  After that, I almost gave up altogether and I really didn’t sleep (just some dozing) all night.  As the lights came up (it was still the middle of the night, according to my watch), the flight attendants served breakfast (pastry).  By that point, we were only an hour from Miami and I suddenly I realized I’d have to declare the breakfast sandwich I’d bought in Buenos Aires.  For this reason, I ate it right after the airplane food.  My ears hurt a LOT during the descent.  We landed at 0400 local (“regained” two hours since takeoff).  Almost immediately, people started pushing to get off the aircraft.  I was sympathetic was was also exhausted and barely functional.  Somehow, I made it to the Customs area and passed through quickly (Global Entry) with only a few mental errors (mostly as I was pushing buttons).  Nobody noticed, I guess, and I then walked to baggage claim, retrieved my bag and then took it (through inspection area) to domestic transfers.  This layover involved a bag drop (I never like those) and was walked away without knowing for certain whether I did it right.  Next, I had to make a long walk from international arrivals to domestic departures and then go through another TSA line.  Pre-Check and general were almost exactly the same (the staff gave me a little card, indicating my status, but I don’t think it did much).  All during this time, I felt like I was going through motions like a zombie (TSA lady fussing with me) but I ultimately made it through the processes OK.  After locating my gate (0530), I sat down near a charging port and passed the time with some reading and Duolingo.  I had thought about changing clothes but never did.  Instead, I took some medicine I had for my cold (which was still bothering me) and tried to pass the time.  I don’t think I slept but I was surprised when boarding for my next flight began (0615).  Once again, it was hard to tell what was going on and I ended up just walking towards the gate early - fortunately, they let me on the plane.  My seat on this Boeing 737 was by the window and there were lots of kids sitting near me.  To make matters worse, a huge man came to sit in the middle seat, practically pinning me in there.  This initiated a long, hot and miserable flight.  Meanwhile, other passengers ignoring flight attendants and this resulted in us taking off late (0715).  Fortunately, my body finally decided that I needed sleep and I dozed for the first hour or so of the flight.  Feeling a bit rested, I watched movies.  More things to think about: people were standing in the aisles for most of the flight and the man next to me ended up with a baby in his lap.  Trying to hold on to my wits...  "Food" (snacks) was served mid-flight but I was reminded that I was back in the domestic airline world again.  Bonus: with the window open for arrival, I got good views of Long Island, Manhattan and then pretty houses in Queens.  My ears hurt during descent but it seemed like an improvement on the previous flights.  We landed at JFK at 0945 and, after the plane parked, I saw my bag unloaded from the plane (whew, it made it).  We were at Terminal 8 and it took forever for me to get off the plane because I was in the next to last row.  By the time I reached baggage claim, my bag was already there.  Next, I walked to AirTrain and was able to leave JFK quickly.  Another bonus: my MTA card worked at Jamaica.  I was just about to buy a ticket on the LIRR for Penn Station but then noticed there was one going to Grand Central Station - bought that instead (1040).  After that, I noticed one train departed at 1100 (it made a stop at Woodside) but an earlier one (non-stop).  It was a pretty easy ride after that...  Once I reached Manhattan, I took a long escalator up to the main levels of Grand Central.  Everything looked brand new (I found out later that it was) and I asked for help (preparing for my next visit) in order to duplicate my direct train ride between the station and Jamaica.  After that, it took a long walk before I could exit at East 47th and Lexington Avenue.  Next, I had to walk five blocks south (not too bad) in a light drizzle.  When I reached the Dartmouth Coach stop (1150), I noticed that the bus was already there.  I got permission from the driver to leave my bags onboard.  Since I had almost 90 minutes before we departed, I walked across the street to The Capital Grille so I could get lunch.  Sitting at the bar, I had a nice conversation with the bartender (Albert).  I was the only customer for most of my meal (Caesar Salad and some grilled chicken over risotto).  The food was very good!  I also had a Blue Moon in a tall glass and ended up chatting with other guests before I was finished.  At 1300, I walked back across the street and boarded the Dartmouth Coach.  We were on our way at 1330.  Traffic was tough, especially leaving Manhattan, and it was slow going after we got on I-95.  Meanwhile, I napped sporadically for over an hour.  While awake, I watched movies and caught up on a bit of reading.  After entering Massachusetts, I got some snacks (from the back of the bus) to eat for my dinner (1700).  We encountered more traffic near Springfield and then had to do a driver swap north of Brattleboro.  We finally crossed into New Hampshire (1845) and arrived at the  Dartmouth campus shortly afterwards.  As promised, Monte picked me up and took me back to my condo (1900).  We arrived to a fire truck and ambulances blocking our parking lot but (fortunately?) they weren't there for my condo...  Thanking Monte, I started teleworking (prep for tomorrow), got my mail, sent a “Smurfey picture” to the girls and unpacked a little.  Went to bed at 2230, probably as tired as I've ever been.  What an amazing trip!  So glad that I was able to visit the Seventh Continent, experience a world-class cruise line (Viking), meet some wonderful people and experience many active adventures.  This adventure is not likely to be topped by anything for the rest of my life unless I'm given a chance to visit Space or the Moon.  On earth, however, the itinerary was unbeatable!