While I loved my time exploring Aroostook County, I couldn’t help but feel that I was being watched. Or, more accurately, violated due to the Presque Isle airport incident. 

As a result of that incident, I had a tense feeling the entire trip and really couldn’t enjoy it the way I wanted to. 

My conversations during my travels around the county felt forced and unnatural. 

And that’s where I get most of my energy and excitement—connecting with others and essentially getting a download of the local culture, music, food, and customs around me. 

Nevertheless, for obvious reasons, that’s why I was even more anxious and anticipatory about my departure at the same airport that started it all. What would happen? Would I be held at check-in? What about TSA? 

From check-in to plane takeoff, it felt like I was in a scene from the movie Argo during takeoff. I was just praying to get in the air and out of Presque Isle airport’s airspace. Maybe I would have felt differently if I had left from another airport. But this was the airport that started everything.

I was riddled with anxiety about being watched. Alas, the journey continues!

Introduction

This blog post is the second in a series of 25 posts documenting my JetBlue experience across 25 individual flights as I pursue the JetBlue 25/25 challenge.

The challenge involves flying to 25 unique JetBlue destinations on JetBlue metal. I’ve decided to make this even more exciting by visiting locations I’ve always wanted to explore, turning it into an Amazing Race-style adventure.

By the end of the challenge, I hope to earn 350K reward miles and 25 years of Mosaic status.

Welcome to Part 2.

Flight Details

Route: Presque Isle, ME (PQI) → Boston, MA (BOS)
Aircraft: Embraer 190 (15 years old)
Registration: N317JB
Nickname: “Déjà Blue”
Flight Time: 1 hour 5 minutes (completed)
Status: 28 minutes early

Pre-Departure

When I was at the Acadian Village—a museum memorializing the descendants of 17th and 18th century French settlers who were forcibly expelled from their homeland by the British—I talked to a few of the workers. One led me to believe that the Presque Isle plane coming from Boston is constantly delayed. However, their co-worker seemed to disagree on the authenticity of that tardiness rate. 

So, who was right? Well, thank the universe for Flighty.

Thanks to Flighty, I was able to keep track of the incoming flight to PQI.

Note: Flighty is an iOS flight tracker app that automatically adds your flights from your confirmation e-mails or if you forward your airline confirmation. You can see how much time you have between layovers and even see your inbound aircraft, plus additional wayfinding information..

Normally, before a flight, I open up Flighty–my trusty flight tracking app–to look at details of the incoming flight. This is mainly out of curiosity or for selfish reasons, like grabbing another beer at a brewery as I did in Dallas before Ubering to the airport.

Here–at an airport that sees just two JetBlue flights a day–I was really really relying on Flighty to ascertain whether I would be able to leave Northern Maine or have to plan for a few extra days or have a fall back plan. 

Note: I did not have a fallback plan.

Luckily, the fear subdued when Flighty showed the plane had arrived at PQI and was just taking a nap on the tarmac. 

It would be a few hours later before I would see the plane about to wake up from its slumber and accept its next round of passengers.

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Check-In Experience

The check-in experience is available at the kiosk or the two JetBlue counters.

Gate 1 Guide

For this flight, we departed from the singular gate at Presque Isle Airport (Gate 1).

What you need to know is that there is no room at this terminal/gate combo. I mean zero physical, let alone personal space.

Think of this Presque Isle Gate and TSA scanning machines like a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through. But the drive-through is inside the restaurant.

The two waiting areas and their seating arrangements are literally almost right up against the scanning machines. The other waiting area is smaller and closer to the door that opens to the tarmac.

Talk about small.

Wait, I didn’t say how small. It’s so small that if you have to go to the bathroom, you have to exit the gate AND TSA—which, remember, are attached—and then rescan and come back through security. Forget it if you have any urinary or digestive issues. It sounds like an ADA violation waiting to happen.

However, if you’re traveling with family, then you are in luck since you can leave your luggage with them.

If you’re traveling solo like me, then you have to take your luggage with you—luckily I just had my one Pioneer bag—and then go through TSA again.

Note: If you are taking the 5:45 AM flight from PQI → BOS, then make sure to arrive early. There is only ONE full-body scanner and one metal detector. As it gets closer to boarding time, a queue starts to form. And remember, it’s a small airport.

Aside from that, Gate 1 in the morning is busy. Compare this to the night I arrived when there were barely enough passengers to balance the weight of the aircraft. 

Here, even though our flight had an early departure of 5:45AM, more and more people started to fill this finite space called a gate. 

In fact, it felt like there were too many people and not all fit on the plane.

Waiting to Board

As I waited to board, I couldn’t help but replay scenes from Argo with Ben Affleck and Enemy of the State with Gene Hackman and Will Smith.

That unnerving feeling of being watched wouldn’t dissipate until I was out of Presque Isle airport’s airspace.

Flight Experience

As we geared for takeoff—I couldn’t help but think about how I would remember this experience during the rest of the day as I explored more airports and additional cities.

From my window seat, I watched our airplane line up on the runway and then watched the lane dividers move faster and faster until the lines blurred and then disappeared out of nowhere—indicating we were moving faster and faster. Within moments we were airborne.

I have to say at 5:40 AM—the flight departed early—there’s a lot of beauty in the Maine sky. Just watching the sunrise lightening up the sky was a moment in itself.

Out in the distance during our flyover, you could see Mars Hill in the background. That town–like many towns in Northern Maine–is only a few miles from the Canadian border–and for a few hours, it became my impromptu mini remote work stomping ground. It was also where I was able to finally get those Northern Maine chips, Fox Family Chips, and BBQ from a Maple Pig food truck.

As I looked around Mars Hill, I saw the forested area that makes up Northern Maine.

And finally, it clicked. Remember, before, I couldn’t even see the lights that you would normally see sparkle in the night. Instead it was pitch black darkness. And now I could see why. We were flying over a forested area and eventually would reach Piscataquis County.

As we get closer to the coast of Maine I check Flighty and see that we are closer to Maine’s MidCoast with views of Mile Beach in Reid State Park and Popham Beach.

This flight was a little substandard compared to the flight I arrived on.

My seat, near the window, wasn’t clean. And the tray was dirty and sticky against the seat backing. It made that peeling sound you might hear in summer. The one where your skin peels off a leather car seat on a hot summer day.

Yeah, that one.

Nevertheless, service was good and attentive. However, the snack selection was a little sad and not the same as the previous flight’s service.

This flight, however, was more manageable. The aircraft wasn’t speeding at almost 600mph like the previous one that was trying to make up lost time. This one instead was going at a moderate speed of 482 mph at 25,455 ft.

As we approached Boston, I couldn’t help but glance at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Salem, and Marblehead.

And a little further you can see Nahant and the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation.

And what’s going on here? The marsh has no water? Maybe low tide?

And now it’s time to deplane and get ready for the next flight.

We’re in Boston!

Boston Logan Airport (BOS) Overview

I felt relieved to see a familiar landscape that conjured positive memories of my time in Boston. 

Note: For getting in and around Boston for free–this only counts when you leave the airport–check out my guide here

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Challenge Progress Tracker

Tips, Tricks, and Logistics

📊 CHALLENGE STATISTICS

Progress Bar: [██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 2/25 Flights (8% Complete)

Flights Completed: 2/25
Unique Airports: 2/25
Total Miles Flown: 664 miles
TrueBlue Points Earned: 733 points
Total Delays: 29 minutes
On-Time Performance: 50%

✅ COMPLETED DESTINATIONS

✓ Presque Isle, ME (PQI) – July 20, 2025

✓ Boston, MA (BOS) – July 24, 2025

🎯 REMAINING DESTINATIONS (24)

□Nantucket (ACK) 

□ Austin (AUS) 

☑ Boston (BOS)

□ Burlington (BTV) 

□ Charleston (CHS) 

□ Denver (DEN) 

□ Fort Lauderdale (FLL) 

□ Hartford (BDL) 

□ White Plains (HPN) 

□ Las Vegas (LAS) 

□ Los Angeles (LAX) 

□ Nashville (BNA) 

□ New Orleans (MSY) 

□ New York JFK (JFK) 

□ Orlando (MCO) 

□ Phoenix (PHX) 

☑ Presque Isle (PQI) 

□ Portland, ME (PWM) 

□ Portland, OR (PDX) 

□ Raleigh-Durham (RDU) 

□ Richmond (RIC)

□ San Diego (SAN) 

□ San Francisco (SFO)

□ Savannah (SAV) 

□ Seattle (SEA) 

□ Tampa (TPA) 

□ Washington DCA (DCA) 

□ West Palm Beach (PBI)

💰 CHALLENGE ECONOMICS

Flight #1 Cost: $62
Total Spent: $243.48
Average per Flight: $296.36
Projected Total Cost: $7,409
Points Value Earned: $10.26 (at 1.4¢/point)
Cost per Destination: $296.36

🏆 REWARD MILESTONES

□ 15 Destinations = 150,000 bonus points (13 to go)
□ 20 Destinations = +200,000 bonus points (18 to go)
□ 25 Destinations = 350K bonus points + 25 years Mosaic status (23 to go)

Current Points Balance: 733
Projected Total Points: 350,733 (including bonuses)
Projected Points Value: $4,910 (at 1.4¢/point)

⏰ DEADLINE COUNTDOWN

Days Remaining: 161 days
Challenge Ends: December 31, 2025

✈️ FLIGHT EXPERIENCE SCORES

Flight #1 (PQI→BOS): ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)

• On-Time: ⭐ (28m early)
• Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Comfort: ⭐⭐⭐
• Airport Experience: ⭐
• Overall: “Departing Discomfort”

📈 CHALLENGE INSIGHTS

Best Performing Hub: PQI
Worst Performing Hub: TBD
Average Delay: N/A
Most Common Aircraft: Embraer 190 (100%)
Preferred Seat: TBD

🎯 MY JETBLUE 25/25 CHALLENGE

Started: July 20, 2025
Progress: 2/25 destinations
Status: “Moving… slowly”
Follow: @homsontravels #JetBlue2525

Trip Soundtrack

Because every adventure needs a soundtrack, each of my trips comes with a theme song. And for this trip's anthem? Well, it's...

Next Flight Preview

Flight #3: Boston Logan (BOS) → Nantucket (ACK)
Aircraft: Embraer 190 (16 years old)
Nickname: “Blue Orleans”
Status: Aircraft arriving from Syracuse (SYR)

Flighty shows the plane in the air and landing in BOS and ready for the next departure. 

My hopes for Flight #3:

1. On-time departure
2. An uneventful airport experience

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the JetBlue 25/25 Challenge!