The alarm clock went off at 2:30am. Not sure we ever got to sleep, checking to make sure nothing was forgotten. Keeping a detailed checklist helps.
Our ride came at 4am, and was new for us. Our old stand-by company went out of business. The good thing is that they are located in the town of Clayton, and they were very familiar with our remote area. And since today was a holiday, traffic at this time of the day was almost zero. We were at SFO within an hour, shortly after 5am.
Of course, the airport is always busy with travelers. Today there were families heading back home after spending the holidays with relatives and friends, we assume. Some of the little ones were still in pajamas and slippers with jackets thrown over them.
Checking in was easy, especially with the kiosks, and the agents helping many folks. This was the first time we noticed that if you wanted to pay an extra fee ($32), you could get moved to an earlier boarding group. That way you were guaranteed that your extra bag would have space in the overhead bin. We took our chances, and found we did have space after all without paying extra.
All of our luggage was under 50 pounds, thanks to our handheld scale. The best news was that we got TSA pre-check, sort of. Next time, one of us has to remember to remove the light-weight back brace, because that triggered the xray scan, a pat down, and scanned with the powder wipes. At least the shoes did not have to come off. Also, an agent was working his dog up and down the line. It is always nice to get that over with, especially when you pass.
The restaurants were all open by 5:30am, so we enjoyed breakfast with lots of hot coffee. That left us just enough time to get to the gate, and get ready to line up to board the plane. The flight was a bit delayed, but we still arrived close to the time printed on our tickets. Taking a southern route, the flight was pretty smooth, and they did show one movie. It was the one about the famous dueling tennis players back in the 60’s. We actually remember when that happened. The snacks for the day were a package of wafer cookies and a beverage. We noticed that most everyone purchased some food before boarding the plane….us included. Trail mix was perfect.
We were on our way to the baggage claim area before 5pm eastern time. The plan was to gather our three pieces of luggage, and look for the HAL rep. The reps are seldom there, so we had them paged. After two attempts, a friendly rep did show up, but did not have the correct info for us. Her roster showed we were travel agents from Canada. Not quite. How that info got so incorrect is beyond us. She did get us the complimentary transportation within minutes, and we were off, in a bus all by ourselves, to the hotel in Plantation. It took nearly an hour to get there with little traffic once again. It actually rained a bit on our way out of Miami. We recalled that last year, we had to buy umbrellas. So this time, we packed them with us. Anyway, the driver was very friendly and helpful, and promised to look for us when we go to the ship in a few days.
The lobby of the hotel was festive with a white Christmas tree decorated near the front desk. In previous years, we seem to remember the tree was gone by tomorrow. Lucky for us, two of our travel agency’s hosts walked in the door, and said hello with hugs for both of us. Wendy and Steve have been hosts on at least three of our recent trips, and are most popular with the folks. They arrived this morning, after leaving their home in the northeast of the country where the temps were well below zero. Makes northern California sound pretty good compared to well below freezing.
Stashing our stuff, dinner was number one on our minds. So we headed off in the dark by now, to a nearby sports bar and restaurant. They have the best charcoal broiled burgers and great salads. And at least 50 televisions with the Rose Bowl being shown. Definitely a younger crowd in here, but fun.
Hope to get a good night’s rest, and get out to stretch our legs tomorrow. A very long day, but it ended well.
Bill and Mary Ann
The Christmas tree in the hotel lobby
Ballroom hallway
Hotel swimming pool
Sports bar and grill neat the hotel
A tall drink was in order
Chicken Caesar salad
And cheeseburger (This is for you, Leslie!)