Rockapella in Boston
Day 1
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Finally! A trip to see Rockapella in concert. It's been far too long since I've seen them. When they announced that they were going to perform a new show entitled "Motown and More", which included something by Stevie Wonder, I got on my phone and sent a text message to Liz straight away and bought us tickets. Liz and I have been waiting for this for about 10 years now, and I needed her to be beside me when it happened. Despite her busy schedule, Liz said yes, and we made plans to go to Boston. Just don't tell my (late) grandfather that I rode on a plane on the 13th of the month. He didn't even want to go outside on those days, much less leave the house. Ah, but it's for Pella, Papa!
I had already packed the evening before so that I could go get my nails done in the morning. I had the gelish manicure done at my new go-to place, Peridot Nails and Spa. (I would have a link to that place on here, but it seems that the link isn't safe to use right now). The first time I was there, it was to celebrate Lo's birthday, so they gave her complimentary champagne. I was driving, so I had water. They didn't offer any of that this time, but it was a weekday and that particular manager wasn't there. Not that I could handle champagne anyway at that moment. This time, I got a nice ruby red that had some sparkle to it, but not too much. Henry did a beautiful job. I just wanted something that would last me until the event on the weekend after Pella, and it still looks good if you can get past the fact that my nails grow really fast, so the nail bed portion is growing out now. Anyway, I really like it.
Then I went to my ophthalmologist's office to finally pick up my prescription reading glasses that I had ordered months ago. I tried to visit Dr. Mo while I was there, but she wasn't available at the moment. It's just as well, since I needed to get some food in my tummy before the journey. So I had brunch at Nano Cafe and it was enjoyable. I love their chicken and spinach scramble. I had enough left over to make a sandwich for later, which ended up being a genius idea.
I made it to LAX with plenty of time to spare, which was good because their security lines are always long. Liz was already there with Jordan, because she had an earlier flight to catch to get back to her college home. Despite our B-level boarding passes, we were still able to sit together, which was nice. For some reason, one of the SWA flight attendants was grumpy, so we giggled at her impatience during the flight to Chicago Midway. Liz and I caught up on our recent trips without each other.
When we touched down at Midway, we were early for our gate, and had to wait until the other plane pushed back. Well, that plane pushed back late, so Liz and I ended up having very little time to get to our connecting flight. We all had to get to a bathroom, and pretty much all headed there before getting to our respective gates. All except for the one chick who decided to go to the bathroom while we were still on the tarmac, therefore delaying our plane even further because the captain didn't want to move the plane without everyone seated. Sigh. They finally decided to just resume taxiing, and Liz and I laughed when I suggested that the captain probably wanted to jerk the plane forward just to piss off whomever was in the lavatory, but despite the grumpiness, they were complete professionals and didn't do so. After our very quick restroom stop, we jogged over to the other gate for our connecting flight. It was NOT close by, but at least it was in the same terminal wing. We still somehow got seats together in the back of the plane, because there were people who boarded later than us. I was glad to have my leftover sandwich, because I really needed protein at that moment. Thank goodness the flight attendants were not grumpy. As I sat and thought about that experience, I wondered if our luggage made it onto the plane. I didn't voice my concern to Liz, though, because I didn't want to worry her needlessly.
Due to the late departure of our plane, we arrived late to Logan Airport as well. Luckily, I had called our hotel in the afternoon to advise that we would have a late check-in, because I didn't want to have any problems with our hotel (I had booked through Priceline.com). Well, my other worries ended up having some basis, as Liz's bag never got onto the carousel. Mine came off almost last, and when the carousel stopped, we groaned with displeasure. Liz reported the missing bag, and I reminded her to ask for an emergency toiletry kit from the airline. Good thing she did, because that was the last one there. They must lose luggage a lot, Liz said to me. Poor Liz. There she was, all worried that in her hasty packing, had not brought any pants, and now we had to worry about her entire weekend wardrobe. They told her to call them at 1:00 p.m. if she hadn't heard from them yet, and the first flight from Midway would be in the morning, so they would check that flight. Which makes me wonder why the heck we have bar codes on our luggage tags. Shouldn't you be able to scan our receipt and find out where the heck the bag last got scanned? At least the toiletry bag was nice: it had plenty of amenities, and had a hanger on it, and it was black and had pockets.
So then we had to deal with transportation. I only knew that the hotel didn't have a shuttle to the airport, but had not done any other research because I was being hella lame in the planning of this trip. I found the taxi pickup area, but wasn't sure if I should get the one that arrived, because I hadn't actually called one. But that was the only one there, and he wasn't picking up anyone else, so he brought us to the beautiful Hyatt Regency in Cambridge.
The desk clerk was a little sleepy and didn't understand me at first when I asked for two beds instead of one king bed. But then he woke up and got us a room with a view of the St. Charles river. Even in the dark, it was lovely, because there were plenty of lights from across the way. I'm going to love waking up here in the morning!
Up next: Pella Day!
