I’m gettin’ too old for this shih tzu. That is, if “shih tzu” means “commercial air travel”. Which it might in some languages; I’m not fluent in all of them. Seriously, folks, getting through security at the Chartlotte airport FULLY exhausted me. I really need to start requesting a wheelchair. It doesn’t help that my first dose of Levodopa for the day was wearing off. My medication timer/alarm sounded just as I reached the re-combobulation area. So, yeah, fatigue had set in, which obviously doesn’t help in getting through the airport security screening. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

When I was shopping for my airline ticket for this trip, I priced flights to/from Albany, Hartford, Rutland, and Boston. I was shocked to find that I could get a round-trip, non-stop ticket to Boston’s Logan airport for only $88. And that’s AFTER taxes! I had traveled to Boston at least twice for work, but I could not remember anything about Logan airport. Having made this trip again today, I think the reason I don’t remember Logan airport is that I blocked out those memories because they were just so horrible.

If you’re ever going to New England, DO NOT FLY INTO LOGAN. Never mind that all the other airports in the region are much pricier. JUST DON’T DO IT! Damn the expense!! First, I couldn’t find baggage retrieval. I wandered every which a way, attempting to follow the signs, but the arrows seemed to be pointing the wrong way. When I finally got my baggage, I couldn’t find ANY signs saying anything about rental cars. Finally, I decided to follow the signs to the information desk…but I couldn’t even find THAT! Eventually, I went outside and found a parked bus that said “Airport Shuttle” on it, and asked the driver if the bus went to the car rental center. Luckily he said yes, and it actually did get me there.

Once I had the rental car, there was the insane Boston road system. I had my GPS find me a route that avoided tolls. It found a very circuitous route for me. It took me through some nifty little old neighborhoods, but with the traffic (at 3 PM on a Tuesday), it took forever, partly because there were several places where there were no markings on the road and I had no idea how many lanes there were supposed to be. I finally got onto an Interstate Highway, and soon learned that, for much of the day, the shoulder (the signs called it the “breakdown lane”) is open to traffic. Immediately, I wondered what happens when there’s an actual breakdown (or meltdown with these new nuclear-powered cars), but still it seemed like an innovative idea – when you need extra lanes for your heavy traffic, but don’t have the money and/or space to add more lanes, why NOT use that extra “lane” that goes unused most of the time? Then I decided to stop and grab a beverage somewhere. Crossing that shoulder/lane at the exit was a little confusing, but getting back on at the entrance ramp was downright hazardous!

BUT, I did figure out something that will make future trips easier. Many airports’ car rentals are located in a parking structure, where you can’t get a GPS signal, so you have to wait until you get outside to set the GPS. BUT it’s difficult/dangerous to try to set the GPS while driving, yet you don’t want to block traffic, and there’s nowhere to pull over. So, if you’re traveling alone, here’s my new Travel Tip: find the cell phone lot! The cell phone lot usually has plenty of parking available, is very close to the airport, and is the perfect spot to take a breather and play with your GPS app/device.

I eventually made my way to my hotel in Rutland, Vermont. There, I encountered more problems, which I may or may not discuss later in the week…