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!

The New Reality Sinks In

I had another blog post prepared full of witty, sometimes snarky comments about the Auto Train trip North. But after reading the new storm track information, I'm feeling neither witty nor snarky. I'm actually feeling scared and worried.

Yes, I know it's only 'stuff' and I have insurance but it's the 1st time I've ever experienced this. I imagine in years to come I will consider myself experienced at this whole hurricane thing--but now, I'm a scared newbie 1000+ miles away from my new home.

I will know more Monday night or Tuesday and expect another trip to FL will happen not long after that. But until then, please pray for the safety of all in the path of this hurricane and for those living on the islands already impacted.

jilly

The Madness Has Begun

Well, let's catch up on my week so far. It's been an adventure to say the least. When I last left you, I was about to drive off from the Auto Train.

So, after a 2 1/2 hour drive, I arrived at my destination! It was super hot and humid, but I unloaded and unloaded and unloaded some more until everything but the Chaise was in the condo. I was drenched with sweat. After turning the air conditioning down to 72, I took a seat on the floor and waited until my hair stopped dripping and drank my last bottle of water.

Feeling somewhat recovered I drove to my local Publix and bought water and some food for the week. I did have the good sense to turn on the refrigerator when I got there, so by now it was nice and cold. I lugged all that stuff home and deposited a 10 pound bag of ice in the freezer. I then proceeded to fill a glass with ice and poured water over it. I drank 2 bottles immediately and for the rest of the day, I kept sipping.

At about 2:30 the mattress was delivered. At 3:00, I was taking a nap. enjoying the coolness. Ahhh.
I set an alarm for an hour later and finally dragged myself out of bed about an hour and a half later.
Huh, it seems a bit warmer in here than it was I check the thermostat, lower the temperature. NOTHING!    Great.

I then go and look for water shut-off to turn the water back on so I can take a shower. No idea where it is, I look inside and out. NOTHING!    Great

I start to sweat because now the termp inside is 82. I decide to look around for someone to ask.. a neighbor, anyone. I know the people on both sides of me are home so I knock repeatedly at each of their doors. No answer. So I hop in my car, and start driving slowly around the development looking for someone outside. The first person I encounter, is an older man, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, bare foot, drinking a glass of wine. I decide to pass on him and continue driving. After making a complete circuit of the neighborhood, bathrobe man is my only hope.

So, I put down the window and say, excuse me, do you live here? And he slurs that he does in fact live here in the 'cell block' behind him. Ooook. So I ask him if he knows where the shut off valve is for the water. He says, Oh I don't mess with anything like that. So I proceed to plead my case and also add in about the air conditioning--of lack thereof.  He says, well let me call Joe somebody. He is on the board. So I give him a business card with my number and pray he remembers until he gets back to his place .

I return home and wait. Sweating. About 20 minutes later, a knock on my door and it's Joe. A nice looking guy about my age. He says the shut offs are either inside or out. He looks in the closet of my sun room and says, definitely out. We go outside and he can't find it. Just as we are ready to go back in, he spots it. It's been painted the same color as the stucco and kinda blends in.

Water problem solved! He then proceeds to look at the thermostat and breaker. No idea. He suggests I go and buy a fan.       GREAT  It's now 84 degrees inside.  After he leaves, I call the Home Warranty company to place a claim. Turns out that no air conditioning, in Florida, in the summer does not qualify as an emergency. And it will take a minimum of 48 hours for someone to get back to me
I go and buy a fan.

I make it through Saturday and Sunday sleeping with the fan pointed directly at me and through the day, I move it around to wherever I'm at. UGH. By Monday, I am online filling out a request for bids on Thumbtack. I get a response within 1/2 hour. A minute later the phone rings. It's a Contractor !!!
I tell the woman my story and she says, oh well, we can have a Tech out there today. Today? As in Labor Day? Yes!!!!!!!!

So around 6:30 a truck pulls up a guy gets out, looks briefly at the thermostat and exchange and then sets up his ladder and is on my roof checking things out. I hear his drill a few times and then he comes down with the verdict. Ideally, I need a new central air system. In Florida, most units last about 10 years on average. My unit is from 1999. Now, I knew the unit was old but was hoping it would last another year or two. But that wasn't meant to be.

He says it probably has a slow coolant leak and that if he puts coolant in the unit, it will work again, but he can't say for how long. He said it could last 2 hours, 2 months or 2 years. I tell him to add the coolant. I will be happy if I can have one decent night of sleep at this point. Immediately after he does that, the unit turns on and I see the temperature inside drop from 84 to 83....I could have wept.

We talk about the cost of a new unit and he checks and says they could install this Thursday. Hmmm.
The issue is, with me not being here all the time, if the AC does go out the humidity will cause all sorts of nasty mold to grow very quickly. So, I decide to bite the bullet and have a new unit put in.
             Great

Now we are current and I can say the AC is still working and I slept like the dead last night. Then my friend calls me and asks me if I have been watching the news. Oh God now what? Are we at war? What?  Ummmmm........ just a Category 5 hurricane headed towards you.                    Great
So after I run my errands, I do what any sane person in the path of a hurricane would do............I head for the pool to catch some rays.

After listening to some of these men that were sitting in the shade of the clubhouse talk, I wanted to slit my wrists. Bathrobe man was there--clothed this time but with his wine. He was talking about when to evacuate and telling everyone that if it hits the near us this whole area will be flattened with winds that high. A kind of a know-it-all type naysayer that has experienced everything you have and done it better or had it worse. UGH.

And, you will never guess who I ran into while I was at the pool:  Remember Tan Mom... or it could  be Magda from Something about Mary!!

After all that pleasant talk, I came back to my place and changed into dry clothes and decided to go and get gas.

This was interesting...................The Madness has truly begun. In line to get gas at Wawa.

I've been thinking of driving up closer to Sanford because of rush hour traffic etc.. well now it will be evacuation traffic if the hurricane comes our way. So I have a hotel room for Thursday night about 20 minutes from the train station and will leave Friday afternoon on the train............Could really be a crazy train if we are being followed by the hurricane.                     Great

So, tomorrow I have a new piece of furniture coming. I think I am going to think a good thought and have it delivered. As for getting the AC put in......I may postpone that until I can get back down here.

So that's all for now Folks. Just another crazy week in my life. Prayers, positive thoughts etc would be greatly appreciated by Florida!

TTFN

All aboard........Nope it's not the Crazy Train

So, it's the night before a new adventure begins and I am sleepless, of course. Thankfully, I do not have to be up at zero dark thirty in the morning. I am planning on adding the last few items to the car, having a leisurely breakfast and then starting my trek south!

Oh the best laid plans.....Fast forward to the next morning:

I wake up......stretch, look around the room, lean over and check the time. ACK it's 11am and I have to be at the train station in Virginia by 2:30 -- PM  -- today!!!!! Leap out of bed, jump in the shower and get ready in record time. Thankfully, just about everything was packed and ready to go last night. I fly out the door with the remaining bags by 11:20 and make a quick stop at the Smoothie Cafe for a late breakfast.

If you haven't tried the Smoothie Cafe, you have no idea what you are missing. I finally had to buy my own smoothie maker because I was spending so much money at this place!  They have a new seasonal flavor that's green apple and peanut butter and that is what I got this morning. Such yumminess should be illegal!  But I digress........

I hop on 11/15 towards Maryland. Then hit 270 to Washington. I made really good time until this point...then the DC area traffic hit. I haven't been down this way in years and my how it's changed. I noticed they have express lanes completed where I'm guessing you pay for the privilege to drive on them using your EZ pass--no cash accepted. I opted not to use this method as I wasn't sure where they joined the rest of the peons in the non-paying lanes.

I eventually picked up 95 and from there Lorton was just a short way. Whew! I pulled up to the gate at 1:50. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I paid extra for 2 things----business class seat and priority offloading. Trust me on this when I tell you that it is worth every penny. I was told to pull my car
forward in the 'priority lane'. You are asked to leave the driver's side window down and the keys in the car. After you collect your personal belongings   (they do have free luggage carts for your use, if needed), they use a hand held camera and video the exterior of your car. I'm sure over the years people have tried to accuse them of causing damage to their vehicle and I totally understand.


Area to pull your car up

Videoing your car:

You then make your way a short distance to the terminal. There are 2 lines. One for Coach class passengers and another for Sleeper Car and Business passengers. Because I arrived at the tail end of check-in time, the lines were non-existent for both classes. However, looking around the cavernous space, I saw hundreds of people already checked in and waiting to board the train. This time of year there are not a lot of passengers riding the train, but during snow-bird season, the train is packed and the prices reflect that.

Car Carriers:

This was confirmed when I checked in and asked for a seat in a row by myself, if possible. The woman said, Honey there are only 9 people in business class today, you are all going to have your own row! Great news!! As I waited for boarding to start, looking around the room, I saw tons of kids, tiny babies and just generally most seemed to families en route to Disney.

Business class also boards first with the Sleeper Car passagers.--nice! You enter on the lower level of the car and climb a very narrow set of twisting stairs to the second floor. I was given the option of having a seat in business on the first floor--and I would have been the only passenger in the car. I thought about it but then decided that it would be too creepy at night trying to sleep. So, I am in seat 49, window, and the aisle seat has my stuff!  The seat has a great recline and another piece can be raised--kind of like a recliner chair.

We had a porter come through, put our train tickets up above the seats and told us everyone that paid for business will have a ticket and if we see anyone in our car without one, to let him know. He told us where everything was located, where our dinner would be served--again we dine with Sleeper Car
passengers. Dining was at either 5 or 7. There is also a private lounge car as well as a beverage station serving coffee and hot chocolate all night. Also, an ice machine as well as snacks and booze for sale.

A little while later he came by again, this time with 2 bottles of water for each person. The third visit he dropped off a nice little blanket kit in a drawstring bag. (Just like the ones you used to be able to buy on US Air) The bag contained a blanket, ear plugs, a blow up neck pillow and an eye mask!

Each row of 2 seats has 2 outlets for charging your various devices--and it's a real outlet, not a USB port. The train also has free wifi. Now, it's not reliable in certain areas of the country, but it's free! Amtrak provides a home page of sorts that shows a map of where you are, news, the dinner menu


There are 4 entree choices. Formally dressed waitstaff escorted you to a linen covered table where a tossed salad and dinner roll awaited. There was also ice water and iced tea on the table.

The Dining Car:

Tonight there was: Beef Tenderloin with Baked Potato and vegetables, Salmon and Risotto, a chicken dish and a vegetarian lasagna. In addition, there was a chef's sepecial which was a pork chop. For children under 12, chicken nuggets.

The dessert menu had your choice of tiramisu, cheesecake, sugar free jello and ice cream with your choice of topping.

Bar service was available as well.

I was seated with an older couple and a young man. We had some very pleasant conversation during dinner. It's so funny, this couple looked like a typical retired snow bird pair. It turns out the woman designs websites for a living. They are computer experts and they hold seminars on internet security. HA  Very interesting to talk to. We found common ground talking about travel and passed the time very pleasantly!

It is now 6:28pm and I am finished with dinner. What to do? I have an e-book to finish. Perhaps that will be next. I'll check in later or maybe not until tomorrow. Who knows?

We are somewhere near North Carolina I think. The Amtrak web is not working at the moment. It's rainy outside. We are moving at a decent speed right now. There were several starts and stops so far. Not at stations but maybe for another train to pass. Our only scheduled stop around midnight will be in South Carolina where they will change crews.

You do make other stops along the way. Seems the passenger trains do not have as much importance as the cargo trains. Twice that I know of, we stopped on the tracks to allow other trains to pass. I guess trains have certain areas where the tracks cross?

AT any rate, after dinner I read the rest of a book and at 9pm they turned out the lights in the cabins. Much like an airplane, there is safety lighting and a light above your seat. I read some more and then tried to get comfy and sleep. Yeah, not so much. I did sleep for about 3 hours and then off and on
until they made an announcement over the PA that a continental breakfast was being served in the dining room. Then the lights came back on.

It's now about 7:40 and they tell us we will be in early. We shall see!

PS: We did arrive early however, they had to uncouple the cars and get the car carriers in place then we had to be towed to the terminal area. We got off the train about 8:30.

Here again is where your extra money spent is really going to pay for itself. I paid $50 each way to have my car one of the 1st 30 cars to come off the train. Considering the train was considered lightly occupied, there were 190 cars and 398 passengers on board. My car was number 26. They drive it over to a small parking area, you load your stuff you brought on the train and off you go!

Interesting experience--I would do it again if I had a lot of stuff to bring down to FL.