The Weather In Naples is Definitely Better

Really I shouldn’t complain. I know I shouldn’t. But, but, but…..

It was much warmer in Naples.

This same time last week I was still in Naples, Florida. And it was 84F. And it was sunny.

Ok, OK! It is totally sunny here today in the Frozen Northeast Ohio. Quit being so picky. But it is definitely not 84F here, it is in fact 34F. And the white stuff that I see outside is not sand….it is snow. Yes, the snow is melting but it is still only March here and we all know that we are going to get more snow before Spring finally decides to stick around.

So I am just going to put up a bunch of pictures of our little weekend get away in Naples to remind myself that I had the get away and that it was warm and that there was wine and cheese and a whirlpool and a pool. Sigh.

First I have to tell you a little story. Wait!! Come back!!! Sit right down there and stay!

Where was I? Oh yes, a story. And it is about traveling so you KNOW that things aren’t going to be all smooth sailing. Remember some of my other traveling stories!!

Rabbit trail!!!!

Back on track. SO, my sibling, Pilot Man, is……a pilot. He works for this airline…..

I love this airline. And because he works for this airline we can, rarely, score a standby pass to fly……standby. That means that you stand by the gate and hope that someone doesn’t check in so you can have their seat. Most of the time it works out, but not always. SO, we made plans to meet Pilot Man and The Chef down in Naples, FL so that we could all spend a long weekend with the parental units. We are such thoughtful children (patting self on back). Knowing that we had to be at the gate at least 1.5 hours before the flight (remember the whole stand by thing) HHBL and I got up at OH MY GOSH IT’S EARLY! and drove to the airport, fully expecting that there would be no one there but us. We parked. We walked. We got to the ticket counter…..and there was a huge crowd of people with gigantic bags and one ticket agent. I took one look at the crowd, looked at HHBL and said….

We’re screwed.

Ever the optimist am I. But SWA didn’t let us down. Really, I knew they wouldn’t. The rest of the ticket crew arrived on the dot of 5a and we were processed with speed and efficiency and smiles. Security was a breeze. Got to the gate and there were plenty of seats available on the flight so we didn’t have to wait to see if we actually got on. In the air on time and Florida here we come!

I am SURE it will be just as easy on the way home………

What did we do when we were in Florida for those four lovely days?

We had an orgy of steak. Looking at this photo is making my mouth water excessively.

We went to the art show where I took a ridiculous number of pictures of peoples feet and shoes and, well, this woman’s tights. TIGHTS! on a day when the temp was hovering around 85F.

We went to the farmer’s market where I spent time taking pictures of the produce and letting the young farm workers believe that they MIGHT get their picture in the local paper.

There might have been wine drinking going on out by the pool.

And there might have been a bunch of food that made it’s way from the plate to my mouth and then to my hips. At least it feels like it. But I didn’t take any pictures of the food because I was too busy eating it all.

Then, after four lovely days we had to go home darn it. We knew it might be a tad tight getting on a flight going back to the Frozen Northeast Ohio due to storms and re-booking of passengers. When we got to the airport, THREE-POINT-FIVE hours early…..Mike the helpful ticket agent wasn’t all that encouraging. But he said not to give up the ship….but think of other options.

And with those words my blood pressure/anxiety/crazy factor decided to go through the roof. Poor HHBL. But we did what we were supposed to do. We went down to the gate and sat. The minute the gate agent arrived I was up and out of my seat (right next to the gate counter to be sure I didn’t miss anything!!) and making sure that we were on the stand by list.

Then I spent the next 90 minutes obsessively counting the ever growing crowd in the waiting area. That was really a silly thing to do as there were four different gates in this area and we were all co-mingled. But I still did it because I am a nervous nelly.

And then the rejoicing could begin and the gate agent called our names and gave us the last two seats on the plane. SWEET!

Of course we still would have gotten on because right before they closed the door the captain kindly “asked” two of the passengers to leave the plane.

Just a reminder to those who are flying. It is NEVER good to repeatedly refer to small children on the plane AND the flight attendant’s job and use a certain word that begins with an “f” and ends with a “k” with a “u” and a “c” in the middle. You will not be flying that day if you do.

And so ended my weekend in Florida.

I need a vacation.