Just packing in the hotel room
we are heading for Boston via Harrisburg ( about 477 nm ) pick up fuel then on to Norwood Boston (255 nm) weather looks ok to begin with but strong headwinds
trouble is waiting for bloody Dorian to clear off Nantucket
So delaying to arrive Boston after 5 pm
Hope that does it but the wind should be straight down the runway
Just swapping out the warm weather gear for the thermals even though its 22c in Boston – it gets colder from there on
Well dont go thinking this has been a tourist rest few days. Just thought I’d check about the planned arrangements for passing customs at Houlton on the Canadian border (a very convenient fuel stop which give good reserves for the onward to Goose BaY)
the customs agent Josh had a hissy fit and thought he couldnt understand Houlton as he’d never done it before so I get passed on to Donna Kavanaugh (btw dont ever use Deringer as a customs agent – they have developed themselves into an extension of bureaucracy and do not listen or help the customer)
Donna Kebab turned out to be the classic ‘mom’ in a management position. Everything which came out of her mouth was an absolute law (even if she also clearly didnt understand things fully) But dear friends she was that plague of modern life a ‘compliance officer’ – you know if there is not already a rule they’ll make it up. Absolutely asserted that it was not legal to use Houlton to export an aircraft (not true but a convenient assertion for her) . I called Houlton customs and had the great fortune to speak to a lovely guy called officer Fitzpatrick. Classic ‘can do’ US male. much to-ing and froing – 2 hours yesterday 4 hours this morning and after some decidedly acerbic exchanges with Donna Kebab who seems to think she’s a government official not a customs agent who is supposed to try to ease the paying customers passage. What a perfect example of the Peter principle.
Eventually I spoke to officer Fitzpatrick and he countermanded Donna Kebab and emails me to say I’m good to go.
God preserve us from bossy women in management positions.
Travelling like this throws up loads of other issues – I spent some time on the phone trying to sort out why Moneycorp had suspended my preloaded dollar card – it turned out it was because someone tried to refund part of a previous transaction. Moneycorp call centre very rude and autocratic – promised a call back from a supervisor which never occurred. No empathy with the fact that I am travelling and cannot deliver a trail of documentation (probably another ‘compliance officer’ somewhere in Moneycorp). DONT recommend MONEYCORP
Well rant over but you get the picture – not left the room in 36 hours for admin issues
Just needed to remind myself what it was really like