Shockingly there were no direct flights from Chile to New Hampshire (my new “home” for the holiday since my parents moved a few months ago). There weren’t even any indirect flights, believe it or not, and I sent my mom a screenshot of Skyscanner’s “no flights found” search results as proof. Naturally, I then decided to go with the cheapest flight that would get me close (Boston), which included a 7 hour layover in Lima. The Lima airport was not my jam so I busted out to explore the city a bit. 
My few hours only made me want to go back for more- both to Lima and Peru as a whole. I’ve also heard lots of rave reviews about Argentina and am officially adding both countries to my “someday but hopefully soon” travel destination list.
My dad gamely picked me up at the airport and we spent the drive to NH catching up- so much to catch up on between their move and my travels! When I got “home” my mom was clearly in her glory, having all five grandchildren and three “children” under one roof, their new roof. [Sidenote: do I call my parent’s new house “home?” It is not my home and has never been my home, so I guess not?] Here are the wild n’ crazy kiddos: 
Yes, it was a smidge chaotic as well, with the little ones having just been reunited, so I was not super-sad to pilot Uber New Hampshire a few hours later to meet my besties (Maegan and Nichole) for a birthday celebration for Maegan. I’ve known Mae and Cole since I was 10 and 2 years old, respectfully. 
Those additional eight years I’ve know Cole have become pretty much insignificant over-time and the three of us are the closest that friends can be. (Minus Cole and I playing much tag and Red Rover in our bowl haircuts and Velcro sneakers- you really missed out Mae!). So, this was a big bday for Maegan, (sort of like her 30th) and her amazing hubby, Ken (aka Pic), planned an entire extravaganza that, conveniently for me, was taking place in New Hampshire- while I was in New Hampshire! 
We enjoyed drinks and an amazing dinner, that could not have been more perfect. They even cracked a yolk in the middle of my pasta and stirred it in when served…Yum! 
It was such a great night catching up and celebrating Maegan- one of nights where your heart sings with happiness (okay, that could really not be more cheesy but it’s kinda true). It reminded me that no matter where my travels take me or what people I meet along the way, nothing will ever be the same as time with my first and best friends. And, my parents moving out of my hometown doesn’t change that at all (huge phew!).
So, my bedroom at my parent’s place involved a super comfy Murphy Bed. And I loved it…until I woke up at 7am the next morning to my eight year-old nephew, Jack, trying to close the bed with me sleeping in it! He was not successful and it was actually very funny. I spent the next few days enjoying the beauty of New Hampshire and QT with the fam. This included many hikes, delicious meals (thanks, Mumsie!), games of Aggrevation (the trendy game for the 4-8 year old cohort apparently…and it’s truly aggravating!), and many, many laughs. 
There really is no place like home. [Sidenote: yes, I changed my mind while writing this…my parents’ new house is home after all. I realized it’s the family who make it so, not the brick and mortar or location].
On the Wednesday before turkey day my five year-old nephew, Felix, and I embarked on a short road trip to Beverly (my hometown) for an annual apple pie baking “contest” with Nichole and Maegan (more like we bake apple pies together and trash talk each other’s). While I clearly piloted the journey to Bev-town, Felix played a key role as navigator extraordinaire. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. The little dude sat in his car seat directly behind the drivers seat, but leaned in towards the middle seat so his head was sideways and he had a clear view of the road. He then proceeded to direct me (I’m talking turn by turn directions) using only route numbers. Example: “Auntie Teha, we need to get on Route 101 to 95. It’s exit 6.” On the way back he did the same thing- in the dark! I questioned him once (the exit number didn’t seem right) and he just shook his head, knowingly. Sure enough, Felix was correct! It was uncanny. Google Maps, be gone with you!
So, back to apple pies…we’ve been doing this for about 20 years now, believe it or not (yes, of course this means we started at age 10). The baking has taken many forms, from during winter break when in college and catching up on our antics while cutting apples, to having little kiddos eager to help. Here’s Navigator Felix putting some finishing touches on the pie- he’s a man of many talents. 
This year I brought my A-game (not having a job increases time available to focus on apple pies), and according to our crowd-sourced Facebook voting process…I won! (BTW, voting included both our high school calculus teacher and field hockey coach- gotta love small town crowd-sourcing).
Fast-forward to the eating of the pie, which happened on Thanksgiving Day, following a delicious meal at my Aunt Lindi’s house (another New Hampshire transplant). Here’s Hugo, Nan and my Dad watching some pre-dinner football. Hugie was especially into it (for about five minutes). 
I was especially impressed that Auntie L kept her cool during a minor candied yam issue, and I think we were all laughing too hard to do anything about it! 
My 92 year-old Nan was also in attendance and I was happy she agreed to spend two nights at our “home” as she usually prefers her own. Here she is catching up on my blog. 
My sister and I took Nan to the spa for a massage on the day after Thanksgiving- her second massage ever. Her first was on her 92nd birthday and she loved it, so it was time to bring on number two! This one was equally well-received and the three of us were pampered with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries after the treatments (tea for Tobi since she’s preggers with number three- less than a month to go!)
Then, before I knew it I was scrambling to pack and headed off to the airport (two things I’ve done a LOT of lately). Goodbyes were bittersweet, as it had been a great week with the fam but I was excited for my next adventure to Vietnam and Cambodia. And the next time I see my sister she’ll have a new bambino in her tribe!
My journey started out with some “excitement” when I went to check in and the ticket agent asked for my visa. Um…visa? Did I need one of those? The answer was yes. Whoops. The ticket agent asked if I was just going to go home and I said I was going to try to figure it out. But before doing that I posted this to my Instagram story (priorities!) 
My “figuring it out” involved some quick googling, multiple calls to companies in Vietnam to who claimed to be able to procure visas in 15 minutes. I sent in one application, waited 15 minutes, and received nothing back. I finally stumbled across a company run by a gent named Tony who promised to hook it up for me. Tony was true to his word- phew! [note to self- in the future check if you need a visa before the day of your travel. Duh!]. I was so happy to get on the plane that I didn’t think about my 10 hour layover in Doha, Qatar until I landed. Then I thought about it…Ten hours is a long time! Again, I turned to Mr. Google who informed me that Qatar Airlines offers free three-hour city tours for passengers with long layovers! What a relief! They even provided a free 24-hour visa and an English speaking guide. It was fascinating to learn more about the country (only 2.6 million residents and 85% are ex-pats, mostly from Asian countries). Qatar has a lot of new fancy desert-style developments , with more underway (much of it in the form of 5-star hotels and luxury shopping) and we learned that it’s cheaper to buy a liter of gas than water! 
Our last stop was a local market where we had some time to explore and take in the sites and sounds.
I’m currently on my third flight of my 30+ hour journey to Vietnam, currently headed from Bangkok to Hanoi. There’s a 12-hour time difference from New Hampshire, so my body isn’t quite sure what is going on, but is definitely wanting more sleep. I think I’ll do that now. Can’t be tired starting a new adventure!