"The Calm Before The Storm" Tour (Part 23)

[2BoysMum&Dad]

In my hand-written notes I made at the end of Friday 23rd July, I spookily gave the day’s report the heading “The Calm Before The Storm”, only because it was the day before we flew out to Florida and didn’t think at the time it was really a very good or apt title. I have decided to name all the parts of my trip report “The Calm Before The Storm Tour”, in honour of the climax of our trip - Hurricane Charley which gave us an extra day in Florida.

Saturday 14th August (The Aftermath)

THE CAST

Sergeant Major Zoe “You WILL enjoy yourselves”
DH Trevor “I am NOT going to like this”
Birthday Boy Michael (aged 10 to 11)
“Why” to everything Piers (aged 8 and a bit)

The exact first few words I wrote in my notebook for today’s events read as follows –

“Settle yourself down with a strong cup of coffee (or something stronger) and sit in the corner of a quiet room. This’ll be the longest read of them all! I fear for the life expectancy of this pen and whether I have enough paper. Yes - today was a long day.”

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.

My head was spinning. We still had our bags to finish packing, have breakfast, get out of the room by 11am and find out whether our flight was still due out today. But, probably more importantly, were the roads clear enough for us to get to Sanford Airport anyway? We thought that if the airport was open, it was highly likely we’d be delayed anyway to allow others to fly out first who were cancelled yesterday or even this morning. What had happened to the Orlando and WDW areas during the hurricane? There were so many things we didn’t know and we didn’t concentrate on the t.v. too much as it was a distraction to all the things we needed to do so it only stayed on for a few minutes and then we turned it off.

We ate breakfast while packing. We also tried a couple of times to get through to our First Choice holiday rep with no success. Yesterday he told us on the ‘phone that if there were any changes to our flight plans, he’d let us know. As we hadn’t heard a thing from him or First Choice, we sort of assumed things were still on course.

Before we left, I managed to take some pictures of the damage to the surrounding area around our building (Aruba 54). To be perfectly honest, this was minimal. We only saw one fallen tree (near our room), a few broken light covers and quite a lot of foliage strewn around everywhere.

Uprooted tree outside our room

Outside light cover fallen and broken (from post on the left)

Clearing up the swimming pool

We left a bigger tip for our maid today ($4), but didn’t see her to say goodbye. She was very nice and was always interested in how we were. We had also given her a slightly bigger tip the day after Michael’s card and balloons appeared because if it wasn’t for her, we never would have received them.

All in all, it took us around six hours spread over last evening and this morning to pack everything neatly, in the right bags and roughly within the weight limits. Time to pack up the car and drive to Custom House before heading for Sanford Airport.

Sad Departure

All the bags wouldn’t fit in the boot (trunk) so a large new black bag bought from Wal-mart full of dirty laundry had to sit between the boys on the back seat. Time to go to Custom House, just to ensure our account is in order. More importantly, I wanted to ask if they knew what the roads were like between here and Sanford Airport. I waited a few minutes to be seen and I asked about the roads. I was greeted with bad news, Sanford Airport is closed! Well, we had no choice. We had to head for the airport anyway as we had to return the hire car for fear of being charged an extra day (probably at an over-inflated price if we hadn’t arranged this in advance). More worryingly, if we had the car for an extra day unarranged, we probably wouldn’t be insured to drive it. I was thinking “if the airport is closed, doesn’t this just mean there are no flights taking off?” This is what we assumed. If the terminals were closed, surely there’d be no problem gaining access to the hire car offices?

You may remember from yesterday that our First Choice rep had promised to contact us if there were going to be any changes to our travel arrangements. We were rather cross we hadn’t heard from him or anyone else at First Choice. Why didn’t we think to track down a rep while we were still at CBR? I don’t know! Probably because we planned to visit the First Choice desk at the airport after dropping off the car and still had no idea that this might be a problem.

The car was due back at 3pm. Our plan now was to drive to Sanford Airport, formally arrange to hire the car for another 24 hours (get it in writing) and find somewhere to stay for the night. We headed up the I-4 and saw quite a few uprooted trees. Some were on the road and had been “coned off”. There was a lot of loose foliage lying around and several sets of traffic lights were not functioning. There were some areas without power, but some areas still did have power. We turned off the I-4 a little earlier than planned, but still got to the airport on minor roads with no difficulty. There was a queue of cars in front of us (around 20) at the airport. At the head of the queue, there was a police officer who spoke to the occupants of each car in turn. The cars were then turning away from the airport. Oh dear!

There was another very long queue of cars at the airport on the road we should have been on if we had taken the main roads. We were then glad we’d turned off the I-4 too early! In just a few minutes, we were at the head of the queue and finding out what was really going on. The officer asked us if we were flying nationally or internationally. The airport was officially closed and nobody could gain access to the premises. We explained we were worried about returning our car, but the police officer said “just keep it” and told us we’d have to find accommodation for the night and come back tomorrow when the airport would be open as normal. He was not allowed to let anyone enter the airport, it was too badly damaged in the hurricane. Well, there’s nothing we can do now except head out and were stunned but not surprised.

I was wondering what advice he was giving to people travelling within the US? Maybe there was another airport open for internal flights not affected by the hurricane?

We had a car which we were now driving VERY carefully for fear of having an uninsured accident. Our next urgent quest was to find a not too expensive hotel. If necessary, we knew we could go back to the Caribbean Beach Resort. The woman at the desk in Custom House told me this morning that there was plenty of space if we needed to return. We now drove along the same route we travelled along exactly three weeks ago. It was like déjà vu.

We decided to listen to local radio stations on the car radio and gained some useful information, thank goodness for local radio! Apparently a lot of ‘phone lines were “down”, there were power cuts in various places and some people had no fresh water supplies. Mobile ‘phone networks were also affected and mobile ‘phone users were urged to only use their ‘phones for important calls. We were reluctant to use my ‘phone anyway as the battery power was a little on the low side and we had no means of charging it up until we found a hotel. Making calls from public ‘phone boxes would be cheaper anyway.

Just before getting to the I-4, we came to a railroad crossing. Bells were ringing and warning lights were flashing, but cars were still driving over the crossing. This got us a little worried, we didn’t want to be crushed by a train! There was a Sheriff’s car coming along in the lane next to us. Surely if he drives over the crossing, it’s safe for us to do so too? He does and we carry on, looking in both directions as we do so!

Along the I-4 we stopped at a rest area. We spotted several boxes containing free leaflets. These contained details of local hotels, restaurants and other local services. I picked up one of each and hurried back to the car (it was raining). We found at least three places with payphones which either didn’t work at all or we couldn’t get through to First Choice. Maybe their ‘phone line was down (along with lots of other people’s).

Carrying on along the I-4 and we tried to virtually the first hotel we saw – the Comfort Inn. On the I-4 before this exit, we saw signs for an information centre which we thought would be a good place to visit. Unfortunately the information centre was closed due to the hurricane (there was a note on the door to that effect). The Comfort Inn was nearby so we went to find out if they had any rooms available. Trevor stopped outside the front door while I dashed in to find out. The woman on reception said they had no electricity and no water. She didn’t say she was taking no bookings though! I asked her if she could recommend anywhere else and she suggested we get back on the I-4 and carry on heading west and take the next exit as that area had not had power cuts. The first hotel we tried had signs stuck on the front windows saying “sold out” and there was a Best Western next door with no signs on it’s windows. Trevor parked the car in their car park and stayed there with the kids while I popped in.

When I didn’t reappear after a few minutes, Trevor came in to find out how I was doing. I was in a long queue (about ten people in front of me). The people on reception were rushed off their feet. The ‘phone was constantly ringing with people trying to find out if the hotel had any rooms and there were people in the foyer desperate to find out if there were enough rooms to save them queuing up.

One woman in the queue was worried about a special party for her step father which had been booked weeks ago at this hotel for this evening. There were relatives supposedly flying in from all over the place. She was chatting away with anyone who would listen about her problems. A sad story. While she was in the queue she ‘phoned the front desk on her mobile. Good idea! Most people in the queue just wanted a room and this was the only way she could get urgent attention without queue jumping. In the end, her and her family (via her ‘phone) decided they’d have to cancel the party.

Many of the people in the queue were Americans who had no power (therefore no air conditioning) or fresh water supplies in their homes. An English couple in their 60s just finished checking in and headed towards their room. As they passed me, I asked if they knew how much the hotel were charging for a room. “No idea” they said! This just goes to show how desperate people were. I had seen Best Westerns before and we’d assumed the charge would be about what we were prepared to pay anyway. I eventually reached the front of the queue (after 40 minutes) and by this time Trevor and the boys had joined me. A woman behind me in the queue was rather puzzled at one stage because Piers had come in from the car to see me, went back and Michael came in wearing different clothes to Piers. She was confused because they looked like the same child and wondered why he was suddenly wearing something different! This is a prime example of how many people think (Mike Jones) think they look alike.

So, we get to the front desk at last. The woman was a sight for sore eyes for a couple of reasons. The first was because she able to offer us a room. The second was because she had obviously never seen a dentist, a few teeth missing and one of the front ones broken off. Not the sort of thing you expect to see in the mouth of an American! All the time we were queuing, we were being told they couldn’t guarantee a room for anyone until they ask each person what they want and what’s available at the time. This seemed rather odd to me but everyone in front of me was being accommodated. Just had to keep our fingers crossed.

We’re given credit card sized room cards and headed off towards our room, number 107 on the ground floor with a view of the swimming pool. I was excited about the fact the hotel had a pool ..... until I saw it! It had some hurricane debris in it, so not much use to us! The room layout was identical to the room we had at CBR, but only one sink (not complaining really!!) and wasn’t quite as nice as CBR (of course). There was a bit of a damp smell about the place and rather stale – as if it had previously been used by smokers. But, it was bearable for one night. Trevor spent ten minutes fetching all the bags from the car and we watched the t.v., bounced around on the beds a bit (that was the boys job!) and used the bathroom. I then set myself the task of using the hotel room ‘phone to make various ‘phone calls – mainly to track down someone from First Choice and from the car hire firm (Dollar).

We get through to someone at Dollar first. The first number we tried for the Sanford Airport office wasn’t being answered. We tried another number and are told we need to see someone at Sanford Airport in person because of the type of arrangement we have – we cannot do it over the ‘phone. Great! We tell her this is impossible as the airport is closed and the ‘phones aren’t being answered. She makes a note of our details and promises to pass on the information to the relevant people that we’ve got the car for another day. I manage to forget to ask her for her name and have to trust we are ok to keep using the car.

Eureka! After hours and hours of trying to get through to First Choice today, we finally speak to someone using an obscure telephone number hidden away on one of my many bits of paperwork. I speak to an American woman who was trying to be very persuasive about checking us into the Radisson hotel on International Drive. We are (of course) particularly worried that we’d be charged for the room we were currently occupying, even if we had only been there for about half an hour! The room at the Radisson obviously wouldn’t cost us anything and we’d also get a free evening meal, all paid for by First Choice. We’d had a tiring and stressful day already, but felt it would be a good idea to see if we could check out of the Best Western without being charged.

The foyer was empty except for a couple of people. There was an Englishman waiting who I got chatting to, his family were waiting in his hire car while he came in to find if they had a spare room. He had two young daughters and his story today was exactly the same as ours – also worried about his hire car from Dollar. We arranged between us that he’d be happy to have our room without worrying a maid to straighten it out. The woman on reception cancelled my booking and booked in this other family.

Just before departing, I suddenly realised about all the ‘phone calls I had made. The woman on the desk said the calls wouldn’t have appeared on the computer system until the middle of the night. She was very nice about it and said “don’t worry”. She was very stressed, but very pleasant the whole time. The last thing she wanted to bother with was a few ‘phone calls. Great!

Off back onto the “all too familiar” I-4, westbound. My Mastermind specialist subject would be the I-4 if I should ever sit in that black chair! With directions in hand of how to get to the Radisson from the First Choice woman, International Drive – here we come! Believe it or not, I was happy! We hadn’t had the chance to visit I-Drive at all for the last three weeks and it looked like we were now going to get the chance. The best we’d done was crossing it to get to SeaWorld and Discovery Cove earlier in the week.

We get as far as International Drive with no problems, then the traffic became rather slow. Several sets of traffic lights are out, some trees are down and every billboard is damaged. I see several landmarks often talked about on the DIBB, including the Enclave Suites (set back from the road) where Earthbound and family are staying. I wondered whether we should stop by and say hello, but we don’t really get time – not arriving at the Radisson until 7pm and we are rather tired.

Trevor stopped the car right by the entrance and I get out. Got checked-in (room number 1107), luckily not many other people at reception so it didn’t take long. There’s a notice on the desk saying there are two sittings for dinner for First Choice customers, one at 8pm and one at 10pm. I went straight to the room before going back to find Trevor as I’m told it’s only around a couple of corners on the ground floor. I find Trevor and the boys again and he parks the car, luckily getting it very close to our room and we unload the bags.

The room layout is identical again to our room in CBR and the one in the Best Western. This one is posher than the room in the Best Western and the bathroom facilities seem very nice. There’s actually a sink in the bathroom and another one outside the bathroom. After a couple of minutes getting our breath back, we head towards the foyer to see if we can find some First Choice reps. There’s one standing by the check-in desk who appears a bit clueless, he has only just come on duty and doesn’t seem to know much about what’s going on. He doesn’t seem worried about the fact we’re driving a car around the place that might not be insured, until I explain to him I hired it myself – not through First Choice. He also told us about a meeting at 7am tomorrow morning for First Choice customers to which one of us was expected to attend to find out what was happening regarding flights etc. We didn’t particularly like the sound of having to get up so early and we’d check up on this detail later with another rep.

We go back to the room again briefly before returning for our free meal. All the First Choice customers were pointed towards a small conference room for our meal and kept waiting for around 15 minutes before waiting staff surfaced with two jugs of drink for each table. One contained iced water and the other looked like coke with ice and lemon. Several people poured out the “coke” and got a bit of a shock when they tried it! It was iced tea. Everyone in the room was British and the jugs of iced tea were not touch for the rest of the evening! A hotel manager apologised for the lack of coke, the hotel had been terribly busy and had been unable to obtain enough supplies because of the hurricane. They had to keep enough for main restaurant. We were obviously second rate guests. A shame, but true I suppose. None of us were paying to stay there, no doubt we were just a cheap block booking by First Choice.

It was a three course meal, a salad starter – very boring, just a load of lettuce leaves and grated carrot. The main course wasn’t too bad, chicken with a white sauce, mashed potato (containing something) and vegetables. The pudding was popular, a tasty chocolate mousse. Michael and Piers both ate several bread rolls with butter and the chocolate mousse, but not the salad. Michael didn’t touch the chicken meal, but at least Piers tried some of the chicken. Michael spent most of the time during our meal pulling faces at a group of three young lads on our table and crossing his eyes. They were around 20 years old and kept nervously laughing at Michael (well, what else could they do!), but they did think he was rather funny. This, of course, made Michael even more keen to pull strange faces. I told him off a few times which had limited effect.

There was a group of rather nervous First Choice reps on hand during the meal. Not surprisingly, they stayed outside the door of our room for most of the time. One man was giving one of the reps he’d managed to corner a rather hard time about his traumatic experiences and a couple of other reps joined in to back up the company. I do not know what he was complaining about in particular, but most of us had complaints. ‘Phone lines had been damaged and there were errors the company had made from our point of view. We didn’t think it was worth worrying about now and if we did complain, we’d do it when we got home. Things were running smoothly now and there was no need to rock the boat more than it was already.

There was one First Choice rep who seemed to have his head firmly screwed on and (in my opinion) deserved a big pay bonus. He seemed to know what he was talking about and put customers at ease, telling them what they needed to know and wanted to hear. He told us that we wouldn’t have to turn up at 7am in the morning for a meeting, they’d had an up date from the airport and now knew what time we’d be flying. The coaches hired for First Choice customers would be leaving at 10.45am and he advised us to leave slightly earlier to ensure we got to the airport before them. Obviously, once the coaches arrived, there would be a sudden increase in the size of queues at the check-in desks.

We said goodnight to the lads on our table and the First Choice reps and headed back to our room. The boys hadn’t had a bath in ages and planned to give them a bath tonight before bed but we were all tired and just had to ensure we bathed them tomorrow morning. Are we exhausted? YES! Will we fly home tomorrow? We hope so! Time for bed. Nighty night. ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz