Sweet Caroline....Bop Bop Bop!!!!!

06/19/13 5:45 a.m.

Last night in Boston will go down in history….This entry you are about to read is very factual and matter of fact…the events being retold were not embellished because they could not be on a first date. It was if the gates of hell were conspiring to prevent me from getting to Fenway Park.

Tuesday morning, I arrived in Boston on time from Jet Blue airways. Heading towards baggage claim, I stopped at the bathroom. Upon making it out of the bathroom and security and to the baggage carousel, I noticed MY bag in the possession of  middle-aged woman, who was running out the terminal door. “Miss, are you sure that is your bag,” I screamed.

No harm, no foul.

Sunny skies in Boston quickly turned to downpours with a flash flood warning while approaching my hotel in Framingham. Being exhausted from leaving Toronto around 5 a.m., I quickly went to my room and crashed around 3:30 p.m.

Waking up around 5:00 p.m. and is often the case with most everybody, I did not get up with one fail swoop…I fell back asleep till 6 p.m., When my phone woke me up to the sound of my date calling….wondering if I was alive.

I ran out the door, telling her I would pick her up, and started the car….except it DIDN’T start…NOOOOOOO!!!!!! Michelle, instead of my passenger, became my chauffeur, driving over to meet me at the hotel.

While waiting for Michelle, I successfully corraled a jump start kit….but optimism for a charge of the battery was quickly dashed with the sputtering sound of an injured starter.

Michelle arrives, laughing, and understanding. I proceed to call my rental company about my plight, noting that it is a first date and explaining my 30with30 challenge. They are kind enough to send over a replacement car but not for another two hours. We leave the keys at the front desk, around 7:30 p.m.(The Red Sox were supposed to start the second game of their double header at 7:00 p.m.)and head for the commuter rail station in Framingham.

We arrive on time, minutes before the train is SCHEDULED to stop in Framingham. I see the train come around the corner, blow it’s horn and appear to slow down. It does slow down, except it doesn’t stop. I run down the platform with little success. I turn around and see Michelle laughing, which was a common trait of hers. The train disappears and me trying to catch my breath.

At this point, I’ve missed a train, mourned the loss of a rental car, and almost lost my

luggage. I could have given up, but not for Fenway. An Ipad, Google Maps, and an understanding Michelle finally lead us to the “T” and Fenway Park, the Mecca of the East Coast.

What an awesome place and what an awesome way to watch a game, in the right field bleachers and see a walk-off home run by Johnny Gomes in the bottom of the 9^th.

From this story, I have a lot to be grateful for. First off, somehow, someway, I believe divine providence delayed the first game, allowing my car problem not to go against me. Second, I had an extremely understanding date, who laughed off my car problems, locking myself out of my hotel room and just enjoyed the moment. Third, I realized that Fenway Park really is that special and one of a kind. And finally, I am grateful that the rental car company was understanding and easy to work with. 

after all that, I got 3 hours of sleep,  and am now waiting in terminal E of Boston Logan International, waiting to see what the next adventure will be as I head to Philadelphia.