All is Well in my World

A good friend emailed me because she had not seen an update from me here regarding how I made out during the hurricane.  Shame on me!

I got so caught up in the trip back North, pouring over Hurricane articles etc, that I forgot to update my status. I arrived home on Saturday and pretty much face-planted into the bed after I unloaded the car.  Sunday was spent obsessively watching and reading about the Hurricane.

Monday morning I got the call I'd been waiting for. The president of the Condo board called me to let me know that he, personally, walked over to my place and all was well. Nothing broken, my little palm tree is still intact! I was so relieved I could have wept.

Of course, there was no power all week, but the last article I read on the County website said that power to the entire county was to be restored by midnight tomorrow.

Now that this is all behind me, I feel like I can share some experiences and observations I had on the long, long trip North.

The hotel I stayed at the night before I boarded the train was weird:

• There were sheer curtains on the window and the heavier black out curtains. However, the blackout curtains did not move--you couldn't close them. Thankfully, I was on the 4th floor but the room was so bright from exterior lighting, it was hard for me to sleep.

• There were strange goings-on in the parking lot of the hotel.:

At one point, I walked out to get the other bag from my car and saw 7 cars, all backed into parking spaces along the fence, all running, all with their high beams on. Just sitting there. As I walked back from my car, a car pulled up under the portico, a guy got out and started cleaning out bags and bottles from his car and putting them in the trash can--fine you say? I thought so too until he pulled not 1, but 2 small gas cans, reeking of gasoline, from his trunk and puts those in the trash can. (Which happened to be next to the smoking area, where 2 people were sitting and smoking) He gets into his car, revs the engine, does a u-turn and makes his way to the fence, backs in and becomes the 8th car sitting there, engine running and high beams on.   (no clue)

(I did tell the person at the desk about the gas cans and he sent someone out to get them)

Sleepy time!!!  I turn from the window and do my best to sleep. Not happening! Even my sleepy music is having no effect. Noises in the hall wake me at one point. Who is slamming the door to the stairs at 2am? Then I am awake for a long time,  finally falling asleep soundly about 5. 

I had set an alarm for 10 but at 8:45 someone (the maid, I believe) is pounding on the door and asking in very broken English am I in the room. Now, if your house keys cannot open the door because of the night guard and there is a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, wouldn't you get the hint? UGH I yell back through the door, check out is at 11. I'll be out then.

Back to righteous sleep and YEP you guessed it, more banging on the door asking if I am in the room. So, I get up about 9:20 and jump into the shower. While showering, I hear her at the door AGAIN. OMG. I take my time getting ready to leave and I keep hearing all this banging around outside of my door. At 10:58, I open the door to my room and find myself just about surrounded by large cardboard boxes of some sort. My room is not only across from the stairs but next to a storage room of some kind.

I say nothing just continue to the elevator and out the front door. I head over to Perkins for a leisurely breakfast before heading to the train station. I LOVE eating breakfast out. Dippy eggs, toast, bacon...all is right with the world again!

The scene at the Train Station really made this situation more of a reality:

I enter the ginormous station to complete chaos. There are more people in wheelchairs than I've ever seen in one place, at one time. The place is very noisy and there are more people than seats. It's hard getting to the line at the counter. After saying "excuse me" at least 20 times, I am in line. This time the priority line is even more of a blessing.

I feel like I am in a bad movie where people have stormed an embassy trying to get out of some besieged country. It's that chaotic. I wish I had thought to take pictures. The only way to escape the masses was to return to the 100-degree heat outside, which I did. 

We boarded at 2:30pm and I watched the sea of humanity making its way up the narrow steps and past my seat. I must say, a crisis does not bring out the best in a lot of people. At one point, a woman about my age was berating her much older mother so much that my seatmate and I felt the need to consult the older woman about elder abuse. She said she was fine and that is just the kind of relationship she and her daughter have. 

There was another scene very late after lights out. Some azz was screaming at the porter for 'disrespecting him'. It was quite ugly.  Thankfully after that, it was quiet and uneventful.

I partook in the continental breakfast, which was very good. Coffee, juice, pastries, cereal, bananas, bagels... All served in the dining room. 

So there you have it folks, my long strange trip to Florida and back!

I'm planning to head back down in a couple of weeks--Flying both ways this time!  Hopefully, I will have nothing more to report than the condition of a few beaches I want to visit!

ttfn!