Family Time in Florida

After a year and a half of planning and anticipation, we finally set off on our adventure early on New Year's Eve.  We received a scare when they limo service found no record of our reservation, but fortunately Chuck called to confirm the evening of the 30th.  So although we were somewhat apprehensive, we were pleased when the limo arrived at 4:30 AM, fifteen minutes early.  Off we went to O'Hare, feeling a little like Bilbo Baggins dashing off on his adventure without having time to pack.  

Scrambling to get out the door quickly, I began to wonder things like, "Was the freezer door closed all the way?"  “Did I turn off the hall light in the basement stairway?"  Nothing serious, and I’m sure that I did those things, but neither of us had a chance to do our last-minute check!   

Arriving at O'Hare before 6:00 AM allowed us to get through the check-in and security process before the line got long. We settled in at the gate and then killed time by reading and wandering around.  Both of us particularly enjoyed the Christmas tree displays that were put up by various AA departments.  Each tree represented a different country, and I think most, if not all, were countries we had either visited or will on this cruise.  Soon we were boarding the plane for Tampa, and the plane even left the gate a minute or two early!  The flight was very smooth, and we landed right on schedule.  That makes twice in a row that we've had very good luck flying out of Chicago in winter! (We had worse luck in July and August!)

In short order we had collected our luggage and were picked up by our aunt Ginny and cousin Deb.  The bonus about arriving during the holiday season was being able to see not only Ginny & Ben Loper, but also Deb Keane, her husband Pete and daughter Anna from Seattle as well as our cousin Jeff Loper from Vermont.  We hadn't seen Jeff in about 20 years, and it had been three years since we saw Deb, Pete, and Anna before our Grand Voyage in 2009.

New Year's Eve was a quiet day with a chance to visit and enjoy each others' company, but both of us were very tired, having been up extremely early in the morning.  So we headed to the nearby hotel and were ready for bed just before midnight, managing to stay awake long enough to see the new year arrive. 

When we arrived at the house, we found things in an uproar.  Deb was on the computer trying to find flights that would get Pete and Anna to Seattle.  Their flight was cancelled due to mechanical difficulties, so they returned to the house in Clearwater briefly before going back to the airport for afternoon flights on separate airplanes to get them home.

The day was more relaxing once they got on the way.  There’s nothing worse than disrupted travel plans when you’re under pressure to be somewhere!

On the second we rented a car, said our good-byes to Ginny & Ben, Jeff & Deb before heading down to Sarasota.  We wanted to be on our way as early as possible as Ginny was to have surgery on the following day and needed time to prepare.  We had decided to make a quick lunch stop and opted for either a McDonald’s or Wendy’s, whichever was the most convenient.  It turned out to be McDonald’s, so we grabbed something quick and were just starting to eat, when I noticed someone who looked very much like someone we knew. I commented to Chuck, “Isn’t that Dennis Schnierle?”  He couldn’t tell, but I was pretty sure I was right.  They were on their way out so I jumped up and followed them.  When I noticed the White Sox license plate on the front of the car, I was even more positive.  I motioned to Mary and asked, “Aren’t you Mary?”  She nodded but looked a little puzzled.  As subs at Lincoln-Way, we’ve gotten to know a lot of teachers and other staff, but she had forgotten me. So when I told her who I was, she remembered. We had done some trips with them as part of the Lincoln-Way teachers’ travel group.  They now live near Clearwater and had been on their way home from the Orange Bowl since Northern Illinois University was playing.  How amazing to run into someone from home! 

Shortly after lunch we arrived in Sarasota, where we planned to spend a few days with our cousins Gayle & Dave Paben.  Because of work schedules, they are watching their grandchildren, Cole & Mya during the day until school starts up again next week.  They’re delightful children who are fun to be around.  Dave took them to the park while Gayle drove us to St. Armand’s Circle.  We enjoyed strolling through the village and browsing the exclusive shops.

On Thursday while Dave entertained Cole and Mya, Gayle took us to the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.   It was really incredible!  Our first stop was a building that housed a lot of circus memorabilia and an amazing miniature circus, complete with the train, cook tent, every circus animal imaginable, animated circus acts, and too many other displays to name!  It was fascinating to study the display. 

From there we headed to Ca’d’Zan Mansion overlooking Sarasota Bay, where John & Mable Ringling lived.  The mansion was still decorated for Christmas, and the Italian villa was a festive display of tree, poinsettias, wreaths, presents, and other decorations adorning the magnificent rooms. 

After a stop a third building that housed the Pullman car the Ringlings used when traveling with the circus as well as circus wagons, we had a quick lunch and headed to the Art Museum.  The museum has a beautiful display of art of various genres and special exhibits.  The renaissance art was lovely, and there was a temporary display of historical photographs, including many well-known (but often sad) events, such as the destruction of the Twin Towers, Desert Storm events, etc. 

We were really tired by the time we got home, but after a chance to relax for awhile, we headed to Venice to have dinner with Shirley & Russ Schimke, our “adopted” cousins.  (Long story that only the Teague family would understand.)   It had been a long time since we had seen them last so we thoroughly enjoyed getting caught up. Gary came to pick up Cole & Mya at Shirley & Russ’s, so we had a chance to visit with him briefly also. 

Needless to say, Thursday was a very eventful day.

We were thankful to get word from our cousin Deb that Ginny’s surgery that had been scheduled for Thursday morning went well and was a success.  We had had Ginny on our mind all day and were so glad to get a good report!

Our final morning in Sarasota was pretty hectic!  We did a quick load of laundry, and then Gayle took us to their church to show us the cross that Dave had worked on.  It was beautiful!  From there we went to a Scandinavian shop.  I’m not sure if I was glad or sad that we didn’t have long to browse.  There were so many things that were interesting, and it appears that each of us managed to do a small amount of Christmas shopping.  However, we had to be careful because it means we haul all of the purchases around the world with us. 

We quickly loaded our luggage and said our farewells to Gayle and Dave as well as Cole and Mya, whom we enjoyed getting to know briefly.  (Hopefully we’ll see them again before they’re teen-agers!)

The drive to Hollywood was pretty uneventful, but the part we were dreading, the stretch from the expressway to the Westin Diplomat, where those who booked through AAA were getting a complimentary stay, was pretty tense!  To top it off, we ended up getting into the hotel in the bus lane so had to turn around and find the private car entrance.  We weren’t allowed to park, and suddenly we found our luggage out of the car, the keys turned over to the bell hop, and we were in the hotel.  They said that they would return the rental car for us, something that was pretty disconcerting for retired teachers who are used to doing things on their own.  The car was gone in short order, but what is routine for them was a drastic change of course for us!  We just have to assume that they handle things like this regularly. 

A few minutes later we found ourselves on the 25^th floor with an overlook of the city of Hollywood and time to relax a bit and enjoy the environs.  

Tomorrow our next adventure begins as we board the ms Amsterdam for trip two around the world. 

BT

PS – This is particularly for my friends, Paul and Karen.  After checking into our hotel, we noticed a lot of people with shirts saying “N D” and signs in the hotel saying “ND”  and BCS Discover Bowl”.  Someone commented that “N D” might stand for “North Dakota” but that didn’t seem logical.  Actually we found that we were using the same hotel as the Notre Dame football team which is in town for the National College Championship game on the 7^th!  Since we will be sailing tomorrow, on the 5^th, we will be missing the game.  But it’s too bad that Paul and Karen as big Notre Dame football fans aren’t here too!

CT