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Back in 2015 I finally embarked on what had been a dream for so long: a three month road trip across America. And the first stop on the list? Boston!
Looking back on my first attempt at writing a travel blog I have discovered that Stumbling Across The World began much sooner than I realised.
When I imagined writing my first ever post for my journaling blog back in 2015, I had rather hoped it would be a boring affair about how we arrived in Boston with no problem whatsoever.
How innocent and naïve I was back then…
My journey into travel blogging was it seems forever destined to be a collection of stumbles, right from the get go.
As I plan my next big adventure, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on how I got here.
I hope you enjoy reading as I go right back to the trip that started it all…
Greetings from Boston!
January 13th 2015 – January 17th 2015
What can I say? It was all going so well!!
It was smooth sailing from the train to the airport, the flights were pretty much on time and the delays that we did have actually worked to our advantage!
So we end up arriving at Logan airport only half an hour before Lisa’s flight gets in, meaning we don’t have to wait long to unite and begin the first leg of our epic American Adventure!
Despite feeling travel sick after the first flight overall the journey wasn’t too bad.
Plus, we got some unexpected entertainment on our stopover in Reykjavik.
(Sidebar: Did you know Icelandair planes have an Aurora Borealis effect in the cabin during take-off and landing? Pretty cool right?!)
Hayley left our side for all of three minutes in the waiting area when an announcement went out calling her to the Icelandair security desk.
Our shared looks of incredulity confirmed we all were thinking:
“How? How has she gotten in trouble already? We’ve not even made it to America yet!!”
It was of course just her luck that she had been randomly selected off our flight for a security pat down. At least they told her it was random… 😉
After that brief interlude of hilarity and teasing, (and having drugged myself up on a variety of painkillers and anti-nausea medication) we carried on our way.
Miraculously I sleep most of the second flight, except when watching Finding Nemo, and we arrive with no further transport issues.
American Arrival
We have to queue for ages to get through passport control, which always seems to happen to me when I’ve been on long haul flights, but I can’t fault the airport. All of us looked on in awe at the colour coded line system they have at Boston. By far the easiest to navigate airport I’ve ever been in!
We get through security no issues, meet Lisa, scoff some Dunkin’ Doughnuts and carry on our way with ease.
A shuttle bus to the T, Blue Line T into Boston, and we get a little lost as one does when coming out of an unfamiliar station, but quickly rectify ourselves.
And we take our first steps in the city! It’s night and a freezing -8 degrees centigrade, but happily we quickly find the door of the realty company with whom I’ve booked our first Airbnb.
We used Airbnb for almost all our accomodation and it was completely worth it (even when things went awry1)
If you don’t have the app already check it out:
The access code to the office door works, I go inside, find the mailbox, open it up, and… no keys!
Thus, our successful journey comes to grinding halt.
Let the Stumbling Begin!
I had called the company yesterday and got the code to the door, so they knew we were coming. Yet my promised envelope of entrance unlocking devices was nowhere to be found.
Trying to stay calm, I call them up using Hayley’s phone as she’s the only one with a roaming plan (note to self: invest in a roaming SIM next time!). Eventually they pick up, and I’m greeted by this useless woman at the end of the phone who has no answers for us and can’t get hold of the apartment owner.
She says she’ll keep trying to get in touch with the owner but beyond that was of no help at all.
Being the drama queen that I am, I just sat on the floor and stubbornly refused to move, whilst racking my brain for a possible solution.
(Something I learnt from this trip about myself is that when I have organised everything, I then feel responsible for everything. This does not help keep my anxiety at bay when things inevitably go wrong. Because I now know this, my next trip has been split on the planning front 50/50!)
Not trusting this person on the end of the phone at all, I try to call the Airbnb host myself, but I also get no answer.
The others are still standing outside through all this, freezing their poor tired toes off. And so we come to a typically British unanimous decision:
Find a pub!
Off we trot down the street to where the inaccessible apartment is, and spot a nearby sign on the next street over declaring ‘Cocktails’. Result.
Cheers (in Boston, get it?!)
In we go to find this poor bartender who had been having a nice quiet night, now faced with a troop of weary travellers and their luggage.
I greet him and simply say “We are not having a good day. I need a drink!” To which his wonderful response was, “You are in the right place”.
We take up stools at the bar and get in the drinks, venting our woes to the very understanding barman. Bless him.
(In my memory of this moment he now is a full stereotype with a cloth wiping glasses as we talk).
Once my insanely strong fruit martini is in front of me I get back on the phone to the realty company.
Eventually I get an answer and to my delight it’s a completely different person to whom I was speaking to before and she was much more helpful. After another five minutes on hold the host is connected and she is very apologetic because she got her days muddled up.
She agrees to stay on the phone with me until I am in the apartment.
I wasn’t about to let an actual helpful human being off the phone at this point, so Alex and I fling on our coats and under her instruction head back out into the arctic night and walk over to the apartment itself.
Eventually we manage to get into a lockbox outside the apartment with the master keys inside. It takes us much longer than I care to admit to get through the two doors standing between us and success, but we do get inside!
Having achieved this great feat we turn on the lights and then head back to the bar to share the news of our triumph!
I down the rest of my martini and we speed to what will be our home till Friday.
Full of relief and coming down from what I now recognise as an anxiety attack, I stay in the apartment whilst the others go on a snack run to the 7/11 on the corner, fully intending to go to sleep.
However, this is when my martini kicked in…
A different kind of stumbling…
Stumbling around the apartment alone I tipsily opened every cupboard door and draw, decide to make the sofa into a bed for Alex, and even rustle up a spare duvet.
Once they get back we all change into pyjamas and huddle onto the sofa now bed, eating crisps (or chips as I suppose I should get used to calling them for three months) and revel in the joy of being inside. Oh, and Hayley consumes what she to this day says is the BEST sandwich she’s ever eaten! A footlong meat feast sub.
What a first day!! And we haven’t even started exploring yet.
Up Next: Exploring Boston
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