Philadelphia Freedom
Sometimes things just fall into place.
Sara called me this week asking if I would be able to get away for the weekend. In typical Sara fashion she had an itinerary already available, all I needed to do was show up. Tom wasn't working, so Sullivan was covered. There's a little cash in the kitty, so that turned out. We agreed to book our Amtrak tickets seperately and arranged to meet at Penn Station Saturday morning. Now here is a tale about what a good attitude can get you.
On our way to pick up our tickets we see that all the trains are suspended do to a massive power failure. Now, this is the point where I would normally freak out and start cursing the heavens and screaming about how the world is so unkind to me. Instead, Sara and I took our coffees to the long, long line for the counter to see if we could refund our tickets and figure out our next step. How the hell were we going to get to Philly?
After standing in line and just calmly shooting the shit about how much we appreciate the British custom of scathingly honest yet highly structured political discourse, Sara decided to call Amtrak while we were waiting in line to check out our options and come up with a game plan. Well, we refunded our tickets and booked a car for the drive, left the line and headed to the Upper West to pick up the car.
This was all done swiftly and politely. The customer service reps we contacted actually provided customer service (RARE) and were courteous and efficeint. We marveled at how different this same trip would be if we had taken significant others or children along. Surely this would be painful and stressful were we not with each other. Then fortune smiled at us at the Hertz counter.
We encountered another long line, but did not panic as it was barely 11:00- still a full day ahead. Nor did we doubt our ability to make it through Jersey without a detailed route planned for us by Mapquest. (New Jersey has some of the worst signage in the nation and it is pretty easy to doubt where you are and near impossible to figure out where you are going.) We approached the Hertz representative and were given a car at a much lower price than we had been quoted on the phone. As if that wasn't reward enough, the car we were given was a cherry red, Mustang convertable. Oh baby! It was too good to be true and it just seemed like we were being set up for some tragic events that would end in us running from the law. It didn't matter, we put the top down anyway.
We made it to Philly in record time and had a great day just enjoying one another's company and support. We ate, drank, walked, walked, and walked, then we ate and drank some more. We had a lovely hotel room, Trading Spaces and a Sunday New York Times to read over our morning coffee.
Sara is my oldest and dearest friend in the world. No one knows me better and yet still has the courtesy to surprise and be surprised at the appropriate occassions. This was the ambitious girl who played "Barbara Walters Interview" with me over root beer flavored New York Seltzer and Choco Blisses. She's never laughed at my dreams but also never hesitated to tell me when I was being a dumb ass. Sometimes we argue, but for the most part we prop each other up and try to help each other see the bigger picture. I got sentimental at the sight of the Liberty Bell. She understood. She freaked out a little about some turtle soup. Hey, I get that. We were "naughty" and smoked cigarettes like silly school girls, retired to our hotel room by midnight and were sound asleep by 1:00. That's just who we are and it's nice to be around someone who won't laugh at me for being lame. I had a spectacular, relaxing weekend and I might just be a little better person because of it.
Sara called me this week asking if I would be able to get away for the weekend. In typical Sara fashion she had an itinerary already available, all I needed to do was show up. Tom wasn't working, so Sullivan was covered. There's a little cash in the kitty, so that turned out. We agreed to book our Amtrak tickets seperately and arranged to meet at Penn Station Saturday morning. Now here is a tale about what a good attitude can get you.
On our way to pick up our tickets we see that all the trains are suspended do to a massive power failure. Now, this is the point where I would normally freak out and start cursing the heavens and screaming about how the world is so unkind to me. Instead, Sara and I took our coffees to the long, long line for the counter to see if we could refund our tickets and figure out our next step. How the hell were we going to get to Philly?
After standing in line and just calmly shooting the shit about how much we appreciate the British custom of scathingly honest yet highly structured political discourse, Sara decided to call Amtrak while we were waiting in line to check out our options and come up with a game plan. Well, we refunded our tickets and booked a car for the drive, left the line and headed to the Upper West to pick up the car.
This was all done swiftly and politely. The customer service reps we contacted actually provided customer service (RARE) and were courteous and efficeint. We marveled at how different this same trip would be if we had taken significant others or children along. Surely this would be painful and stressful were we not with each other. Then fortune smiled at us at the Hertz counter.
We encountered another long line, but did not panic as it was barely 11:00- still a full day ahead. Nor did we doubt our ability to make it through Jersey without a detailed route planned for us by Mapquest. (New Jersey has some of the worst signage in the nation and it is pretty easy to doubt where you are and near impossible to figure out where you are going.) We approached the Hertz representative and were given a car at a much lower price than we had been quoted on the phone. As if that wasn't reward enough, the car we were given was a cherry red, Mustang convertable. Oh baby! It was too good to be true and it just seemed like we were being set up for some tragic events that would end in us running from the law. It didn't matter, we put the top down anyway.
We made it to Philly in record time and had a great day just enjoying one another's company and support. We ate, drank, walked, walked, and walked, then we ate and drank some more. We had a lovely hotel room, Trading Spaces and a Sunday New York Times to read over our morning coffee.
Sara is my oldest and dearest friend in the world. No one knows me better and yet still has the courtesy to surprise and be surprised at the appropriate occassions. This was the ambitious girl who played "Barbara Walters Interview" with me over root beer flavored New York Seltzer and Choco Blisses. She's never laughed at my dreams but also never hesitated to tell me when I was being a dumb ass. Sometimes we argue, but for the most part we prop each other up and try to help each other see the bigger picture. I got sentimental at the sight of the Liberty Bell. She understood. She freaked out a little about some turtle soup. Hey, I get that. We were "naughty" and smoked cigarettes like silly school girls, retired to our hotel room by midnight and were sound asleep by 1:00. That's just who we are and it's nice to be around someone who won't laugh at me for being lame. I had a spectacular, relaxing weekend and I might just be a little better person because of it.
posted by Bree O'Connor at 12:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home