Some weekends are better than others.
Friday afternoon consisted of a champagne celebration at Boston Common with a couple of thousand of his fellow Scots, the culmination of Craig Ferguson's cross-country 'Tartan Trek' which has now raised over £1 million for Scotland's leading men's mental health charity. Those last few steps up to the Soldiers' and Sailors Monument were certainly a lot easier than the previous 7.2 million steps taken over 108 days since setting foot from California's Santa Monica Pier at the end of February.
Saturday evening was spent at Boston Stadium where John McGinn's first-half goal against Haiti, secured first Scotland's first win at a World Cup since Mo Johnston's late penalty in Genoa helped Andy Roxburgh's men beat Sweden 2-1 at Italia '90 -- 14 years before Ferguson was born.
Then, on Sunday, Ferguson joined around 7,000 members of the Tartan Army on a march to Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox hosted a 'Scottish Celebration' night during their MLB fixture against Texas Rangers.
Memories to last a lifetime and, more importantly, a far more eclectic experience than if he'd stayed home in Paisley.
"I was working in Nando's right up until coming out to America to do this," the 22-year told ESPN.
The definition of normality upon Ferguson's return to Scotland has yet to be properly mapped out.
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After walking more than 3,000 miles in a kilt from Los Angeles in a bid to raise seven figures for SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health), Ferguson had reached Providence, Rhode Island. Day 106 of 108 of his 'Tartan Trek' across America and Ferguson was less than 50 miles from the finish line in Boston when the phone rang.
First Minister John Swinney, was calling with a wee surprise -- the Scottish government was pledging £400,000 to help Ferguson reach his target of raising £1m to help support Scottish men overcome mental health issues.
"How do I make this video without crying?!" said an emotional Ferguson, updating his nearly 200,000 Instagram followers. "After months of doubting why I set the target so big, and not thinking I would do it, it now looks possible."
With 48 hours of the challenge remaining, the £400,000 donation took the total amount raised to £900,000 -- just £100,000 short of his ambitious initial seven-figure target.
It didn't take too much longer to reach the magic million (36 hours to be exact). And what better way for Ferguson to see it happen in real time than sitting in his rented property in Boston, wearing his Scotland shirt with his laptop and a glass of red wine in front of him... and his mum sat beside him on the sofa having just flown in. Tears flowed when the total amount raised reached seven digits, immediately followed by the biggest hug between a mother and a son.
Three days before the call from Scotland's First Minister, I caught up with Ferguson in Connecticut as he was making his way to the finish line in Massachusetts. The first walk of the day had been completed, usually 10 miles or so between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., and it was time for breakfast in the rented RV.
"I have zero appetite when I wake up," said Ferguson. "But then I'm absolutely starving when I come back in and that's when I have my big breakfast; bacon and eggs every morning for 103 days now. I burn around 5,000 calories in 24 hours, although I've really let it slip over the past few weeks because I can't force feed myself chicken and rice anymore."
The initial map drawn up for the 'Tartan Trek' across America was followed to a tee for the first week and a half. And then it wasn't...
"After 10 days or so we realised the route we'd drawn up was actually miles off, so much so that if I had followed it exactly then we wouldn't have got to Boston in time for Scotland's World Cup opening match. We basically had to come up with a new route that would get us there faster," he explained.
"It was a big decision to significantly alter the map we had worked on for ages, to chuck it in the bin basically and go with this brand new one, but it was the best decision we made on this journey. So, yeah, you definitely need to adapt along the way."
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The end was in sight when I spoke to Ferguson following an incredible journey through 18 U.S. states -- a challenge undertaken two years after Ferguson walked from Glasgow to Munich ahead of the European Championship in Germany.
"It's been an unbelievable challenge, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't starting to feel a bit gubbed [a Scottish word indicating an irretrievable state of disrepair or damage] at this point, however that's to be expected," an exhausted Ferguson said.
From the Rockies to the Rocky Steps; from tornadoes in the Midwest ("they don't play about") to the deserts of Arizona ("I was scared at night, a proper mad place") from being invited to a Lewis Capaldi concert in Colorado by the man himself, then getting a shout out, to receiving a good luck video message from the Proclaimers' Craig and Charlie Reid ("they looked like they had a gun to their heads and were told what to say"), it's been a memorable three and half months.
"I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) by the Proclaimers is like my unofficial anthem for these challenges, so hearing from the legends themselves is phenomenal," Ferguson said. "The amount of recognition I've had from genuine heroes of mine growing up, plus all the messages on social media from well-wishers, has been such a help just to keep going.
"Even at the beginning of this challenge, on the day we left, we had the pleasure of spending time with Sir Alex Ferguson at St Mirren Park and he wished us luck. Then meeting people like Ally McCoist and John Barrowman along the way; honestly, this just started off as a wee idea, then I was quitting my job, then I was packing my bags. The whole thing has been totally surreal.
"What we've done, both me and Matt [Matthew Allen, Ferguson's friend who was responsible for social media content, logistics and pretty much every else behind the scenes] is something to be really proud of. I genuinely don't think any of this will really sink in for a few months, and even then we'll probably say, 'Did we actually do that?'"
"Scotland, Scotland. I'd walk a million miles... for one of your goals Oh Scotland."
Due to time constraints, Ferguson's version of that particular Tartan Army song meant only having to walk 3,240 miles from Los Angeles to Boston, to witness McGinn's goal -- the midfielder's 28th-minute winner against Haiti coming, ironically, 28 years after ESPN's very own Craig Burley was the last man to score for Scotland at a World Cup.
Having wandered from Glasgow to Munich in 2024, then going through four pairs of trainers while crossing America by foot this summer, the bar has been set pretty high for Ferguson's next challenge, assuming there's going to be one.
"Honestly, am I too young to consider retirement?! Look, I don't think I'm going to end up walking to every single tournament, but it probably won't be long until I do start planning again," Ferguson said.
"Maybe we could do something if Scotland qualify for the World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2034 -- 10 years on from Glasgow to Munich -- I guess that would be a cool anniversary. But I'll be a bit older by then so we'll see how my body's faring up. Right now, though, any thoughts of that couldn't be any further away."
