Kiwis and Fairy Bread

22 June 2026

Woke up to find Glynn and Joanna already gone and on their way back east. Mike received an email notification from American Airlines stating that flights would likely be delayed due to weather. No charges would apply if we wanted to make a change. Researched options on the website. Called customer service which was no help whatsoever and after a frustrating twenty minutes I tersely thanked the woman for her time and hung up.

Long discussion amongst the three of us about all the possibilities. The problem would be getting out of Chicago and back to New Jersey. Mike found a Chicago airport hotel room at a good rate and we booked it. If our flight was delayed several hours, we could go and relax there. If it was delayed until morning, we would at least get a decent night’s sleep.

Farewell to the house and to my new friend Joy. Driving by Wild Crumb we found no line and even a parking space. We decided to stock up for the long day of travel ahead. Congratulated the staff on their James Beard Award. The man behind the counter beamed. Shortbread, sourdough rolls, ham and gruyere croissants. And may I just say WOW! Really incredible taste, texture, made with quality ingredients. Worthy of the award. Worth a trip to Bozeman for those baked goods alone.

To the airport and gate with the usual amount of hassle. Off and on again at O’Hare in Chicago which was bursting with passengers. In the end we were only delayed about two hours. Spoke to many people who had been stuck for a full day or more. Arrived back in Somerville safe and sound at 2am. Could have been so much worse.

And now, as I am finally getting all of this down, we are at the tail end of a blistering heat wave where temperatures reached 105 F (40.5 C). Very hard to believe that we were in the cold of Montana just two weeks ago.

It was yet another wonderful trip. Where should we go next? We have no firm plans of yet. Any suggestions from our readers?