Saturday, February 15 - it's always an adventure!

Hello strangers!
I know, it's been a very long time and I'm not going to go into any details, you all know what they are.

So back in the fall Patti suggested that I join them in Florida. They usually go down for a week to visit with Greg's mom and dad. I had no reason to say no. I thought that since I was going to be there anyway, I'd see about using a week of timeshare at the same time. Unfortunately there wasn't anything available in the area for that week so I decided to extend my stay by another week. I obtained a spot at a resort in Orlando (Greg's parents are in Clearwater).

The week we were to leave we looked at flight availability. Tuesday looked like the best day to get everyone there. I flew out early in the morning to Toronto (much thanks to Bernie for driving me at 3:30 in the morning to catch the 5:15 flight). I had several hours to kill until everyone else arrived for our 2:30 flight to Florida. I got myself some breakfast and it was then that I discovered that when transferring my stuff over to my travel purse that I'd forgotten to include my credit card. You know those commercials that say "Don't leave home without it" ? Yeah, turns out they are absolutely right.  I did have my debit card so I was sort of okay but extremely annoyed with myself.

The rest of the gang arrived - Patti, Greg, Meghan, Tristen, James and his girlfriend Liv. Lucky for us there were lots of seats on the plane and we all got in.  When we arrived in Sarasota we picked up the van that Patti had booked ahead of time. It was after supper time and we were all hungry so we stopped at a restaurant on our way for something to eat. Then it was on to Lynn and Paul's. Patti had booked some space at a small hotel directly across the street from the condo so we had plenty of room for everyone.

We spent an enjoyable few days with Lynn and Paul. The weather wasn't extremely warm but it was very pleasant for walking about. We visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. A dolphin named Winter was the subject of a movie called "A Dolphin's Tale". Winter arrived at CMA in 2005 after being caught in a crab trap line. Thanks to her rescue, she survived, but unfortunately the damage around her tail was too severe and she lost the tail due to the entanglement. A prosthetic tail was designed for her and she she still resides at this aquarium. Quite an amazing sight to see. 

Some time was spent shopping and just exploring the area. We spent one day at Disney World. Greg decided it might be a good idea as it would likely be the last time the entire family was all together and able to go. 

We lucked out with the weather. It was not as hot as they had predicted and other than just a couple of sprinkles, we didn't get any rain either. It was a long day but an enjoyable one. It's been probably 30 years or more since I visited Disney World. Lots of changes and new things to see. 

Oh look! Geraniums - This one's for you Stu

On Sunday afternoon Patti drove me over to Orlando, about a 2 hour drive. I would have rented a car and gone over but hard to do without a credit card. Plus I needed one to check into the timeshare. So off we headed. We arrived a little bit early but my unit was ready. That allowed me to get checked in and get Patti back on the road for the drive back to Clearwater. James had left that morning and the others were leaving the next day.

My one bedroom unit was quite lovely with everything I would possibly need. The weather was warmer in Orlando so I had  an enjoyable week spending lots of time each day sitting out by the pool. I didn't use the pool but I was in the hot tub everyday.

I would have rented a car for a couple of days, as there was a rental place right next door to the resort but again, it's impossible to do without a credit card. So instead I spend many hours exploring the area on foot. Because it's only one mile to Disney the entire area consists of mainly fast food places and souvenir shops. But sidewalks were very wide and uncrowded so lengthy walks were extremely easy.

I was scheduled to fly out of Orlando on Sunday morning, where I took my first Uber ride. I was able to set up an Uber account on my tablet with the credit card info that Brenda had so kindly secured for my from my wallet that was on the counter in my kitchen at home. 

My driver arrived promptly at 8:00 and I was whisked off to the airport. No trouble getting a seat on that plane and I was off to Montreal. Sadly I didn't get a seat out of Montreal that evening so thanks to Patti and some phone calls she was able to make me a hotel reservation using her card. Once I got to the hotel I was able to pay with my debit card, along with a security deposit which was refunded once they'd checked my room in the morning to ensure I hadn't had any wild parties between 10:00 pm and 4:00 am. 

Next morning we got on our plane at 8:00 am but were delayed for de-icing. As I was by the window,  I had a front row seat for the de-icing procedure. I now know more than I ever expected to about the process. A solution of orange 'stuff' is sprayed all over the plane. That is intended to get rid of any ice on the plane. Then a fluorescent green 'stuff' is sprayed on to keep ice from forming while we take off. At least that's how I understood it. We finally took off around  9:00 am.

We made our way to Charlottetown and upon arrival in the vicinity two attempts to land were made. Both times weather did not permit it. Apparently visibility and wind speed were an issue. 

By this time we are getting low on fuel. So off we go to Deer Lake, NFLD to gas up. 

A quick stop, for the plane,( not the passengers), and we were once again on our way back to PEI. Another attempt was made to land and we were so close, but then it headed back up just before touching down. Without success the decision was made to take us all back to Montreal. So at 3:00 pm we ended up right back where we started!

It was only meant to be a one hour flight on a small plane with one flight attendant, instead of the 7 hour magical mystery tour it turned out to be, so there was no food or anything on the plane. We were fortunate that the plane wasn't full so most of us had two seats to stretch out on which made a big difference. I had a book with me and my travel pillow so I alternated between napping and reading. Our flight attendant was an older gentleman and he did a fantastic job.  I think his good humour and total understanding made it possible for us to arrive safely without a lot of grumpy passengers.

Because they had to re-book all the passengers I knew I wouldn't be getting to the island that night. So I opted to catch a flight to Toronto, where Patti just happened to be returning from a flight herself. We met at the airport and she took me to her house.

My Tristen, how you've grown!

 I ended up staying till Wednesday morning when she drove me back to Pearson to get a seat back to PEI, successfully this time.

I can't tell you how grateful I was to get a text from Brenda to come straight home, as she would have lunch ready for me. She had dropped my car off at the airport on Sunday. I was welcomed to a warm house, shoveled snow, a bottle of wine and delicious lunch. 
It was a clear and sunny afternoon so we opted to go out for a bit of snowshoeing before hauling my suitcase inside and unpacking. That could wait till later.

Today it was -20' when I woke up. Welcome back to winter!