No key?

I have had some doozy melt downs before traveling. I outdid myself this time. My apologizes and thanks to those of you who tried to prop me up and get me out the door. I never slept a wink. I left the house 30 minutes later than I had planned, which is a first. Always, no matter how freaky I get, I am ready on time and out the door. Not this time. Not only was I late getting out, no one told me the roads were still icy from the 12-16 inches of snow we had the day before. It was a lovely slide for over an hour to the airport. Lucky for me, my original departure time allowed me to get there way early. Instead, I was just early. I was early enough to have something to eat while I recovered from the latest insult from airport security.

What could I have possibly done this time? I will never again forget to put all my liquids in appropriately sized containers and then to hand over the baggy. I was almost strip searched for forgetting to hand the baggy over once. My best embroidery scissors are some place in Chicago. No, this one was really, really good. After being up all night, having only 3 or 4 hours of sleep the night before that, packing all night, sliding on ice to the airport, I get in trouble again.

When I was in the Phoenix airport one time, I grabbed a couple of the baggies they had available for passenger's convenience. That seemed a safe thing to use, right? Not in Detroit. While the security creep is holding my baggie and yelling at me because it has a draw-string top and not a zip lock top, I politely pointed out to him that it says, "Phoenix International Airport" or whatever the airport is called, right on the side of the baggie. I thought he was going to grab me when another security guy told him to Back Off Now.

Whew. I didn't want to explain that one to my medical insurance company. Injuried due to a draw-string baggie? In the airport? By security? I am never rude to security or customs or immigration people. Not even when they fondle my lingerie in my suitcase. They are doing a job and I respect that. I am fascinated by their personal interpretations of their jobs, but I have heard way too many stories from friends who have mouthed off to border guards going to Canada. Nope. Not me. Polite, all the way. Then it goes into my journal. Welcome to Detroit.

Three days in Florida! I was very excited. It has been cold here, and windy, and rainy, and ugly and gray. A real break! I got to the Tampa airport. What is this weather? I had on a cotton jacket with a polartek jacket over it, and had shoved the polartek into my carryon when I put my sandals on. I dragged the second jacket back out and put it back on. I got my car.

Funny thing, what lack of sleep can do. I did the paperwork, found the car, pushed the button on the fob and put my luggage in. Only then did I realize that I had a fob and a tag. No key. I shook my head - my car was way at the farthest part of the parking lot. I didn't want to walk back. Some lizard part of my brain wondered if maybe no key was needed? Let's try it. So I got in the car, found a button, and pushed it. Nothing. Hmmm. Another small data recovery - I put my foot on the brake, pushed the button, and the car started. Woo hoo!!

I had repeatedly asked for directions to get out of the airport and on to the roads I needed to find Martha. I asked if there was a place to pull over to go over the map. No, there wasn't. Leave the area and you are on a freeway. OK, I left the area and was on a freeway. The next direction said to go one way on the next freeway. It sounded wrong to me, so I went the other way. By that time, I was correctly at the third freeway, all the way through Tampa, and on my way south almost 100 miles total to find Martha. Which I did. Uneventfully. I can't do that any place else. Only in Florida. Calmly, I enjoyed the drive. It was so windy that the car was sometimes blown part way into another lane. I had a Nissan Altima. Drove nicely, too.

Found Martha! Oh boy - we were going to eat outside on the patio and walk in the sun on the beach - except I was putting my tennies and socks back on and removing my sandals. It was so cold! Martha and I agreed to eat inside - anything else would be cruel. As far as the beach - we gave it a good try. We almost made it a mile, and then moved away from the beach to return. Much too cold and windy!

Martha is great - I sure do wish I lived near Martha :-)

Back to my car, followed Martha back to the road I needed. Back on several freeways, back through downtown Tampa and almost another 100 miles to my final destination. It was almost dark by then. My friend, ST, was to call me when he was done working for the day. I decided to make a trip to the grocery store, get some cranberry juice and vodka, and some snacks. All went well except the vodka. Dry county? I asked a few people where I might find vodka to go with my cranberry juice and no one had any idea. Yikes!

I headed off down the road, in rush traffic, to see if I could find a liquor store. I vaguely remember being in the same area with Cindy 29 years ago and having to go to a liquor store. No luck. I went the other way. No luck. Finally I pulled off to the left and asked a guy in a convenience store where to go. He told me to follow the road that way and turn right on whatever road and it would be on the right. Does no one ever say things like "half a mile" or "five miles" besides me? By that time it was fully dark and I was driving along looking for the store on the right. I found a crappy neighborhood with a strip mall, so I pulled in there looking for XYZ. That is the real name, not a pseudonym. My phone rang. ST is ready for me at the hotel, and asks me where I am.

"I don't know." He knows me well enough to know I am telling the truth. I told him I was looking for a liquor store - which I then found - and told him I should be back in five, ten minutes or so. Maybe.

As I headed back, I recalled that the convenience store guy never told me what the name of the road was I turned on, and I had not a clue. Somehow, I found my way, turned left, turned right, and picked up ST in front of the hotel for dinner. He was proud of me. So was I!

I kept the poor guy up way too late, considering he had to be at work around 6:30 am. He told me it was going to probably be a long day. I figured, OK, I will go for a long walk. Hmmm. Cold. Way too cold! I slept until 10 am. Behind the hotel is a big outdoors mall, which is where I spent most of the day. I had hoped to meet up with some other people in the area, but it didn't work out. I am easily entertained and had fun trying to walk and stay warm at the same time. I asked at the hotel desk for walking trails, but the wind and the cold were just too much. Eventually I went back to the hotel and tried to catch up on some sleep, but ended up reading instead. ST returned kind of late to find me rested and relaxed. Poor guy luckily doesn't need much sleep. He had to be back again at 6:30 am.

He can sleep when he gets old.

The third day he went to work again and, after sleeping again until 10 am, I returned to the mall. It warmed up a little. Still smarting from the reaction my body gave me to the crawfish po boy and clam chowder I had for lunch the day before, I ate very lightly. I had a dish of ice cream, to be exact. I ate that ice cream while I mapped out my return route to the hotel. ST was traveling with work people, which left me getting myself around. No problem. Make me drive around palm trees in January. I can deal with it.

All proud of myself, I set off for the airport. It was getting warmer for sure. They had a small cold spell, which lasted while I was there. But of course. I turned right at the first corner, got on the toll road, aimed for the freeway going east, and found the exit closed. Grrrr - I had a second of panic. I then went west, got off at the first exit, and headed back east, on my way. No problem.

While the trip was very short and cold, I don't regret it. It was worth listening to the child yell at me about the dogs, worth making 20 calls or so for two further dog sitters to cover all of three days, worth missing a lot of sleep. It was cold and windy, but the only snow landed in Daytona Beach, not that far away from where we were.

Missed me this time! Nah nah!

Yesterday it was warmer here than it was in Florida when I was there. We hit 64 degrees yesterday. *sigh*