Sleep at the Airport? Not me!

I do not intend to imply in any way my brother and his wife are not seasoned travelers, for they are. His level at many of the loyalty programs far exceeds mine. For example: Priority he is Platinum & I am Gold. This post merely reflects my own insecurities based on a woman traveling solo.

May, and it is graduation time in Boston. How many colleges are in the general environs? Me, I am so proud to say that I will be seeing my niece graduate from Harvard Law School!!!

Because ALL hotel rooms fill up to capacity this time of year, it is prudent to reserve a block of rooms months in advance, which my brother wisely did. That was prior to any of us making flight reservations.

Today is less than a week before I depart for Boston. Yesterday I discovered that my brother and sister in law plus me arrive at Boston Logan one day prior to the dates blocked out for us at the hotel.

It is not my idea to sleep on the street or in the airport. Well, may be at the airport if I am in one of the Club lounges. Even camping out is a stretch for me these days.

So this morning, I decide it is time to make adjustments to our reservations. First I called the national number and with  my brother’s phone number and platinum Priority Awards number could I get so far.  The first person I talked to had to be in Bangladesh and I found it difficult to understand him. When I asked him to speak more slowly he asked if I could hear him. (?)  Believe me, they will not be happy when they get my feedback from the optional survey at the end of the call.

I called the front desk at the hotel and asked to be transferred to reservations. There, I encountered a very helpful woman by the name of Lynn. She apologized that they were sold out for the Tuesday night but our reservations for Wednesday to Sunday were secure. She volunteered to check if any of their other hotels in the area had rooms. She was able to secure us a room for the night. So we stay one night in Dedham and then on to Waltham.

Both of these hotels are in the suburbs and I want to be in Boston proper my last two nights. As a solo woman do I want to be “stranded in the “burbs”? That has caused me to ask myself a number of questions. In the US being in the “burbs” sounds boring and isolated for a solo traveler. Yet to translate that to London, Paris, or Brussels I would consider it an opportunity to experience a part of the community, of real people who live there. So why am I making that distinction in the US?

More on this trip to follow, including restaurant and hotel reviews.