Greetings to all. I always hate it when people I love report that it is sunny and gorgeous in Palm Springs or Tucson while we suffer with gray skies and sleet in Boston. Well, I am now one of those people. It's sunny and dry and deliciously warm in Taipei this morning. The sky is clear and cloudless and people are wearing shorts and tee shirts.The flight was easy. As long as usual, but with the wonderful reward of exiting customs to see Jon and Ben waiting there.I really want to say a few things about what you get when you save up hundreds of thousands of frequent flier miles and cash them in for a round-the-world business class ticket. Oh, may the rest of the many flights we will be taking rise to this level of luxury. I got to take Japan Airline's 787 Dreamliner from Logan to Narita (Tokyo). While I don't think the gift bags of Harbor Sweets I brought to give to the cabin crew made that much difference, I was indeed treated like a princess. The plane is sleek and as comfortable and smooth as flying on your living room couch. Only during post-journey editing of this post did I realize that my flight on the 787 was one of the plane's last flights before the entire 787 fleet was grounded for 3 months because of the propensity of its batteries to erupt in flames. In fact, the first fire was on the very same 787 I took to Tokyo, while it was sitting at Logan after its return flight from leaving me in Tokyo.As we flew over the Barrow Strait, the sun was a flat, fiery glowing disk of neon red that sank very slowly into the dusky horizon. Amazingly, about 30 minutes later it appeared once again in almost the same place and began to rise. Viewed through the adjustable polarized filter of the plane's window (shades on planes are so yesterday), it was an surreal sight. I will attempt post some photos later ... still navigating WordPress, the program I am using for creating this blog.During the much shorter (4 hours vs 18) flight from Tokyo to Taipei I could tell I wasn't on an American carrier when my carry-on with all my camera equipment wouldn't fit in the overhead and the flight attendant simply strapped it into the seat next to me.More later - too nice to be inside.