Let me start by saying that since yesterday was July 4, my husband K had his regular gig with the Brevard Symphony in Cocoa, Florida. I went along as usual to visit the shops and then to have dinner with him before the concert and fireworks. Getting out of Cocoa afterwards was work and then we had about an hour's drive home.
I am incapable of going to bed right after getting home from such an outing. I spent time fighting our computer to get checked in and such. So, I got less than 4 hours sleep and really hoped to make up for it on the plane.
K got up at 5:30 EDT and I got up at 5:45. This was not going to help us get used to the time difference, but it was necessary to be able to eat and finish locking down the house. I also gathered all of our luggage for a photo. That would help us in case anything got separated from us. We planned to each take a backpack through security and K would take my roll-on, while I carried the purse. We figured the second backpack would help us carry food for the flight.
At 7, a friend picked us up and he had us to Orlando International Airport at 7:30. The American Airlines check-in area was busy and we didn't get our bags dropped off until 7:50.
When we got out to the TSA area just two minutes later, we were amazed at the crowd. Not the regular one, but the one for TSA PreCheck. It's never that crowded. The folks from Clear were using the opportunity to try to convince people to pay for their service to get through faster. We've already paid for Global Entry that gives us PreCheck; I cannot imagine putting out more money.
The line was so bad that instead of just the normal 4 lines, they actually opened a fifth, while we were in line. We finally got through at 8:09 and headed for the shuttle to the gates.
Out at the gate area at 8:12, we picked up two turkey sandwiches and chips at Ruby Tuesday to Go. The total was a whopping $27.13.
At 9:23, we were seated in 10 D and E on AA2586 to Miami. Wait. What? Yes, to get to Denver, we have to fly south to Miami. There is no logic in that.
At 9:45, the plane pushed back from the gate and at about 10, we took off. It was an incredibly short trip. By 10:32, we were looking out at the Miami area and at 10:39, we landed. At least, I'd managed to doze for some of the time.
The plane was at gate D21 at 10:46 and we got off at 10:50. Using Google maps, we found our way to the upper level to wait for the Sky Train, which we boarded at 10:52. It was raining as the train departed at 10:53. We got off at the next stop at 10:54. I was furious to find that the down escalator was not working and there was no elevator in sight. As we hurried down the stalled escalator, I took a pause for my knees and got this photo.
At 11, we'd made it to Gate D31. How in the world could gates that are just 10 numbers apart be put so far apart?
We had just enough time for restroom stops and to get this photo.
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At 11:39, we were seated in 24 D and E on AA1817 to Denver. The plane pushed back from the gate just 5 minutes later. We took off at noon and soon had this lovely view.
I slept, read Smithsonian, ate, and slept again. Not a bad flight.
At 2:210 MDT, we landed hard in Denver and actually bounced. That is not fun.
At 2:19, the plane was at Gate C3, but it took us another 11 minutes to get off. I noted it was cloudy as we took a train to the actual terminal.
On our way to the baggage carousel, which we reached at 2:56, we saw the nature space above the trains that we've noticed before.
One thing we had not noticed before was just how many racks for over size luggage (think golf clubs, skis, etc.) that there were here.
Once we had the bags, we were in total confusion as to where the car rental company was. The map of the airport was rather unhelpful. We finally found our way outside to a bus to the off-site Hertz lot at 3:09, reaching their building, which we did recognize, at 3:17.
After signing the paperwork, they told us to just go out and pick out a car from a certain section. Easier said than done. Several of the cars had Florida plates, which I wanted to avoid. I really like to have plates from wherever we are visiting, even though that rarely happens. The first car we chose seemed perfect. I took pictures from every angle and we loaded it up. It wouldn't start. We unloaded and I deleted the photos. For the second, I started to take photos and we saw stained seats. Delete. The third had a console full of trash, scuffing on the console, the front passenger seat was dirty, and keyless transmission. But the others were bad. So, we stuck with this Sentra.
At 3:51, I noted the mileage as 46,573 and K emptied the trash. We drove up to the exit to present the paperwork and point out what we'd found. Oh, this one should have been marked for maintenance, we were told. She told us to put it back.
Number 4 had dry, sticky milk. Number 5 had spots on the passenger seat, yellow paint on the left rear window and the driver-side front window, and a Florida plate. But, we'd run out of compact cars to choose from. So, I took photos and K loaded up the luggage. At 4:12 with the odometer reading 24612, we drove this dark grey Honda Civic to the gate. I noted that it was 63°.
At about 4:16, we were finally on the road. Unfortunately, this put us very close to rush hour. Google Maps sent us in what seemed a weird direction, but we were at its mercy.
At 5:04 (24645), we pulled up to the Westin Westminster and managed to find a parking spot. This is where the 50th anniversary ClarinetFest was being held. The lobby was rather impressive.
K hasn't been president of the International Clarinet Association for a while. So, that could not have played a part in our room assignment of 1207. It was the next to the top floor and had a commanding view of the area.
As we were getting ourselves settled in and getting ready to rush off to dinner, I noticed this insanely priced bottle of water.
As we quickly changed for the ICA 50th Anniversary Banquet, we noticed how cold the room was. So, we jacked the temperature up to warm it up.
We arrived at the building with the banquet room at 6. K, of course, knew pretty much everyone at the banquet. I knew a couple from tagging along to these conferences for about 30 years. Luckily, the table of 10 we wound up at actually had several of these acquaintances of mine.
The table already had the salads and desserts. I just drank water. K and I had chosen steak, when we'd RSVP'd, because it's Denver, after all. The steak was good, if artsy in its presentation.
The conversation at the table was lively and often reminisced about the ICA history. I don't know what the topic was, when I replied to someone- perhaps the many side trips I take while sightseeing during the conferences. But, a guy directly across the table from me, asked me where I was from. As a general thing, when asked that question, I will concentrate and pronounce "Baltimore" the way non-Baltimoreans say it. He was delighted. "I knew it!" He'd taught at Salisbury University and said he'd recognized my accent. I was delighted that someone still heard it in my voice. I said that if I'd known he'd recognize it, I would have said "Bawlmer". We then traded local pronunciations for a bit.
There was a nice video with reminiscences from past presidents, including K.
The dinner started breaking up about 7:45, so that folks could get to the evening concert. John C, another past president, asked if we knew where a pharmacy was nearby. An attendee was sick and he wanted to get her supplies. I volunteered that I was going shopping for breakfast items for K and me and I'd pick up whatever he wanted. He was rather specific.
At 8, I was in the room, while K was at the concert. I got changed and took this photo of the sort of sunset we were having, which told me I was looking west.
I noted that the temperature was now 58°, felt like 56°. So, I made sure I had a jacket. Google maps had shown me that a Target was very nearby. I headed out at 8:29.
I arrived at what turned out to be a super Target at 8:36 (24647). It took me a bit to find things that would work. I had to settle for a huge bottle of distilled water for my CPAP machine. I texted John a selection of choices and he texted back which he wanted.
When I got back to the hotel at 8:36 (24648), our nice spot was taken. I had to park across the road. I really didn't want to make two trips, because John was going to meet me in the lobby to get the medical stuff. So, I hauled it over and collapsed into a seat at 9:40. I texted John that I was back and he soon arrived. He insisted on paying for the supplies.
When I got up to the room, it was still chilly. So, I switched to heat. The body was beginning to note the time difference.
The phone showed I'd walked 7,267 steps for 2.5 miles. In spite of walking down that escalator, it claimed I'd done no floors!
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