On the Road Again

I was not happy! It was 1 AM and we were somewhere near Logan airport in Boston (we hoped). We had arrived in Boston two hours ago we still were no closer to finding our bed for the night. Holly had heard me use all the colorful language in my vocabulary and we were lost.

It had started out just as planned. We left Maine at 8:30 and had headed for Boston where we were to spend the night before our morning flight to Orlando. We had the directions to our hotel that we had printed from the hotels website (or so we thought). The first thing we noticed as we arrived in Boston is that our directions abruptly ended and left us on 93 heading north with no further guidance. But that didn't seem so bad as we saw our hotel (so we thought) from the interstate and we just had to figure out how to get there.

We took the next exit and began winding around trying to figure out how to get back to the hotel. It took only a few minutes and a couple of turn arounds but we found it and we thought we would soon be drifting off to sleep. Our first clue something was not right was the puzzled look on the hotel clerks face as he looked for our reservation number in the computer. Lucky for us I had our confirmation number and I knew we would be all set even if they had lost the reservation. Well..... not exactly, having given the clerk the reservation number he told us we were at the wrong hotel. We were at the correct chain, just the wrong location. The internet direction have sent us to the wrong hotel in Boston.

The clerk provided us with new directions and an assurance that it was only a few minutes away. So off we went again in our quest to find a place to sleep. All we had to do is get to the airport (where our hotel was, go figure) and that should be easy right?

We missed a turn. Damn! Ok, ok, we will just circle around and try and get it from the other direction. Well if you have ever been in Boston you know it is just not that easy. I got back on the interstate heading in the opposite direction and the next thing we know we are passing the "wrong hotel" again. Ok, that is easy then, we will just start over with the directions and this time we will not miss our turn.

We didn't miss our turn. We couldn't have missed it because there now was two police cars, lights flashing and a big illuminated arrow blocking our intended route. They had closed the ramp for construction. We would have to seek an alternative route.

Holly asked the cop for directions. He said it was easy. "Take the second right and follow the signs to the airport". We took the second right. There were no signs. It was now midnight. We drove, we looked, we drove some more. I needed gas.

The Iranian at the gas station told Holly "take thee street". Huh?
"Take thee street"?
"No, take thee street"!
"Thee street"?
"No D!! street, it is right there" pointing
"ohhh D street, thank you"

Refueled we were off again. We turned on D street and low and behold after a few blocks there were signs showing the way to the airport. Yeah, we would soon be sleeping. We went to the airport. We didn't see our hotel but we remembered the clerk told us we had to go past the airport and get on 1A.

We went past the airport, we found 1A. We had a choice, 1A North or 1A South. Fifty-fifty chance, ninety percent chance we will choose wrong. We chose wrong. We went south and that is how we found ourselves in some dark part of Boston at 1AM trying to figure out how to get back to the airport. We drove, I swore, we drove some more. Not a hint anywhere on how to get back to the airport. At times, I could see the airport but there was no way to physically get there.

Then in an act of incredible male humility I did the unthinkable, I stopped at a police station, went inside and asked for directions. OK, we both went inside and asked for directions but the fact that I actually went in also was incredible. After a conference of Boston's finest and new set of directions we were off again.

One turn on a non-descript small street, one on ramp and we were on 1A North and heading to our hotel. I have never been so happy to see a Holiday Inn sign.

We checked in. No problem. We went to our 11th floor room. Our key didn't work. We went back to the lobby and got a new key. Back to the 11th floor. Our key didn't work. We considered sleeping in the hall. I called the front desk from my cell. They decide to move our room. They came with the key, it actually opens a door. We see a bed and we are happy.