04-13-2021, 08:22 AM
The travel gods did not find favor with our jaunt and punished us accordingly.
It did start on the upside. Because tQ is a traveler extraordinaire, she gets perks. For our rental car, Hertz put us in the Presidential Circle and told us to pick one. I opted for a ludicrously large Infiniti QX80. It was about the size of a Chevy Suburban and had room enough for seven passengers. I figured it would be helpful to shepherd people around but that never came to fruition. Everyone drove there own cars and it was just tQ and I in the behemoth.
We got into Florida around 7 after a quick stop in St. Louis. We were flying Southwest but still managed to get a row to ourselves on both legs of the journey. tQ suffers by taking the middle seat when we fly. This time she got the window seat while I took the aisle.
Our first stop in Lakeland, FL was tQ's mom's house. tQ's mom, Rita lives in a senior living community complete with golf course. No one under 65 can live there. I comes complete with a card key gate to get in. The gate is open during the day but after a certain time, the gate closes. We got there with the gate closed. While I was punching in the code at the visitors entry box, a security guard pulled up and asked me why I didn't just my card to get in?......I'm visiting? The security guard opened the gate for us.
Rita's son, tQ's brother and two of her step kids were already there when we showed up. There were snacks and alcohol. In case it hasn't been made clear, tQ's brother, Mark and tQ no longer speak to each other. This is by Mark's choice. He decided tQ was mean to him by using big words and making him feel stupid. It could also be an extension of the bad feeling stemming from tQ's father. It's a mess. They haven't communicated in at least three years. But at Rita's house, Mark was all sorts of chummy. He wanted to talk to me and to tQ. It might have been the three or four or five whiskeys talking, but he wanted to talk. Even going so far at one point saying he missed us and that he loved watching tQ and I banter. My goal for the weekend was to stay as far away from him as possible for fear of saying something untoward in front of Rita. But he kind of made that impossible.
We left Rita's and went to our hotel, The La Quinta Inn Lakeland. The La Quinta had seen better days. It's been beaten pretty hard with chipped paint everywhere, scuff marks all over the elevator and a giant dog pee stain near our room at the base of the emergency exit door. Another bonus was that the hotel sat at the junction of two highways. The windows and walls did nothing to mar the constant noise coming from them. I woke up at one point upon hearing a car burning rubber for what seemed like an inordinately long time. I did however get to use the coat hanger trick to keep the curtains tightly closed. Basically use the spring clips on the hanger used to grab pants to clip the curtains closed.
Friday morning, tQ and I went out to a restaurant for the first time in over a year. Safety protocols were in place at the Bob Evans Restaurant. We wore masks and only pulled them down to shove in food. We dined with tQ's step-siblings. Mark was supposed to be there as well but he was still recovering from the previous night's alcohol intake. Just as well.
After that it was off to the Florida National Cemetery for Gene Jones memorial service. We were one of five services being performed that morning. It was short and sweet. They folded the flag. They played taps. People got up and said goodbye to his ashes. I thought they were going to inter him that day but his niche wasn't ready yet. Then we drove back the hour to Lakeland. Since the gravesite attendance was limited, Rita had a few more friends join us for snacks and drinks a local golf course. I took lots of pictures of the family for Rita.
Later that night we had pizza back at Rita's, once again with the step-siblings and Mark. To give you some idea of Mark, he tells stories like Scapino only not as quickly and with even less relevance.
The evening at La Quinta was a tad quieter but our maid never made up our room. We learned later that during Covid times, rooms won't be cleaned unless specifically requested. They still could have come in and emptied the trash.
In the middle of the night, I woke with my mouth full of this horrible taste. It felt like stomach acid sloshing around in there. I got up to rinse my mouth out. While I was in the bathroom, I realize the stomach acid was just a harbinger of things to come. My stomach roiled and I grabbed the toilet. I tried to keep the expulsion quiet as tQ was still asleep in the next room. I don't know what caused the vomiting but it was the capper to a fine evening. The heaving subsided and I made my way back to bed.
We checked out early the next day and went for a quick walk around Lake Hollingsworth which is always fun. It's an uninterrupted 3 mile paved loop around the lake. After that, we had another breakfast at Bob Evans and then went to Rita's to hang out until our plane left in the afternoon.
By this point, the only real problem we had was that tQ left her Cubs jacket on the plane. The trip was going smoothly, smoothly like riding in an Infinit QX80. ( The QX80 had too many bells and whistles that constantly told me I wasn't in my lane or the road was unpaved or I parked to close to a bush. It did have XM radio so I spent the weekend listening to U2 Radio)
We made our farewells to Rita and started on the 50 minute ride to the Tampa airport. The navigation system alerted us to the fact that there were several slow downs during the journey. It seemed like we crawled the whole way to Tampa. The closer we got to the airport, the more congested the traffic. It took us an additional half hour to get the airport. But we'd left with plenty of time so there was still some cushion to get on the plane in time.
tQ got to use the TSA approved line while I went with the peasants. The man in front of me must have been flying for the first time because he had to be told multiple time about things he couldn't bring through the scanner and still went through with pens in his pocket. They took him to be searched. They took my camerbag aside again but it didn't have contraband this time.
tQ and I were in the second group to get on the plane so we grabbed one of the first rows. We tried our trick of sitting on the aisle and window seat in the hope no one would take the middle seat but the travel gods were starting their swing away from benevolence to malevolence. A woman stopped at our aisle and asked to sit. She figured this was as good a place as any. Dammit. tQ moved to the middle so we would sit next to each other. The woman was given the window seat. tQ now got to look forward to five hours of me squashing her.
This entire trip, the skies over Florida had been bright and blue with a few puffy clouds. As soon as we were on the plane, a storm front rolled in. Our captain came on the PA and told us that all flights at the airport had been put on hold until the front passed. He hoped the air traffic control would release the plane shortly. Yeah, no. Our pilot was a liar. After fifteen minutes he said the delay would be at least an hour. The time between our landing in San Diego and our connecting flight departing for San Jose was also an hour. tQ and I crossed our fingers that we would make the flight.
As our hour delay stretched towards two hours, we knew we were screwed. The people in the row behind us were in a panic because they needed to make a flight to catch a concert. They bailed in search of other flights despite the fact our stewardess mentioned no flights were taking off in the airport. The left anyway. tQ went up to the gate to see about making arrangements for a new flight for us. The earliest we could get a flight was the next day at 7. This would necessitate an overnight stay in San Diego. The airline wouldn't pay for the room since it was a weather related delay. Hotel rooms near the airport were also really expensive. tQ did not approve of the idea of hanging out at the airport for eight hours. tQ managed to get the last two tickets for Sunday's 7am flight to San Jose.
The plane was eventually cleared for takeoff but so was every other plane at Tampa International. There was a huge line of planes on the taxi way waiting to take off. At the three hour mark, we eventually took off. I think the five hour trip from Tampa to San Diego is one of the longest legs Southwest flies. No food service and a limited drink service comprised of Coke, Diet Coke, 7up, and water. We did get a bag of snack mix.
We got six hours of sleep before at the Hampton Inn before we headed back to the airport at 5:30am. The Hampton was light years different from our La Quinta stay. I didn't get the sense that we would have to bleach our bodies after leaving the room.
But the Travel Gods weren't quite done with us. We took a taxi back to the airport. As we approached the turn into the airport, we noticed a lot of police activity. Right where we were to make our turn into the airport, there was a horrific accident. Glass and car parts were strewn across the intersection. The damage black Prius was still in the intersection as well. tQ looked out the window and saw an uncovered dead body on the ground. Our taxi driver had to make a long circuitous drive to avoid the traffic and get us to our terminal. The route took us by the accident an additional time.
The San Diego airport was packed. People groused about the block seats to maintain social distancing. Lines to the food purveyors were extremely long. Despite the fact we got the last two tickets for the flight, we weren't the last people to board. The Travel Gods finally relented and we were able to at least sit together for the sixty minute flight to San Jose.
From there it was foot on the gas all the way back to Raymond. The dogs were delighted to see us. The cats eventually deigned to come greet us.
It did start on the upside. Because tQ is a traveler extraordinaire, she gets perks. For our rental car, Hertz put us in the Presidential Circle and told us to pick one. I opted for a ludicrously large Infiniti QX80. It was about the size of a Chevy Suburban and had room enough for seven passengers. I figured it would be helpful to shepherd people around but that never came to fruition. Everyone drove there own cars and it was just tQ and I in the behemoth.
We got into Florida around 7 after a quick stop in St. Louis. We were flying Southwest but still managed to get a row to ourselves on both legs of the journey. tQ suffers by taking the middle seat when we fly. This time she got the window seat while I took the aisle.
Our first stop in Lakeland, FL was tQ's mom's house. tQ's mom, Rita lives in a senior living community complete with golf course. No one under 65 can live there. I comes complete with a card key gate to get in. The gate is open during the day but after a certain time, the gate closes. We got there with the gate closed. While I was punching in the code at the visitors entry box, a security guard pulled up and asked me why I didn't just my card to get in?......I'm visiting? The security guard opened the gate for us.
Rita's son, tQ's brother and two of her step kids were already there when we showed up. There were snacks and alcohol. In case it hasn't been made clear, tQ's brother, Mark and tQ no longer speak to each other. This is by Mark's choice. He decided tQ was mean to him by using big words and making him feel stupid. It could also be an extension of the bad feeling stemming from tQ's father. It's a mess. They haven't communicated in at least three years. But at Rita's house, Mark was all sorts of chummy. He wanted to talk to me and to tQ. It might have been the three or four or five whiskeys talking, but he wanted to talk. Even going so far at one point saying he missed us and that he loved watching tQ and I banter. My goal for the weekend was to stay as far away from him as possible for fear of saying something untoward in front of Rita. But he kind of made that impossible.
We left Rita's and went to our hotel, The La Quinta Inn Lakeland. The La Quinta had seen better days. It's been beaten pretty hard with chipped paint everywhere, scuff marks all over the elevator and a giant dog pee stain near our room at the base of the emergency exit door. Another bonus was that the hotel sat at the junction of two highways. The windows and walls did nothing to mar the constant noise coming from them. I woke up at one point upon hearing a car burning rubber for what seemed like an inordinately long time. I did however get to use the coat hanger trick to keep the curtains tightly closed. Basically use the spring clips on the hanger used to grab pants to clip the curtains closed.
Friday morning, tQ and I went out to a restaurant for the first time in over a year. Safety protocols were in place at the Bob Evans Restaurant. We wore masks and only pulled them down to shove in food. We dined with tQ's step-siblings. Mark was supposed to be there as well but he was still recovering from the previous night's alcohol intake. Just as well.
After that it was off to the Florida National Cemetery for Gene Jones memorial service. We were one of five services being performed that morning. It was short and sweet. They folded the flag. They played taps. People got up and said goodbye to his ashes. I thought they were going to inter him that day but his niche wasn't ready yet. Then we drove back the hour to Lakeland. Since the gravesite attendance was limited, Rita had a few more friends join us for snacks and drinks a local golf course. I took lots of pictures of the family for Rita.
Later that night we had pizza back at Rita's, once again with the step-siblings and Mark. To give you some idea of Mark, he tells stories like Scapino only not as quickly and with even less relevance.
The evening at La Quinta was a tad quieter but our maid never made up our room. We learned later that during Covid times, rooms won't be cleaned unless specifically requested. They still could have come in and emptied the trash.
In the middle of the night, I woke with my mouth full of this horrible taste. It felt like stomach acid sloshing around in there. I got up to rinse my mouth out. While I was in the bathroom, I realize the stomach acid was just a harbinger of things to come. My stomach roiled and I grabbed the toilet. I tried to keep the expulsion quiet as tQ was still asleep in the next room. I don't know what caused the vomiting but it was the capper to a fine evening. The heaving subsided and I made my way back to bed.
We checked out early the next day and went for a quick walk around Lake Hollingsworth which is always fun. It's an uninterrupted 3 mile paved loop around the lake. After that, we had another breakfast at Bob Evans and then went to Rita's to hang out until our plane left in the afternoon.
By this point, the only real problem we had was that tQ left her Cubs jacket on the plane. The trip was going smoothly, smoothly like riding in an Infinit QX80. ( The QX80 had too many bells and whistles that constantly told me I wasn't in my lane or the road was unpaved or I parked to close to a bush. It did have XM radio so I spent the weekend listening to U2 Radio)
We made our farewells to Rita and started on the 50 minute ride to the Tampa airport. The navigation system alerted us to the fact that there were several slow downs during the journey. It seemed like we crawled the whole way to Tampa. The closer we got to the airport, the more congested the traffic. It took us an additional half hour to get the airport. But we'd left with plenty of time so there was still some cushion to get on the plane in time.
tQ got to use the TSA approved line while I went with the peasants. The man in front of me must have been flying for the first time because he had to be told multiple time about things he couldn't bring through the scanner and still went through with pens in his pocket. They took him to be searched. They took my camerbag aside again but it didn't have contraband this time.
tQ and I were in the second group to get on the plane so we grabbed one of the first rows. We tried our trick of sitting on the aisle and window seat in the hope no one would take the middle seat but the travel gods were starting their swing away from benevolence to malevolence. A woman stopped at our aisle and asked to sit. She figured this was as good a place as any. Dammit. tQ moved to the middle so we would sit next to each other. The woman was given the window seat. tQ now got to look forward to five hours of me squashing her.
This entire trip, the skies over Florida had been bright and blue with a few puffy clouds. As soon as we were on the plane, a storm front rolled in. Our captain came on the PA and told us that all flights at the airport had been put on hold until the front passed. He hoped the air traffic control would release the plane shortly. Yeah, no. Our pilot was a liar. After fifteen minutes he said the delay would be at least an hour. The time between our landing in San Diego and our connecting flight departing for San Jose was also an hour. tQ and I crossed our fingers that we would make the flight.
As our hour delay stretched towards two hours, we knew we were screwed. The people in the row behind us were in a panic because they needed to make a flight to catch a concert. They bailed in search of other flights despite the fact our stewardess mentioned no flights were taking off in the airport. The left anyway. tQ went up to the gate to see about making arrangements for a new flight for us. The earliest we could get a flight was the next day at 7. This would necessitate an overnight stay in San Diego. The airline wouldn't pay for the room since it was a weather related delay. Hotel rooms near the airport were also really expensive. tQ did not approve of the idea of hanging out at the airport for eight hours. tQ managed to get the last two tickets for Sunday's 7am flight to San Jose.
The plane was eventually cleared for takeoff but so was every other plane at Tampa International. There was a huge line of planes on the taxi way waiting to take off. At the three hour mark, we eventually took off. I think the five hour trip from Tampa to San Diego is one of the longest legs Southwest flies. No food service and a limited drink service comprised of Coke, Diet Coke, 7up, and water. We did get a bag of snack mix.
We got six hours of sleep before at the Hampton Inn before we headed back to the airport at 5:30am. The Hampton was light years different from our La Quinta stay. I didn't get the sense that we would have to bleach our bodies after leaving the room.
But the Travel Gods weren't quite done with us. We took a taxi back to the airport. As we approached the turn into the airport, we noticed a lot of police activity. Right where we were to make our turn into the airport, there was a horrific accident. Glass and car parts were strewn across the intersection. The damage black Prius was still in the intersection as well. tQ looked out the window and saw an uncovered dead body on the ground. Our taxi driver had to make a long circuitous drive to avoid the traffic and get us to our terminal. The route took us by the accident an additional time.
The San Diego airport was packed. People groused about the block seats to maintain social distancing. Lines to the food purveyors were extremely long. Despite the fact we got the last two tickets for the flight, we weren't the last people to board. The Travel Gods finally relented and we were able to at least sit together for the sixty minute flight to San Jose.
From there it was foot on the gas all the way back to Raymond. The dogs were delighted to see us. The cats eventually deigned to come greet us.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm