DAY ONE: TRAVEL TO BOSTON VIA FT LAUDERDALE

I found the perfect friend!

Where's Brody? The crew outside Quincy Market

Bread Bowl with NE Clam Chowdah! 

Wednesday, June 29, 2011
No one should ever start off a week of vacation like we did... Waking Brody up on any given morning is not an easy task, but when the crickets are still chirping and the sun isn't even on the horizon, I had a better chance at being able to pick the winning lottery numbers! BUT... we did it. Up, packed and at the doctor's office with three minutes to spare!
Of course then we had to get through that appointment and back through the "Naples going to work traffic" to the house, where our ride was awaiting us. That's right, the OB Sr. Airport shuttle was waiting... as were Dakota and Tommy.
As everyone knows, I have the "airport thing" down! I check-in early and on Jet Blue, I can buy extra leg-room which includes your first bag free and early boarding, as well as expedited security screening for the low price of a $45 upgrade!  Man, we're set... I have our boarding passes printed and I am ready to skate through FLL!!! Life is great....... AND THEN... First, when we pull up to unload our bags we get yelled at by a guy for parking too close to his ILLEGALLY parked SUV.... We ignore him because as the "traveling fool" that I am, I know that I have four "expedited" boarding passes and just have to get in the easy "check bag only" lane! Right?! I mean that's what it said... NO!!! The line for me was as long as those who didn't take the extra time to print their boarding passes and pay an extra $45!
Uggg.... Well, it doesn't matter, at least we won't have to wait in the long security lines!  NO?! What???!!! That's right... All that does is get you in the short line prior to ID Check... Yup, that's right, after TSA checks our id's - by the way note to self... new i.d. for Brody, this one says he's only 5'0" - anyway, after TSA checks our id's we get to chose any of the same four lanes being pondered by the mob of others who don't want to cut anyone from our lane any slack at all!
Okay, so what about boarding.... well, at least we boarded early!
The flight went well... luggage all accounted for so now it's off to Hertz... I rented a prestige car and checked in on-line for that as well because I'm promised I'd be in the car and on my way in at least ten minutes.... Hmmmm.... Well... not quite... I'm not even in their system... Great! So it's off to the line I go. I get a really cooperative agent, thank goodness... BUT then the cherry on top is still to come. That comes in the form of a twelve-year old devil's spawn! A frazzled woman is checking in with the agent next to me and is proudly telling him how she has brought her son to Boston for his birthday so he can see where she went to grad school... Harvard. As she brags to him about her little jewel, I am imagining this young well-mannered, LL Bean dressed preppy to come around the corner with his sweater wrapped around his neck and a bottle of perrier for his mom. I was thinking how he must make me and my family look like the Motley Crue! About that time, I hear organs playing and a dark cloud begins to loom over the Hertz counter .... it is Damian! Yes, straight from the Omen! First he throws a temper tantrum because he wanted his mother to rent a volvo convertible... He then proceeded to tell his mother to Shutup! More than once.... I almost yanked him up by his preppy little collar! Well his embarrassed mother decided to ask my agent and I if we knew what to do with him... what I was thinking is illegal, so I didn't comment.. Then he proceeds to use an attached pen to almost destroy the credit card reader!
Then it happened...his mother turns to me and says, "I just want to kill myself. I'm a piece of.... he's right!"  Oh my.... NOT!!! That was it.... I killed the kid with my death stare! Regardless of how juvenile it sounded... I felt better!
I began to look at the woman to my right and thankfully she wasn't crazy! I spoke to her until my car was ready! This wonderful lady, Debbie from Pittsburgh, is a story I'll leave for later! WE continued to run into her for the next three days! All over MA!
Although we get lost going to our hotel, we make it to the Westin Waterfront at the Convention Center and the service is amazing! I just love the Westin!
Free shuttle service to Quincy Market and our awesome driver, Edwin, turned our luck around! We had an awesome night walking around Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. We saw amazing  street performers, ate some great food, and found a few good deals!
GREAT DAY ONE....