DAY SEVEN: Friday, 14
May 2010
Dave &
Lee awoke at 5 am, got ready, threw the last of our remaining stuff together,
and bid a sad farewell to the Royal West Indies resort. Since we
had done the check-out (and fed the car) the previous afternoon, all we had to
do was drop off the room keys. Note when
the check-out was done, the only charge was the two times we ate at Mango
Reef. It was a nice feeling with
everything having been paid for ahead of time.
Just a quick aside with getting the
gas (as you must always fill up the rental vehicle before turning it back
in). Of course fuel would be a little more
expensive on the island (everything else is, as it’s all imported). And with any rental vehicle, you just have to
remember what side your fuel door is on.
But one thing that doesn’t exist in the island is self-service. Dave remembered that this time, but it was
still weird to have someone pump your gas for you. Just a little point of interest there.
It was a good thing the car had
been filled up the night before, as there was nothing open that early. Not sure if it was too early for morning
rush-hour, or if that even existed here, but there was hardly anyone on the
road. The pre-dawn light before sunrise
wasn’t even visible yet, so it ended up being the only time on he island where
we drove in the dark.
With one main highway with decently
marked signs, it was pretty easy to get back to the airport. Since there would be no one in the car rental
return booth, Grace Bay Car Rentals had told us just to leave the car in the
lot with the keys under the mat. That
was weird doing that, but with such a low-crime area there was no fear of the
car wandering off with someone that it wasn’t suppose to.
We figured there wouldn’t be too
many people leaving that early in the morning, but we expected there would be a
few more people at the airport than there was. Getting thru security was easy, even though we
had to do it twice. After going thru
security, and getting sat down in the lobby, they called us back to the main
check-in. At that point, we were
escorted to a room deep within the airport.
First we thought we were in big trouble (for what, we had no idea), then
we saw there were a number of other couples back there too. This was just a routine open baggage check,
probably to make sure there was no smuggling going on. It was just odd because that hadn’t been done
to us on the previous visit. Also, the
last time we were planning on departing the island, a hurricane was bearing
down on the island, so that “standard procedure” was probably just shelved for
the duration.
The airport security specifically
checked comedy DVDs Lee had brought (“Garden State
Now the whole reason for getting up
at this unnatural hour (and not staying another day), was to be back home by
Friday evening fort Aislynn’s concert.
We had a two-hour layover in Miami (as
extra time was always needed when you go through customs), then a flight to Dallas , followed by a hop to Austin .
That would get us back around 4 pm, and after waiting at baggage claim
and the drive home in Austin
rush-hour traffic, that would put us close to the start time of the concert.
That was the plan. Reality ended up being different.
The last time we flew from Provo to Miami ,
it was the middle of the day, but due to the hurricane the flight we had to
deal with, the flight was twice as long, and it was pitch black when we
landed. This time, it was a nice smooth
flight, and Dave got to watch the sun rise from the plane. It was bright out, so Dave and Lee were able
(this time) to see what Miami
looked like from the air. The plane was
about three-quarters full (and most of them were Canadians).
Nothing against the denizens of the
Great White North, but we seemed to notice more Canadians this trip than
previously. Before there were far more
Europeans present. Canada may be trying seriously to annex TCI (so
they have a Caribbean port), and actively
encouraging their citizens to holiday there to generate interest.
Once off the plane in Miami , you go through a
maze of passageways that seem like you walk around the parameter of the airport
in order to get to the Customs Desk.
Last time, people were running to get through to make their connecting
flights and generally being mean to the customs officials (who then decide to
go slower as a response). This time
there wasn’t much of a line, and Dave and Lee got through pretty quickly.
We had a decent amount of time, so
we were able to stroll through the airport without too much of a rush. Yeah, we had to go through security again,
but that’s the process when you’ve come through Customs. Still amazed at the number of people who
weren’t paying attention when the airport officials told them (and posted in
many places) that carry-on items from the Duty Free store needed to be placed
in your checked baggage. While there was
a lot of grumbling when people had to get out of line to head back to the
ticket counter to fix things, but that’s due to their stupidity.
After were cleared security (with
the minimal of searching), we made our way to our gate. As we got nearer, one of the airport utility
vehicles beeped its horn in order to clear people out of the way. At first we thought it was carrying a zombie
in the back, and then we realized it was Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith). Okay, it was pretty close to being a
zombie. There was a young girl sitting
on the car with him, who obviously wasn’t Liv.
That was clear from the way she was draped over him, and she appeared to
be younger than Liv anyway. We’ll call
her a nameless groupie.
Not surprising there was a slight
delay in our departing Miami , but not due to a
problem in Miami . Seems there were thunderstorms in other parts
of the country which was delaying incoming planes. And thanks to the domino effect, delayed ours
as well. Soon we were in the air heading
for Dallas .
And that’s when the real fun began.
Where possible I’ve tried to write
log as things happened, or as close to those things as much as possible, in
order to keep the freshness of the thoughts.
What happened next I can only highlight the major points of, due to the
stress level involved.
Flights in and out of Dallas were being delayed
due to weather, which made this a zoo.
So close to home, yet so far away.
If this was our final destination, then it wouldn’t have been an issue,
but we still had to fly to Austin
where the car was. The people at the
ticket counter were obviously not happy about this, because it was a situation
they couldn’t do anything about. Flights
were being delayed, and they were trying to get people moving (both on “first
come first serve” and connect those they could to lessen the sheer volume).
One gentleman we talked to had an
interesting outlook on flying. He
reminded me of one of old co-workers (Armando), and since I can’t recall the
gentleman’s name, I’ll refer to him that way.
He traveled for the an insurance company (Nationwide), and since he
took a lot of trips, he’d gotten in the habit of travelling without
luggage. Armando had a small carry-on
with him (about the size of a large purse), but that was it. He let us know that wherever he was heading
to, he just had his luggage shipped to his hotel (or home, whichever the case
was). Sounds expensive, but not so bad
when he’s writing it off as a business expense.
Armando also had an ideal of always
being in motion. If a connecting flight
was delayed, he’d then try to get on another plane. It didn’t matter if that other plane wasn’t
heading in the direction he wanted to go, he’d rather be in motion that
spending time waiting in the airport. He
informed us once he reached an alternate destination, he’d then usually be able
to make arrangements back to his original target city. Nice ideal, if you had a lot of extra time
and cash to do it with.
He was able to get a connecting
flight some where, and off Armando went.
During the wait time, you get to hear a lot of life stories from the
various strangers waiting with you, and by the time you flight is ready, you have
a bunch of new friends.
After a couple hours of waiting, we
finally got boarded on the flight to Austin . When we finally arrived home, our travel time
had been twice what it’d originally been scheduled to be. Sure it was annoying, but I’d rather have
stuff like that happen at the end of a trip.
The vacation started off good, and stayed good the entire week. So there was a little stress getting
home. I’d rather have that than stress
in trying to get there.
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