...and the never-ending trip home

...and so you may have guessed from the way the last update ended...the trip home was a far cry from normal. or easy...to say the least.

disclaimer/ warning label: lengthy experiences described in high detail found below....

it progressed something like this...

i de-boarded and asked the ferry ticket attendant where to catch the bus.
she responded, "well, you are supposed to catch it at the bottom of the ramp...but uhh..it's not very reliable."

hmm. not very reassuring...so i call Bonanza/ Peter Pan, to verify the time & they say "6:30pm".

with a little time pondering, i recalled that it really shouldn't be 6:30pm, so, feeling paranoid, I call again & decide i'll even make sure that they accept debit/ credit cards.

"6:35pm at the state ferry and yes, we take debit/ credit." phew.

6:30pm -- "LAST FERRY TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD, ALL ABOARD!"

6:35pm -- The ferry security guy pulls over and asks, "Are you okay? What are you waiting for?"

I let him know everything is fine, just waiting for the bus to NY.

His response, "Good luck."

Apparently, I should have taken that as a hint...

Well..around 6:40pm, i began to get nervous...this is the last bus to New York...hmm.

i decide that 6:45 pm is a good time to call up again...and...um, right...get hung up on.

Let's try that again... and after many minutes of holding, i get a "hello" and an update that the bus is running about 20 minutes late (well...by now it's running 30 min..but okay)...and wait a minute!

There she is...Bonanza / Peter Pan, rounding the corner. I gladly hang up with my friends at the call center, and quickly approach the bus pick up area.

As I board the bus with smiles ear to ear, the driver asks, "Where are you headed?"

"Well, New York (of course)."

From the driver, "I'm going to Hyannis (area near Cape Cod). The NY bus already came through. How long you been here?"

I respond, "Since 6 PM, there's no way I missed it."

He says, "Well, you know it's quite a hassle to come here and do this pick up here. I don't even understand why we have to do it."

"So, are you trying to say that it's very possible that the bus just didn't pick up here?!," I say.

"Anything is possible."

"Oh great..and that means I'm stranded here. Can you try to contact that driver? They said it was running late, maybe it's still just running late."

The Hyannis driver tries to contact the NY driver to no avail and then explains how he now must get going...

...and my thoughts: I am going to be stranded in New Bedford tonight.

The rest of the night proceeded with the sun setting...the phone calls continuing...until finally a 15 minute conversation occurs with a guy at good ole Bonanza / Peter Pan call center...and he tells me the truth...

"Bus left on time. 6:00 pm, from the Bus Terminal. Guess he didn't do the pick up at the ferry. No more buses tonight."

I believe it was the cracking in my voice that made this guy realize that he was leaving me stranded on a ferry dock, in the middle of nowhere...as I should have been en route to NY...so he made some calls, put forth his best effort and I ended up...right where I was...sitting on my bag on a dark, empty ferry dock, with the comfort of knowing that there are no buses within 50 miles...and none coming to town until 6 AM..and no train tracks that run through this said New Bedford.

Lovely.

I called my boyfriend, pretty distraught...explained the situation...and asked for some internet help in figuring something out.

By the time he called back I was in a car with the aforementioned Security Guard...getting a ride to the nearest taxi area.

I had decided to spend the night in New Bedford, which was, according to all, not a safe area.

My taxi driver was old and scary and talking to me as I kept my boyfriend on the phone, truly...for safety purposes.

After he pretty much refused to give me my change back, I jumped out of the taxi, frazzled and seeking a place to stay.

I checked into a Comfort Inn and walked to my room, which housed a fairly diisgusting stink, as well as a bed, missing one pillow. Special.

Well, my boyfriend called and had me all set to call another taxi company to get a ride to Providence, RI and he had bought me a train ticket from there to Penn Station! Yay, get me the hell out of this place.

The taxi driver approached, blasting hip hop music and into the cab I went (only after checking out about 15 minutes before checking in...and later being charged $97 to do so).

I asked the driver if I could stop at an ATM and he said sure...then proceeded to call several people on his cell phone.After hanging up, he asked if I would mind if we picked up his wife....sure, why the hell not, at this point.
So, off we go, to pick up his wife, and hopefully, get to an ATM.

As we drive, the taxi driver tells me of the dangers of New Bedford, of the time when his buddy saw his Mom get her head shot off, right in the street...and then, all about how he never thought he'd send his kids to school with guns...but, now that he's here, he's really considering it.

Wow, well now I feel a lot better. At least we're in a safe area.

After the wife pick-up, and an offer to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a Turbo Blast...we proceed to Providence, RI...in hopes that I'll actually catch this train.

After about 25 minutes, the driver asks me if I know how to get there.

Yes, really, he did. Now, at this point, if I were you, I'd be #1) tired of reading, and #2) amazed that this could all happen in one day/ night, to one person...unless you know me, of course, and understand the life of danielle, as i know it...oh so well.

Now, I, of course, have no f-in idea how to get from New Bedford, MA to Providence, RI...I had just found out New Bedford was in MA, not CT, earlier that day...come on now. So we travel onwards...his wife says a few words about which way to go...and then he asks me if I know which exit to get off at, in Providence......ohhh, okay...sure, let me just pull that one out of my ass.

No, kind sir (he actually was quite kind), I don't. we finally decide it's a good idea to call the cab company. phew. sigh of relief...and I make it there. and say my farewells to my new friends of New Bedford, MA...and only hope that I make it home, to NY, in one piece....

...and thank goodness...I do...the words of the Hyannis driver lingering in my head...I guess it's true.."Anything" really "can happen"...

good times at the vineyard

so i did it. i went on vacation with my BF and his family. by the reactions i have received both before and after the trip, i assume that many people view vacations with the family of your significant other as 1) nerve-wracking, 2) awkward, and 3)obligatory. i, as one, felt none of those emotions prior to the trip, during, or after it. so, i now consider myself lucky. who knew. or maybe just comfortable.

the destination was martha's vineyard and the entire vacation was superb. for those new to the setup, the vineyard requires a fairly long drive through CT & MA, ending with a lovely ferry trip from woodshole, ma to the island. all in all, i was left with a very sweet taste in my mouth. i near decided to never return home, and just live the lovely vineyard life forever. as you might have guessed, that didn't happen. i, in fact, have returned home to live the city life..for some time.

highlights of the vacation include: jumping off bridges into the water with my BF's entire family (yes, including his mom, she's rad!), witnessing the BEST body surfing display EVER seen by mankind (he was Superman, i swear), many thoroughly enjoyed G&T's with his sister, and listening to them sing old british and american folk music on the porch, amongst, of course, many other great times.

his family friends were just as great as his family...listen to me...i sound enamored. ha. well, guess i was...

my spirits were running high all the way through my romantic goodbye. i gazed out into the sunset, enjoying each and every minute on the "fast ferry" to new bedford, ma, whereupon i would arrive at the ferry station and pick up the bonanza/ peter pan bus to new york...or so i hoped...

and we reunite, on old stompin grounds nonetheless

so it was exactly what i hoped for and needed. an awesome reunion. good people. good beer. good times had by all. it had probably been a little over 3 years since i had seen some of those UD folks..and without getting sentimental...it stands true that everything goes back to normal when true friends reunite...it definitely didn't matter who had been where doing what...we were the same damn crazy kids on 7/30/05 that were were back in '00, '01 and '02.(see pics) okay, so i lied....that was totally sentimental. sorry. try and forget that i just did that...forgotten?..okay, thanks.

anyhow, we rocked the quiet, fairly desolate town of newark, de in a serious way. and after the amount of fun that was had, i hope we continue to rock various towns and cities alike. and on that note, i intend to party it up in my humble abode with a little labor day roof party...i'll keep you updated as the details unfold.

aside from the reunion festivities, the rest of my ever-exciting life is just plain moving along. i can't say for certain which direction it's moving, but i can affirm that it's in motion. i've applied for a pre-mba program at fordham. i've had the much needed, yet highly dreaded monetary "discussions" at work....i almost feel like my life is in the eye of the storm right now....give it a few weeks and you'll probably find me in the heart of the whirlwinds...i can just feel it coming...