Providence to Orlando

Right off the bat this trip got off to a strange start. I guess I confused the parking lots when I made my reservation. I knew the way it was being done was different than when I had made reservations before but it’s been awhile since I’ve flown out of Providence so I figured things had changed. Well, all that changed was that I mixed up the lot names. I usually use Pre-Flight parking in Providence and Park & Fly in Albany. Of course I made my reservation at Park & Fly so when I got to where I thought I was going and realized it didn’t match, I got a little nervous. I was afraid I’d get lost looking for the right one and then miss my flight. Throw in the mess with my credit card and you might say I was a little stressed.

The credit card thing was that I tried to pay the “pending” balance so I wouldn’t have anything on my card when I came down but the Credit card company would only accept a payment in the amount of the actual balance so I had to wait for the pending charges to post then pay the bill, which I did, and the money has left my checking account. I even got the email from the credit card company telling me my payment had been received, but they refused to free up that credit until Tuesday (tomorrow) so I was juggling things around to be sure I had room deposit (refundable), rental car deposits, etc. I left more money in the checking account rather than bringing cash just in case. It turned out that the rental car went through but the room deposit did not so I used the debit card for that. Anything to make it harder, Oh well.

Getting through security was really quick even though I was pulled out to have my hands tested for explosives. I wonder if I look like a terrorist? Doesn't everyone at 6:30 in the moring?

Delta was taking me to Florida by way of Detroit (HUH?) Seems a little out of the way, but what do I know about airline schedules. It was one of the little planes with two seats on each side of the aisle. I had the window seat and was really surprised how comfortable the seat was. Then it hit me, maybe it was comfortable because I’m 30 lbs smaller than I was last June??? I commented that I was surprised how comfortable the seat was and my seat mate gave me strange look so I think it was more the weight loss than the seat!

We took off right on time and landed in Detroit early. We came in at Concourse C and of course my connection was at Concourse A gate 66 which was a different building and the far end of the concourse from where I was. It figures. I have never had to change planes without treking 5 miles between gates! Anyway in this case I’m glad I had to do that because if I hadn’t had to change concourses I wouldn’t have gone through the tunnel. This is really something! The lights are very low and the walls are lit by continuously moving pastel colors. At first I thought they had built an aquarium because that was the effect, almost like light filtering though water. People were stopping and taking pictures and I wanted to but I only had ½ hour and my gate was far, far away.

Coming to the end of the tunnel and reaching “the other side” I went up the escalator to find I was in the hub of Concourse A. Following a series of those moving sidewalks I finally spotted Gate 66 with about 10 minutes to spare. In addition to the “people movers” they also have a high speed tram to help people get around to the various gates and concourses. They certainly looked shiny and new. Another time I wished I had my camera out but again I was concerned about the time and decided not to risk it.

Then it was time to board for the leg from Detroit to Orlando. This flight was also uneventful. It was a much bigger plane and I had 2 seatmates this time, both women. It’s been my experience that men are much friendlier travelers than women and that again proved to be true. Not a word was said to me by my two fellow travelers where as the gentleman on the first flight told me he wanted to sleep than chattered for a good 30 minutes. I learned tons about him and absolutely nothing about the ladies. I’ve noticed that before but today the contrast was really evident.

Landing in Orlando, I was pleased when my luggage was already waiting for me (It was another long trek to baggage claim ) and I headed to the car rental. I chose an economy car  and was rewarded with a little Hyundai but for a little car it has a lot of pep. Getting to Cypress Point was really easy and checking in(except for the credit card blip) went smoothly. The weather is beautiful too. Not humid like it is in the summer but sunny with a nice breeze.

The room/ suite / condo or whatever you want to call it is gorgeous! It is a 3 bedroom “lock off”. The main part of the unit has kitchen, living room, dining room, patio, master bedroom, master bath, small 2^nd bedroom and laundry. Then there is another bedroom which is just as nice as the master bedroom. It has it’s own patio, a huge Grecian style tub and a shower. The bedroom door locks which is why they call it a “lock off”. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow but tonight I’m just ready to kick back and relax.

I had dinner across the street at “Joe’s Clam Shack” and it was excellent but there is no shortage of restaurants in the area. I could see some of that 30 lbs creeping back on if I’m not careful.

One last errand before I can wrap up for the night. I needed to find a grocery store and stock up with breakfast food for the week. The bartender at “Joe’s” sent me to a Winn-Dixie that was almost walking distance to Cypress Point so you can’t get more convenient than that.

Well folks, I am tired tonight so that’s going to wrap this up for now. I promise I’ll get some pictures on here tomorrow.