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New England: Boston's Logan Airport, Hertz and Revere |
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Written by Stephen Baines
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Sunday, 27 June 1999 |
I arrived at Boston's Logan Airport safely enough - as you probably worked out from the fact I told you I was about to land. It was then let us loose, and don't tell the passengers where to collect the luggage time... OK, there are 4 carrousels split over opposite ends of the terminal. And the one all the passengers chose was not the correct one - as someone came over the tannoy to tell us very helpfully half an hour later. Grrr.
By the time we all collected our luggage, Hertz and co had decided to shut shop for the night, with a helpful sign saying "go outside and wait for a bus". Nice. So, I went out and waited for a Hertz bus which eventually arrived - bus driver looks bemused at passengers saying "No we don't know what car we've got. No, they've not given us a bay. They were shut." Eventually he decides to drive us to the depot to sort it out.
Eventually I made it to the front of the queue in Hertz, only to be told they had no Group A cars left - "If you come back tomorrow you can have one". I think not, says I... After much umming and ahhing, and explaining that really trying to get back to the airport to catch a bus to the hotel to catch a bus back to the airport to catch a bus back to the Hertz lot tomorrow morning was not what I had planned, and they'd have to do better as I was rather tired and would not be leaving until I had a car. Upgrade... Not as far as in LA, but at least I had a car - this time a Ford Contour. "It has to be back by mid-day Monday". I think not, say's I... 2 days hire, 48 hours. You'll get it back by 9pm on Monday. OK, he agrees...
I eventually found the car in the lot, and put the luggage into the car... Sat in the car (this time on the correct side!), started her up, and pulled out of the lot. I had my directions to the hotel (for Comfort Inn Hotel, read Comfort Inn some 12 miles away in Revere...) and headed off in the dark into Boston traffic. OK, I'd been told Boston traffic was a little mad, but it really was! I thought the traffic in LA was pretty mad, but it had nothing on Boston. People change lane at total random, someone turned right from the far left lane, whilst someone on the far right was turning left... Mad! Oh, and they don't have street signs in Boston, so half the time you are driving blind - especially so when it was dark. Also to add to the fun, the Contour is probably has the least "oomph" of any car I have ever driven - my old Fiat Panda could accelerate faster than this thing. Something isn't right in the design of this car.
I drove along and hit something no-one had warned me about - in fact people had told me they didn't have them - a roundabout. A roundabout, or rotary as they call them, going the wrong way, with very few signs on the way off... Oh this was fun! I soon (2 laps later) figured it out - possibly - and headed off for the hotel again. I then saw the sign, and pulled into the hotel
You know those stories people tell about "It looks fabulous in the brochure, but it hasn't been built yet...". Guess what... Extensive re-building has the hotel like a bomb site, no reception to really speak of, and very little car park. And just about everything inside boarded up or cordoned off... Very stylish. Then the hotel couldn't find the booking - I was going hairless by this point - then they looked on the 'puter, yes it was there, but they had no other record... I showed them my paperwork - that was no use. I was tired, I was crotchety, I wasn't taking this too well... It took them the best part of 3/4 hour to decide that if it was in the computer, and said it was paid, then there was a fair chance it was booked and paid for, unless I was a computer hacker and put in the booking some other way. I hid the Internet Society bag behind my suitcase.
I made my way to the lifts, via boarded up rooms, uneven floors and alsorts of other exciting obstacles that you want when lugging two suitcases and a laptop around with you. I found my way to my room, dumped the cases, and flopped. I was exhausted.
I woke up at 8ish, and went to find the "full continental breakfast". Read a few Danish pastries and some coffee. I had that, and went for a little explore up the road, and towards Boston a little bit. New England is very much like you picture it - green with little wooden houses, and some not so little wooden houses, with many having US flags hanging from their own flag poles. In the afternoon, the will power weakened, and the force was strong... I have resisted for well over 3 weeks, but the weather is hot and very, very humid, and I couldn't face any more time in the car - or worse in the open air - so I pulled into a cinema, and went to see Star Wars Episode 1.
I won't spoil the film, but there are some things that just have to be said - don't believe the hype, it's not a patch on the original Star Wars series. It doesn't have the same tension and humour to it. Instead it has one particularly annoying "humourous" character, who I wish had been killed in the first half hour when they had the chance. If the Ewocks annoyed you in Jedi, you'll hate this. I'd seen reports saying that the one who plays Annekin Skywalker deserved to be shot - sorry, can't agree there - the other character was far, far worse... It tried to mish-mash elements from all 3 "proper" Star Wars films, and didn't especially succeed. An OK film, but an also-ran compared to the originals - the chemistry just wasn't there. |
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