Oh Oh What Did I Do!?

Posted on December 19, 2015December 19, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Finally I’m here in sunny Orlando…did I say sunny? It’s kind of overcast, about 70 and breezy. Nice day for active stuff but not for beaches and pools. But that’s ok with me. I just have to get one meeting out of the way and I’ll be ready to unwind. Unfortunately I scheduled it for 1:15 in the afternoon, what was I thinking? Now my day is shot. Can’t really go anywhere in the morning and it will be too late by the time I’m done to do much in the afternoon.

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I wandered around the grounds. Mystic Dunes is beautiful and I finally settled on a lounge chair by the pool near my unit. It’s the one with the Tiki Bar. I didn’t realize how tired I was until that moment because I no sooner sat down and my eyes began to close. I had a nice nap in spite of the kids shrieking as they slid down the pool slide under the waterfall. Kids don’t care if its overcast. They’ll swim anyway and turn blue.

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Just before noon the activity director arrived. DJ, party director, it was time to get the show rolling. The music came on and raffle tickets were being handed out. The quiet time was at an end so I made my escape for lunch.

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Since I hadn’t had time to explore the area outside the resort yet I settled on lunch at Kenzie’s, the clubhouse restaurant. The breakfast I had there wasn’t bad, the french toast was a little under cooked but the bacon was perfect. I played it safe with a hamburger for lunch. It was quite good if a little pricey. Typical for a resort. The service was good and the waitress friendly.

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Then it was time to go to the meeting. My plan was to go to this meeting update on my time share with “no” firmly on the tip of my tongue. These meetings are very informational and I always learn something but they also have to try to sell you points. Its a way to keep the business healthy. I understand that only too well from my days as a business owner.

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My 90 minutes passed pleasantly and quickly and it was time to wrap up. My sales person was putting together numbers for me to take away and think about. It would freeze any increase on my account for 18 months which is a good thing. But when she tried to put it through she found there was a previous freeze that had not been released. Her price $8.49/point. My old freeze $3.13 / point. Oh Oh! If I sign off today I will loose the $3.13 price. It wasn’t a last ditch sales ploy, I remembered when they froze it the last time. I really hadn’t wanted to upgrade right now, another year or two would be better for my plans but to do that would cost me $5.36/ point more when I was ready to upgrade and that’s a lot of money.

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What’s a committed timeshare owner to do? Taking a deep breath I agreed to sign on the dotted line. I now have enough points to be a trial Gold member. That opens up tons of new options and gives me time to save for the full gold membership which I really want to reach.

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My workmates will be happy because that little financial decision just committed me to at least 5 more years of full time work. It is a real estate transaction complete with closing fees so it was after 4 pm before all the paperwork was done, the mortgage in place and I was ready to go back to my villa and have a breakdown. I was both excited and nervous. This had not been my plan but it made the most financial sense and they gave me a trip to Maui, HI and 2 round trip airfares to make me feel a little better. I can live with that.

Ahh Orlando, Home of the Mouse

Posted on February 1, 2012February 1, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Now that we have the accommodations out-of-the-way, let’s get back to the activities.

I was in my rental car on I4, the main highway from the airport to my little home away from home, when my cell phone rang. My friend Joe was on the line. After he assured me that it was legal to talk on the phone and drive in Florida I agreed to listen to what he had to say.

My friends Saralyn and Tim (not a couple) had both arrived in Orlando earlier in the day. I was the last to make it and they were just waiting for me to go to dinner. I guess I’m not going to get a chance to recover from the travel. I made some feeble protests that I was tired and needed to get checked in and wanted a shower but the most I got was a concession to “wait for me”.

Well, I have to eat anyway so I might as well enjoy the meal with friends. I hadn’t seen Saralyn or Tim since we went on a cruise about 8 years ago. We stayed in touch (infrequently) via Facebook. My friend Joe, who I see more than that and usually speak to once a week, is the hub around which the 3 of us seem to orbit. It was for his birthday that we all went on the cruise and now here we were all gathered together again due to his efforts.

Joe said they were going over to the Irish Pub in Downtown Disney and to just meet them there.

Check-in at the resort went smoothly and I was in my unit in no time. I tossed my suitcase in the corner and ran out to the Winn-Dixie to pick up a few essentials that I chose not to pack. Then it was off to Downtown Disney.

Downtown Disney isn’t too far from my resort and I lucked out in the parking area. I entered the park near the T-Rex restaurant and immediately asked a park employee for directions to the pub. It was right around the corner! I couldn’t have planned it better if I’d known where I was going!

If finding the pub was easy, finding my 3 friends was not! There was a waiting line inside and tons of tourists passing by outside. Mass confusion reigned. I managed to get into the Pub and walked around looking for them at all the tables. An Irish band was playing and Irish Step dancers tapped away on 2 stages. It was pandemonium.

I tried calling Joe but his phone went to voice mail. I stepped back outside where it was marginally quieter and noticed that I’d missed several calls too…all from Joe. I tried him again and this time I got him. They were in line waiting for a table. He told me to stay put and he’d come to me. Minutes later I saw him approaching and he led me back to where they were waiting in line.

Hugs all around and Saralyn handed me a “Birthday Button” to wear. She and Tim each had one too. Saralyn’s birthday was in December, Tim’s had just passed in January and mine was right around the corner in February so Joe had gotten these Birthday Buttons for all of us. Joe works at Disney so he knows all the ins and outs of the place.

Joe and I chose the excellent fish and chips and Saralyn and Tim went more traditional with “Bangers and Mash”. The band entertained all through dinner with several shows by the Irish Dancers. As the meal wound to an end our waiter brought out a bread pudding for us to share. He had spotted the Birthday Buttons and wanted to give us a dessert to help celebrate the occasion.

After dinner we wandered a little but we all wanted an early night because Joe had booked us on a backstage tour of the Magic Kingdom and we had to be there bright and early.

Week 4 ~2012 Photo of the week

Posted on January 28, 2012January 28, 2012 by Dusty Roads

“Let the Magic begin”

Cinderella’s Castle, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando Fl.

Adventure 2 of 2012

Posted on January 27, 2012January 27, 2012 by Dusty Roads

We’re off to quite a start for this brand new year. First there was that little jaunt up to North Conway for the “Steam in the Snow” train ride and photo shoot. That was an awesome time. Just goes to show an adventure doesn’t have to be far away or for a full week. Sometimes just a day long get-away can make lots of memories.

But this time I am a lot farther away than New Hampshire. I am sitting here in my Timeshare in Sunny Orlando, Florida. It’s a cute little one bedroom this time and I am very anxious to try out that bed. I was up at 5:30 in the morning to catch an 8:15 flight. The only thing was that I thought the flight was at 8:30. No matter, I planned to be at the parking lot between 7:15 and 7:30 so even though I had the time wrong I should have been at the airport within plenty of time for a domestic flight. I was all checked in online and had my seat assignment. All I had to do was drop off my bags and clear security.

I didn’t count on hitting rush hour traffic in Providence but I did so I arrived at the parking lot at 7:30 on the button. The sign said bring keys to attendant. So I tried the door but it was locked. I walked around to the other side of the building and that time the door opened. A nice man was sitting at the counter and I gave him my credit card and paperwork. Unfortunately his computer wouldn’t boot up. Then once he finally got going by using a lap top, he had problems with his credit card machine. 20 minutes later he finally told me to put my luggage in the van.

I have to confess that I am not used to that. I normally pull in and am greeted by an employee who takes my luggage while I go in and pay. In and out in 5 minutes, onto the shuttle and we’re off. Not this place. I put my own luggage in the van and waited. Another man came in to pay and pick up the shuttle so that delayed us further. Finally with both of us in the van the fellow who processed my paperwork locked up shop and hopped in to drive us to the airport. Looks like a one man operation. Not very efficient.

I don’t wear a watch but I’d guess I arrived at the airport at about 8:00 am. Still time for an 8:30 flight but that’s when I realized that it was an 8:15 flight…when the kiosk flashed the message..you’re too late!

The counter attendant said I could make the flight but that my luggage wouldn’t so without any further discussion she changed all of my arrangements booking me on a later flight.

This flight went through Philadelphia with a 2 hour layover in Washington DC. In Philly I just waited on the plane but in Washington DC it was not only a 2 hour layover but also a change of planes. It gave me time for a nice lunch.

Back in the air the flight to Orlando was pretty uneventful. I was stuck in the middle seat with 2 strangers. Not my favorite arrangement but they were nice. The plane was full. The last passenger on was a large man. He easily made me look thin. He had an aisle seat but the man in the center seat started mouthing off loudly. He made a comment that “I’m stuck sitting next to the biggest man on the plane”. You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone on the plane turned to look and send dirty looks toward the mouthy guy. One of the flight attendants went to that row immediately. I didn’t hear anything but Mr. Mouth shut up after that. I felt so bad for the big guy. My seatmates could have made a comment about me. I’m no frail , little thing, and I would have been devastated. There is no call for that kind of rudeness.

Once on the ground in Orlando I headed to baggage claim. It would have been ironic if after all that my luggage got lost but it didn’t. It was one of the first off the plane. So in no time I was on my way to the rental cars.

I’m renting from Enterprise this time. No more Payless for me after the fiasco in Phoenix. This went off without a hitch. There was no line. The car was ready. The amount due at pick up was the rental + 20%, exactly what I was told when I booked it. Smooth sailing!

I have a little 2011 Kia Rio with about 25,000 miles on it. It proved to be quite “peppy” as I pulled into traffic on RT 4.

Check in at the condo also went smoothly so I think my vacation is back on track.

So to sum up my first day on vacation , a “travel day” , I have to say the parking lot company needs to step up its arrival game a bit. No names yet, I have to get my car back first.

The airline I flew was US Air and I was impressed. They were pleasant and professional. They didn’t charge me to change my flight. The new travel arrangements got me into Orlando by 5:30 instead of 2:30 but with no stress or rush to make connections.

Enterprise rental car. They were absolutely wonderful. They held my car reservation for me, were pleasant and professional and actually charged me what they said they would. No surprises! They walked me through the inspection and answered my questions and even gave me a map and directions to my timeshare. (I’d been to the same one before but it was in 2010). All in all a very positive experience.