The road goes ever on…
He did not tell Gandalf, but as he was speaking a great desire to follow Bilbo flamed up in his heart — to follow Bilbo, and even perhaps to find him again. It was so strong that it overcame his fear: he could almost have run out there and then down the road without his hat, as Bilbo had done on a similar morning long ago. — LR §1.02.178.
I left my hats at home, intentionally, though I did leave behind a couple of items I’d meant to bring. Delta Airlines warned me that because of “increased travel,” I should report to the airport in Burlington three hours before my flight. Knowing it was Burlington, we took that with a grain of salt and arrived at about 2¼ hours early. Snow plows slowed us down; they and the 5ºF temperature (-15ºC, for those of you sensible enough to use Celsius!) reminded me that I shouldn’t feel too homesick!
But Burlington being Burlington, Delta’s counter didn’t even open until fifteen minutes later — exactly two hours before take-off. As it was, I was fourth in line. TSA was friendly and calm, and they didn’t make me take off my shoes or my belt (or my overshirt with metal buttons) or even empty out my carry-on luggage. May the rest of my trip go as smoothly!
The trade-off to flying from Burlington is that there are very few flights: only two each day, for example, to JFK. Though I managed to get a seat on the (very full) 11:04 flight, I’m now facing more than a ten-hour layover in JFK. Fortunately, Terminal 4 seems pretty sane. Just as well, since my connecting flight (non-stop to Lima) leaves at 23:30.…