St. Parking's Day

The thing that sucks about living in Boston on St. Patrick's Day.... rather, the thing that sucks THE MOST about living in Boston on St. Patrick's Day is that for a whole weekend, outsiders clog the main thoroughfares with their inability to navigate and/or park.

Case in point...

Last night I found myself driving in circles around the block looking for a place to park near my girlfriend's apartment.  The minivan pictured above was clearly enduring the same struggle.  We were driving behind them briefly until they found a spot.  Fifteen minutes and two driver-changes later, they still weren't parked, had hit the car in front of them multiple times, and were on the curb.  And yes, the entire time, my girlfriend and I found ourselves sitting in our car watching the trainwreck.  When we were finally able to find a parking spot, I politely asked if the owners of the minivan would let me park it for them before they blew out a tire or hit another car.

And I did.  Whatever.

The moral of the story is this:  If you plan on driving into Boston to celebrate your 1/16th Irish "heritage", please understand that some people live and work here.  If you're trying to get to one particular bar, I don't recommend GPS-ing your way there, and then trying to find parking nearby.  If you don't know the streets, you'll be driving in circles until last call.  Drive to Alewife, or Riverside, or some MBTA station outside the city with affordable rates and plenty of parking spaces.  That way, no worrying about parallel parking, you'll save a ton on gas, and free up the roads for the people who NEED to use them.

/rant