Boston 2014 Journal

I can't believe I haven't started a journal yet, I've known about this trip for 7 months already!! I guess I'd better start writing!!

Back in January my friend Michelle and I decided that this would be the year I finally got myself to Boston to visit her. She and I have been friends since 1990, when I placed an ad in the pen pals section of the now defunct Hockey Stars magazine. I received about 30 letters from other teens all over the world who shared my passion for hockey, and Steve Yzerman in particular.  Now, after almost 24 years, I am proud to say that I am still in touch with four friends. Michelle in Massachusetts, Sean in New Hampshire, Alek in New York, and Howie in New Jersey. I've already met most of them in person- Alek in 1993, Sean and Michelle in 2003, who all came here to visit me. Alek and I tried to meet up last time I went to NYC, but a death in his family prevented that. (Next time!!) Howie and I have had many phone conversations over the years, but we haven't met yet.

So, that's how my pen pal friends and I got started. It started out as letters back and forth, then phone calls, and visits, then as technology advanced, it turned into email, webcam chats, Messenger, now it's Facebook, and text messages. It's funny how we have evolved over the years.

Now, it's my turn to take the trip!! It's been a long time coming, It's going to be worth the wait!!

Since January I have been my usual travel agent dorky self, scouring the internet for information, asking Michelle a million questions, and starting to make my plans. I swear, I love the planning of a vacation just as much as the vacation itself!! Maybe I need a career change...

The first thing on my agenda...nope, not plane tickets, but Red Sox tickets!!! I knew I could get plane tickets any time, but Sox tickets are a different thing altogether. Since they are the current World Series Champions, getting tickets to see them wasn't going to be easy. So, after looking at their schedule, finding a home game that wasn't against the Blue Jays or Yankees (I didn't want to see the Jays there because I don't want to go to Fenway Park and root for the visitor LOL! And Yankee tickets are impossible to get because the rivalry is WICKED HUGE) Anyway, I found an afternoon game midweek, early in September so the weather was still nice, and that's how I decided which week to take my vacation. It's all about the baseball ;)

So, after some more research on Fenway Park, and their nifty 3D seat view feature, I picked the tickets, and bought them!!!  I was so very excited to have those :) I find myself looking at them every once in a while, with a grin on my face :)

Next thing to plan was getting there. I checked all of the possibilities- planes, trains, bus... And flying turned out to be the best option for me. I've only ever been on a plane twice before, we flew to England in 1986 to visit family. 28 years have passed since then, and boy has the aviation industry changed!! In my research of flights I delved into a whole new world of aviation, which I am positively fascinated by, and I am proud to call myself a planespotter! More on that in another journal...

I had few choices when it came to direct flights from Toronto to Boston Logan...Air Canada from Pearson or Porter Air from the island airport. I opted for Air Canada, going for the airline that's been around for over 80 years over the new guys. Price-wise they were about the same. Part of that was that I wanted to use Pearson too, due to my new fascination with aviation. I went to Toronto one afternoon specifically I go to the airport to see a certain plane come in...pretty groovy. Sorry...got sidetracked!

So, I became a frequent window shopper on Air Canada's website, checking flights, prices, and they have a myriad of other information on their site, really anything a traveller could ever need to know. It was super! After a few months of browsing and research, it was time to buy! I know to many people buying a plane ticket isn't a big deal, but to me, it was! I was pretty excited, my heart was pounding as I clicked through all the screens. Finally, I had my confirmation number, my seats picked out, travel insurance, and I was set!! I felt such a sense of accomplishment, doing something new and exciting!

After that, I had to back away from my plans a bit, I was getting too into it, and still had many months!!! The main things were taken care of, travel, accommodation, and baseball :) now I could relax a little and learn about New England and all it has to offer at a more relaxing pace.

The lists came out, and I am still going on them now, as I will be even once I get there. Lists of attractions in Boston, things outside of Boston, things in the other New England states, stores I want to shop in, landmarks to see, restaurants, you name it, I likely have a list for it.

One of the cool things I have planned is to have a visit with my other pen pal, Sean, who lives in New Hampshire, within driving distance! Sean had visited me before, but now I will be able to see the beauty of New Hampshire, which he has been describing to me for years. We are going to find me a mountain! I've never seen a real mountain before, a real pointy top mountain. I've seen a part of the Appalachians on the way to New Jersey, but they just look like huge rocky hills...not really the same. Impressive, but not the same. We are also planning to visit Costco, because I have to find a Costco wherever I go!

Well, I must get back to my lists and maps right now, I feel like I've been neglecting them! More to come...