The Parking Was the High Point

I took Mister to watch the Red Wings take on Chicago this afternoon. We lost. The Wings are injured and tired, and it showed.

We made it into our seats 5 minutes into the first period, after construction since the last time I headed downtown in August seems to have eliminated the "to tunnel" signage along I-94. So I kept going until I realized I had passed all freeways heading south. So I turned around and found a sign to the tunnel and headed that way.

Unfortunately, it isn't the same freeway as the one from the west. So while looking for the Civic Center exit for the Joe Louis parking structure, I ended up downtown.

In a traffic jam. That lasted for a really long time. We should have had a good forty minutes to spare once parked. I found out later that the auto show is in town. Well that explains the unexpected traffic. Downtown Detroit is usually fairly desolate. Bad for Detroit but good for traveling to and from events there.

Luckily, my dead reckoning about where the Joe was located held, and we got in the correct lane to go to the parking structure. We were running a tad late, but the end was in sight.

I saw Wings staff holding signs that said "lot full."

Oh. That's not good.

But luckily, when I purchased the tickets way back at the start of the season, I actually bought pre-paid parking. Normally I just bring cash. And I hesitated back when I bought it, thinking, "why pay now when I can pay then? And what if there is a snow storm? I'd waste the tickets and parking." But I bought them anyway.

And that pre-paid ticket was my way into parking despite the fullness of the lot. I had no idea if this meant I could get in, but I waved it at the staff who waved me off. She shook her head, but then looked again and waved me through. Ha! I parked on the roof, mind you. But then, it didn't snow like it was supposed to today, so at the end I didn't have to scrape my car to leave.

I enjoyed going to the game with my son, but we are starting to feel cursed. We've been to 5 games in the last three years and have seen only one victory.

Still, there was that good parking luck. We'll always have that.