Hello
from Miami – Day #7
Technically,
hello from Rochester – ok, ok – in order to be accurate – hello from the MSP
airport. We left
our hotel at 5:15 this morning, rode to the Fort Lauderdale airport and hustled
through security for our 7:15 take off time.
Well, due to some aircraft problems (nothing that would’ve made us
crash) we were unable to leave the gate until 8:00 – 8:05. The pilot said that they had blocked extra time,
so we should arrive in plenty of time to catch our connecting flights.
The
flight was uneventful, and much more pleasant than the trip down. This time there was no loud, foul-mouthed
guy, but rather a 3 year old girl named Libby in the seat in front of me. She didn’t take too kindly to me, until there
was about 30 – 45 minutes remaining in the flight. Suddenly she became very intrigued with the
man who said, “hi”, every time she peered between the cracks in the seats. Finally, Libby and I (and her mom and dad –
and eventually the lady sitting next to me) became friends. She would hand her toys back through the
spaces in the seats and allow me to play for a while. Then there was a big question and answer
session about my name, where I lived, did I have kids, how old, what is her
name? . . . and so on. Libby was a very
good girl for the whole flight. I told her
so, and she was proud.
I
also got to see Gracie in 20 – 25 years.
One of our flight attendants was the spitting image of my future
Gracie. I showed Grace’s picture to
other passengers and even they said, “holy cow! It’s her.” When we left the plane, I had to show the
attendant my picture Grace – she even said, “wow!” I wanted to be the last one off the plane, so
I could snap a picture of her for better comparison. But - we didn’t have time for that – or so I
thought.
After
landing, we had 30 minutes to get from gate F(something) to gate B13 (each
letter has 20+ gates by the way, to we had to go quite a distance). We arrived just as the plane to Rochester was
to begin boarding. “Hmm,” thought I, “everyone
is still sitting here.” We found out
that the flight was being delayed due to fog in Rochester. Our flight was pushed back half an hour. LUNCH!!
When
we returned – our flight was pushed back another half hour. A quick web search told us that all American
flights from Chicago to Rochester were canceled for today – would Delta’s
Minneapolis to Rochester run meet a similar fate? At this point – we don’t know. And this is where we sit.
----------------------------------
So
– now I am finally home. Our flight was
finally canceled, so we ended up renting a car to get from MSP to
Rochester. Of course, our baggage hadn’t
yet been removed from the plane, so a quick call to Delta (which turned out to
be multiple, lengthy calls) arranged for our luggage to be delivered to our
homes when the next flight from MSP to Rochester comes in (hopefully on
Tuesday).
I
am glad to be home. I picked up Grace at
daycare and she was a little overwhelmed and didn’t really know how to process
it. It took quite a while for her to actually
be “happy” that dad was home. Everything
is good now. Both Lisa and Grace are
glad that dad is home. The Duncan family
had a nice meal of – well, just something cooked on our stove in our house, and
then we played “hide and seek” for most of the night. Mom, dad, and Gracie are all happy.
So
– people have asked my thoughts on Florida, and my thoughts on the trip – so
here goes.
First
– an irony from the trip. Remember how
the original flight from RST to MSP was so cold? If you remember, the over-night space heaters
didn’t work correctly for some reason.
To add to that – they had no blankets on board. Therefore, you could see your own breath,
while wearing your parka, if you remembered to bring it on the flight. So – as we boarded the flight from Fort
Lauderdale – in 75 degree weather– what did the attendant offer us? YES!!
Blankets! I don’t know if that
actually qualifies as irony – but it sure cracked me up.
My
thoughts on Florida? I’m not sure I got
an accurate picture. The area we stayed
in was pretty insulated from the “real” world.
It was more common to see a BMW or Mercedes than a Honda or Chevy. I saw many Porches, a few Ferraris and even a
Lamborghini on Sunday night. No – I didn’t
see the “real” Florida. That said –
everyone was nice and helpful. So I can’t
complain about the people.
As
far as things to do – I would prefer being on the concrete of Chicago’s
Michigan Avenue versus Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles. Even though Michigan Avenue isn’t totally the
“real” Chicago, it’s more the atmosphere I prefer – the hustle and bustle, the
pan-handlers, the street performers, the historical “stuff” to see. Some of the places I visited were nice, but I
will need to find more to do if there is a next time for Florida.
As
a side note: part of it was a time issue too.
We didn’t have time to rent a car and run down to the Everglades or the
Alligator tour, for example. Even South
Beach was a 30 minute cab ride – so I should clarify there wasn’t much to do in
our proximity.
To
sum up, yes, Florida was nice – in some ways it was neat (the Intercoastal
Waterway comes to mind. It just
intrigued me that a part of the ocean could be in the middle of town – so to
speak). If you like the beach, it’s the
place for you. If you like to go-go-go .
. . eh – not as much.
Okay
– that’s all I got. I am home. I am safe.
I am back amongst family and friends.
Thanks
for reading,
JBD
No comments:
Post a Comment