We've posted pictures of our vacation. If you'd like to check them out, go here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlynuts/sets/130603/
For those of you that don't know...the cute cabana boy bringing me drinks on the beach is DaveBrown. He's awesome!!
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Our Romantic Vacation...Phase 4 - The Spa and More Shopping
We got quite lucky with the weather on Monday (Valentine's Day) so we spent the whole day laying on the beach drinking fruity drinks. It was warm and sunny and just what I had pictured our vacation to be. We lathered up in some sunscreen, put on our iPOD and mp3 players and enjoyed the day.
Little did I know that all my chair dancing was going to end up in such an interesting tan. Evidently there were a few parts of me that I managed to wipe off my sunscreen. My convulsive gyrating wore away at the spf on my calves, a small strip on the back of just one of my arms and a tiny circle on one of my elbows. Each of these spots were bright pink by nightfall. They are now nice and brown. Thank goodness it's too cold for anyone to see them around here. Hopefully they'll fade soon.
We had such a good time laying on the beach Monday that we ended up having a late lunch at a local marina. The Banana Boat restaurant was located directly behind 2 parked yachts...Impetuous (the smaller one) and Impulse (the big daddy). We thought that the owner of the big daddy yacht might be the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Malcolm Glazer, but it was just some rich guy in a Bucs sweatshirt. This boat was amazing though. They even had a 4 person crew - 2 men to do the grunt work and 2 women, a chef and maid. Now that's a cruise I could see myself going on....one with a much smaller risk of catching the Norwalk virus, a crew and no kids.
We skipped dinner that night and ended up having drinks on the beach again. It was a beautiful night to just sit and enjoy. Tuesday we got up and did a little more shopping. We went to the opposite end of the island to a new shopping center and had lunch. It was a little open air Italian restaurant and it was very good. After stuffing our faces on some pasta and pizza, we decided to try to walk off a little in the shops. There were only 5 stores because the center was new though - and they didn't really carry the cheesy tourist stuff that we wanted. The center did have a gym though and we were amused by the bus load of tourists that were dumped for a workout, only to find that the 24 hour a day/7 day a week gym was closed - ha ha! Who exercises on vacation anyway? I guess they could get a workout walking back to their resort.
We rode down to another shopping center and found the cheesy tourist trap stores that we desired. The prices were still quite high - but we ended up getting a t-shirt for each of us and a new pair of sunglasses for me. You'll see my new superstar sunglasses in the vacation pictures. I know - it's like I go from plain jane to hollywood starlet in mere seconds - ha ha. At this point we needed to head back to the hotel so we could get ready for our massages.
That's right! We aren't going to stay at a nice resort without getting a massage. We got a couples massage - which basically means that they have 2 tables set up in the room and you get dueling massages from 2 spa workers at the same time. I'm not sure about DaveBrown's massager, by my lady had on bright orange flip-flops with a huge flower on them. As much as I don't like feet, I was happy to see that hers had undergone a pedicure.
She also liked to use her whole arm - which is a good thing - when giving a massage. Elbows can really get those knots in my neck. She was so good that she made my nose start running (or maybe the Dayquil was pretending to be my sunscreen and wearing off). She even took care not to laugh at or irritate my sunburned calves - which must have looked quite funny at the time because they still do. I love it when they don't forget the head massage at the end. It's so relaxing. For those of you that haven't had a professional massage - and I don't just mean some horny person trying to get you naked - you should indulge yourself. It's great. Just make sure to tell them if they are using too much or not enough pressure.
After the massages we sat on the balcony and watched the ocean. Our favorite waiter from the Beach Cafe even noted how relaxed we looked. His name is Minor. I heard it pronounced many different ways while we were there (Minor, Mee-nor, Manure). We just called him - excuse me. 'Excuse me, could we have another round of drinks please?' He was very nice and made a mean rum and coke! You know I liked that!!
Little did I know that all my chair dancing was going to end up in such an interesting tan. Evidently there were a few parts of me that I managed to wipe off my sunscreen. My convulsive gyrating wore away at the spf on my calves, a small strip on the back of just one of my arms and a tiny circle on one of my elbows. Each of these spots were bright pink by nightfall. They are now nice and brown. Thank goodness it's too cold for anyone to see them around here. Hopefully they'll fade soon.
We had such a good time laying on the beach Monday that we ended up having a late lunch at a local marina. The Banana Boat restaurant was located directly behind 2 parked yachts...Impetuous (the smaller one) and Impulse (the big daddy). We thought that the owner of the big daddy yacht might be the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Malcolm Glazer, but it was just some rich guy in a Bucs sweatshirt. This boat was amazing though. They even had a 4 person crew - 2 men to do the grunt work and 2 women, a chef and maid. Now that's a cruise I could see myself going on....one with a much smaller risk of catching the Norwalk virus, a crew and no kids.
We skipped dinner that night and ended up having drinks on the beach again. It was a beautiful night to just sit and enjoy. Tuesday we got up and did a little more shopping. We went to the opposite end of the island to a new shopping center and had lunch. It was a little open air Italian restaurant and it was very good. After stuffing our faces on some pasta and pizza, we decided to try to walk off a little in the shops. There were only 5 stores because the center was new though - and they didn't really carry the cheesy tourist stuff that we wanted. The center did have a gym though and we were amused by the bus load of tourists that were dumped for a workout, only to find that the 24 hour a day/7 day a week gym was closed - ha ha! Who exercises on vacation anyway? I guess they could get a workout walking back to their resort.
We rode down to another shopping center and found the cheesy tourist trap stores that we desired. The prices were still quite high - but we ended up getting a t-shirt for each of us and a new pair of sunglasses for me. You'll see my new superstar sunglasses in the vacation pictures. I know - it's like I go from plain jane to hollywood starlet in mere seconds - ha ha. At this point we needed to head back to the hotel so we could get ready for our massages.
That's right! We aren't going to stay at a nice resort without getting a massage. We got a couples massage - which basically means that they have 2 tables set up in the room and you get dueling massages from 2 spa workers at the same time. I'm not sure about DaveBrown's massager, by my lady had on bright orange flip-flops with a huge flower on them. As much as I don't like feet, I was happy to see that hers had undergone a pedicure.
She also liked to use her whole arm - which is a good thing - when giving a massage. Elbows can really get those knots in my neck. She was so good that she made my nose start running (or maybe the Dayquil was pretending to be my sunscreen and wearing off). She even took care not to laugh at or irritate my sunburned calves - which must have looked quite funny at the time because they still do. I love it when they don't forget the head massage at the end. It's so relaxing. For those of you that haven't had a professional massage - and I don't just mean some horny person trying to get you naked - you should indulge yourself. It's great. Just make sure to tell them if they are using too much or not enough pressure.
After the massages we sat on the balcony and watched the ocean. Our favorite waiter from the Beach Cafe even noted how relaxed we looked. His name is Minor. I heard it pronounced many different ways while we were there (Minor, Mee-nor, Manure). We just called him - excuse me. 'Excuse me, could we have another round of drinks please?' He was very nice and made a mean rum and coke! You know I liked that!!
For dinner we decided to try a neighboring resort's restaurant called Simba. It was within walking distance so we strolled down the beach to get there. That was nice because it was a clear night and you could see all the stars. Living near DC doesn't allow you to see many stars even on clear nights. There's a layer of haze at the horizon and around each star that struggles to shine through.
Simba was a really good restaurant as well. I had tempura shrimp and they were placed as a tower on top of a pile of rice and surrounded by a delicious tropical fruit sauce. DaveBrown had a steak that was piled high with mushrooms. The food was delicious. They even served a between course of homemade mango sorbet. The only part of this that I didn't really like was when they sat some struggling model and her hairdresser at the table next to us. I guess I've been out of NC so long that I'm not used to eating dinner while inhaling someone's secondhand smoke. It's quite annoying to non-smokers.
With full bellies, we waddled back down the beach to our resort. Another good meal to keep us resting peacefully through the night.
Stay tuned for the FINAL Phase of our vacation story - Phase 5 - The Trip Home...
Monday, February 21, 2005
Our Romantic Vacation...Phase 3 - The Resort and the Island Food
So, we made it to our resort with only slight emotional scars. Now we just need to check in and we can start relaxing. We walked around the resort for 10 minutes and couldn't find the registration desk. We finally asked one of the workers and off we all went on a wild goose chase to find the infamous Hugh. Hugh will know what to do.
Nope, he's not in what appears to be a closet. He's not on the beach. He's not in the resort convenience store. Hmmm, we're perplexed. The worker pointed us in the direction of an office to see if someone was in there. Luckily there was - but it wasn't Hugh. He was actually a nice guy that used to live in the trendy DC neighborhood of Adams Morgan for a while and his parents were from Alexandria. Thank goodness, we found someone that can understand our accent.
After a brief conversation with the expatriate, we were put in the faithful hands of Hugh. We found out that we weren't crazy or geographically challenged as the resort doesn't have a registration desk. They do in-room registrations so you can get a tour of the resort and the room's amenities. Nice touch - even though our room wasn't one of the fancy suites....it was just a bedroom and a bathroom.
Once we had signed the appropriate documents and freshened up, we decided it was time to feed the beast that was making all that noise in my belly. Evidently all the orange juice and Dayquil wasn't doing the trick. The resort has 2 restaurants - a Beach Cafe that's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and Coyaba which is the islands best restaurant and only open for dinner.
We headed to the Beach Cafe since it was only 4 and we needed a quick meal. We feasted on fantastic sandwiches and enjoyed the view of the crystal clear waters. This was the first of many delicious meals on the island. There was only 1 meal that was less than extraordinary during our stay and it was still quite satisfying. After the meal, we headed back to the room to rest and unpack. We tried to make reservations at Coyaba for Valentine's Day dinner, but they were already full - so we took the night before. What's one day, right?
Later we headed back to the Beach Cafe for a few drinks to officially start the celebration of our vacation. I was hoping that an easy night would help my head cold and allow the romantic portion of our vacation to begin on Sunday. So after a few drinks we headed back to the room where I downed some Nyquil and some Halls and quickly proceeded to fall deeply asleep.
Sunday started with me waking up coughing and hocking up loogies. It was quite the romantic awakening for DaveBrown. We spent the day touring the island and doing a little shopping. In hindsight, Sunday probably isn't the best day to go shopping. It appears that the stores in Provo open and close at their own discretion regardless of day of the week or hour of the day. We ended up picking up some snacks from the only grocery store on the island - the IGA. Yep, this chain is evidently still in business. For those of you from Snow Hill, the IGA there recently went bankrupt. They still owe some of their employees a few paychecks too. Who knew?
We also got to see our first suped up car. It was your average four door car but with 22s! There's a pic included with the rest of our vacation pictures.
So once we unloaded the groceries, we put on our swimsuits and headed to the beach to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight. When we arrived it was cloudy and windy. We stayed out there, but were wrapped up in our towels while reading. Maybe we just picked a bad day.
Sunday night we got all cleaned up and put on our fancy dinnerwear and headed to Coyaba. Wow. This restaurant isn't big but it's a really cute open-air place with excellent service. The meal was fantastic! It was four-star quality food with a presentation that you'd want to photograph. Even though it was the night before Valentine's Day - it was very special...and also, very expensive. Since the restaurant isn't connected directly to the hotel, we couldn't charge our meal to our room - which wasn't a problem. This, however, was our first introduction into the inflated prices of dining on the island. Considering that there is no agriculture here, it's not hard to comprehend the prices though.
After dinner we went back to our room to relax and let our stomachs enjoy the wonderful meal that we just presented to them. It was a wonderful day topped off with a great meal. We slept well.
Stay tuned for Phase 4 - The Spa and More Shopping...
Nope, he's not in what appears to be a closet. He's not on the beach. He's not in the resort convenience store. Hmmm, we're perplexed. The worker pointed us in the direction of an office to see if someone was in there. Luckily there was - but it wasn't Hugh. He was actually a nice guy that used to live in the trendy DC neighborhood of Adams Morgan for a while and his parents were from Alexandria. Thank goodness, we found someone that can understand our accent.
After a brief conversation with the expatriate, we were put in the faithful hands of Hugh. We found out that we weren't crazy or geographically challenged as the resort doesn't have a registration desk. They do in-room registrations so you can get a tour of the resort and the room's amenities. Nice touch - even though our room wasn't one of the fancy suites....it was just a bedroom and a bathroom.
Once we had signed the appropriate documents and freshened up, we decided it was time to feed the beast that was making all that noise in my belly. Evidently all the orange juice and Dayquil wasn't doing the trick. The resort has 2 restaurants - a Beach Cafe that's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and Coyaba which is the islands best restaurant and only open for dinner.
We headed to the Beach Cafe since it was only 4 and we needed a quick meal. We feasted on fantastic sandwiches and enjoyed the view of the crystal clear waters. This was the first of many delicious meals on the island. There was only 1 meal that was less than extraordinary during our stay and it was still quite satisfying. After the meal, we headed back to the room to rest and unpack. We tried to make reservations at Coyaba for Valentine's Day dinner, but they were already full - so we took the night before. What's one day, right?
Later we headed back to the Beach Cafe for a few drinks to officially start the celebration of our vacation. I was hoping that an easy night would help my head cold and allow the romantic portion of our vacation to begin on Sunday. So after a few drinks we headed back to the room where I downed some Nyquil and some Halls and quickly proceeded to fall deeply asleep.
Sunday started with me waking up coughing and hocking up loogies. It was quite the romantic awakening for DaveBrown. We spent the day touring the island and doing a little shopping. In hindsight, Sunday probably isn't the best day to go shopping. It appears that the stores in Provo open and close at their own discretion regardless of day of the week or hour of the day. We ended up picking up some snacks from the only grocery store on the island - the IGA. Yep, this chain is evidently still in business. For those of you from Snow Hill, the IGA there recently went bankrupt. They still owe some of their employees a few paychecks too. Who knew?
We also got to see our first suped up car. It was your average four door car but with 22s! There's a pic included with the rest of our vacation pictures.
So once we unloaded the groceries, we put on our swimsuits and headed to the beach to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight. When we arrived it was cloudy and windy. We stayed out there, but were wrapped up in our towels while reading. Maybe we just picked a bad day.
Sunday night we got all cleaned up and put on our fancy dinnerwear and headed to Coyaba. Wow. This restaurant isn't big but it's a really cute open-air place with excellent service. The meal was fantastic! It was four-star quality food with a presentation that you'd want to photograph. Even though it was the night before Valentine's Day - it was very special...and also, very expensive. Since the restaurant isn't connected directly to the hotel, we couldn't charge our meal to our room - which wasn't a problem. This, however, was our first introduction into the inflated prices of dining on the island. Considering that there is no agriculture here, it's not hard to comprehend the prices though.
After dinner we went back to our room to relax and let our stomachs enjoy the wonderful meal that we just presented to them. It was a wonderful day topped off with a great meal. We slept well.
Stay tuned for Phase 4 - The Spa and More Shopping...
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Our Romantic Vacation...Phase 2 - Customs and Driving Around the Island
Landing on Providenciales (Provo), TCI is just like landing on any other Caribbean island. Out one window you see the beautiful clear waters and out the other window you see the impoverished country side. But most importantly, you can't wait to get your feet on the ground and your butt in the warm, calm waters. The problem here lies in getting through TCI customs and actually finding your resort.
Our plane was the 2nd in a line of 4 planes that were landing back-to-back in Provo. Normally that wouldn't pose a problem, but considering that all of these people have to go through a rather small customs area means a long wait in a non-air conditioned airport in the tropics. And to make matters worse, our flight crew didn't give us one of the forms that we needed, although they did tell us before we left the plane.
So as we enter the customs area I staked out a 'prime' spot at the back of one of the 5 long lines while DaveBrown got our remaining forms. And lucky us - guess who got in line directly behind us....the drunk redneck couple from NC. We were sandwiched between 2 dysfunctional families for an hour while we waited to get through customs. It was classic.
The family in front of us consisted of a man, woman and 2 daughters from upstate New York. They were actually a pretty nice family with fairly well behaved kids. The dad however was less than impressive. The poor mom was forced to parent the 2 girls and move all but 1 bag up each time the line moved. The daughters spent the first half hour learning about the islands at the make-shift museum located on 1/2 a wall in the airport. The second half hour they helped their mom with the bags - which were probably mostly theirs since they were Disney Princess bags. The dad was so useless that when they finally got up to the customs agent - he completely forgot one of their bags and DaveBrown had to yell at him to come get it.
Now for the rednecks. After downing close to a 12 pack on the 2 hour flight, they both were full of piss and a fine pilsner buzz. They took turns hitting the head as soon as they got in line - which was very smart. After about 15 minutes of waiting in line the man started bitching. For the remainder of time we waited in line their conversation went something like this....
Man-'I've got to pee. How long do you think we've got to wait in this here line?' Woman-'Well, go pee then! I don't know how long the wait is! Who do I look like - a timekeeper?'
Man-'Well I need to go pee bad.'
Woman-'Well, go then. But if I get through customs without you, you'll have to go to the back of the line and wait even longer!'
Man-'(Grumble, grumble) I guess I'll wait then.'
Woman-'If you got to go then go!'
(5 minutes later)
Man-'Man, I got to go pee something awful. How long do we have to wait in this here line?'
Woman-'Well go pee then! Damn! You've been bitching ever since we got on the plane this mornin'! You are ruining my vacation!'
Man-'(Grumble, grumble)'
(And repeat this conversation, for an hour)
It was as if my crazy grandmother was in line right behind me - drunk, belligerent and blaming others. Just like home....
Once we made it through customs, we picked up our rental car. It was actually an upgrade from the euro mini car that we were supposed to get, so that was a plus. This plus however was quickly replaced with a few minuses....like no map and no road signs. When we asked the rental car guy for directions to our resort he was like...you jus leave de airport and it's on de beach road. Huh? Luckily the island is only 38 miles and we had a full tank of gas. We snagged a map from a magazine that we got on the plane, so that helped.
Before we left the airport we witnessed a fender bender that stopped all traffic for a good 15 minutes. Cops came out of nowhere and were quickly followed by middle aged local men who had to put in their 2 cents. Once that was cleared up, we were on our way to try to find our resort - on a map with no road names, in a country with no road signs.
The Turks and Caicos islands are ruled by the British, so they drive on the wrong side of the road and have pictures of the queen in their gov't buildings. DaveBrown did an excellent job adapting to driving on the left hand side of the road - but the numerous pot holes were a bit tricky. The main road wasn't bad - not even the round abouts - but the pot holes were all over the side roads like mine fields. And they weren't like our pot holes here. They were deep - like someone was digging a hole to China in each one. And they seemed to form in groups. Also, there are no lines on the roads there and they are quite narrow - so you're going to hit more than your share of these while driving around. Whiplash must be the national malady.
After getting slightly lost and turning around in someone's front yard, we finally found our resort. It was the oasis at the end of a long day's journey. Lush tropical flowers and plants surrounding stucco buildings and the sound of the calm waters. Now, where's the reg desk so we can check in and relax?
Stay tuned for Phase 3 - The Resort and the Island Food...
Our plane was the 2nd in a line of 4 planes that were landing back-to-back in Provo. Normally that wouldn't pose a problem, but considering that all of these people have to go through a rather small customs area means a long wait in a non-air conditioned airport in the tropics. And to make matters worse, our flight crew didn't give us one of the forms that we needed, although they did tell us before we left the plane.
So as we enter the customs area I staked out a 'prime' spot at the back of one of the 5 long lines while DaveBrown got our remaining forms. And lucky us - guess who got in line directly behind us....the drunk redneck couple from NC. We were sandwiched between 2 dysfunctional families for an hour while we waited to get through customs. It was classic.
The family in front of us consisted of a man, woman and 2 daughters from upstate New York. They were actually a pretty nice family with fairly well behaved kids. The dad however was less than impressive. The poor mom was forced to parent the 2 girls and move all but 1 bag up each time the line moved. The daughters spent the first half hour learning about the islands at the make-shift museum located on 1/2 a wall in the airport. The second half hour they helped their mom with the bags - which were probably mostly theirs since they were Disney Princess bags. The dad was so useless that when they finally got up to the customs agent - he completely forgot one of their bags and DaveBrown had to yell at him to come get it.
Now for the rednecks. After downing close to a 12 pack on the 2 hour flight, they both were full of piss and a fine pilsner buzz. They took turns hitting the head as soon as they got in line - which was very smart. After about 15 minutes of waiting in line the man started bitching. For the remainder of time we waited in line their conversation went something like this....
Man-'I've got to pee. How long do you think we've got to wait in this here line?' Woman-'Well, go pee then! I don't know how long the wait is! Who do I look like - a timekeeper?'
Man-'Well I need to go pee bad.'
Woman-'Well, go then. But if I get through customs without you, you'll have to go to the back of the line and wait even longer!'
Man-'(Grumble, grumble) I guess I'll wait then.'
Woman-'If you got to go then go!'
(5 minutes later)
Man-'Man, I got to go pee something awful. How long do we have to wait in this here line?'
Woman-'Well go pee then! Damn! You've been bitching ever since we got on the plane this mornin'! You are ruining my vacation!'
Man-'(Grumble, grumble)'
(And repeat this conversation, for an hour)
It was as if my crazy grandmother was in line right behind me - drunk, belligerent and blaming others. Just like home....
Once we made it through customs, we picked up our rental car. It was actually an upgrade from the euro mini car that we were supposed to get, so that was a plus. This plus however was quickly replaced with a few minuses....like no map and no road signs. When we asked the rental car guy for directions to our resort he was like...you jus leave de airport and it's on de beach road. Huh? Luckily the island is only 38 miles and we had a full tank of gas. We snagged a map from a magazine that we got on the plane, so that helped.
Before we left the airport we witnessed a fender bender that stopped all traffic for a good 15 minutes. Cops came out of nowhere and were quickly followed by middle aged local men who had to put in their 2 cents. Once that was cleared up, we were on our way to try to find our resort - on a map with no road names, in a country with no road signs.
The Turks and Caicos islands are ruled by the British, so they drive on the wrong side of the road and have pictures of the queen in their gov't buildings. DaveBrown did an excellent job adapting to driving on the left hand side of the road - but the numerous pot holes were a bit tricky. The main road wasn't bad - not even the round abouts - but the pot holes were all over the side roads like mine fields. And they weren't like our pot holes here. They were deep - like someone was digging a hole to China in each one. And they seemed to form in groups. Also, there are no lines on the roads there and they are quite narrow - so you're going to hit more than your share of these while driving around. Whiplash must be the national malady.
After getting slightly lost and turning around in someone's front yard, we finally found our resort. It was the oasis at the end of a long day's journey. Lush tropical flowers and plants surrounding stucco buildings and the sound of the calm waters. Now, where's the reg desk so we can check in and relax?
Stay tuned for Phase 3 - The Resort and the Island Food...
Friday, February 18, 2005
Our Romantic Vacation....Phase 1 - Getting There
So, for Valentine's Day this year I decided to make things easy on DaveBrown and suggested that we take a romantic tropical vacation as our gift to each other. After a little research on some Caribbean islands that we have yet to visit we decided to go to Antigua. But since we are both lazy procrastinators, by the time we went to make the reservations, the resort was sold out.....so we did some more looking and decided on visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands. When we found out that the Providenciales island has one of the best beaches in the world, we picked a resort there called Coral Gardens. It was set, we were to depart on Sat. Feb. 12 and return on Thurs. Feb. 17.
So just before we left, I started feeling a little under the weather. With the pressure to finish several work projects, laundry, boarding the animals and packing - my poor little body fell prey to a head cold. I should have known then, that the romantic vacation that I had envisioned wasn't going to live up to my high expectations. We overslept an hour for our 7am flight - but luckily made it to the airport in time. While waiting to board the plane, my romantic runny nose started - along with the ever seductive hocking up of the loogies. DaveBrown wasn't going to be able to resist me! Our flight to Charlotte was uneventful, I got a much needed nap. We had a 2 hour layover in Charlotte - and this wasn't bad. They even have a line of rocking chairs lined up in the main area of the terminal for relaxing and listening to a person playing a baby grand piano. We searched for a pair of Carolina Panthers shorts to replace the ones that I have somehow grown out of - but were unlucky.
The flight from Charlotte to Providenciales (Provo) was twice as long as the first leg and was twice as entertaining. We were lucky enough to be seated across the aisle from a local NC redneck couple who probably won some rock radio station contest. They were in their late 40s - early 50s complete with bad hair, NASCAR gear and their own 6-pack of Natty Light. They cracked them open as soon as we were in the air and even ran out and had to buy a few beers from the flight attendants. The gentleman spent most of the flight hiding under his coat - he even got hit with the refreshment cart and didn't budge - not that's a real beer drinker. They were such a classy couple that I noticed the woman using her finger as a utensil when finishing the airline snack of spreadable cheese - which wasn't even as good as Easy Cheese.
Another aspect of this flight that made it so entertaining was that it was chocked full of kids. For those that don't know, the Turks and Caicos islands are not very commercial and can be quite expensive - so we weren't prepared for the onslaught of kids that we encountered at the airport gate. It appeared that some lucky couple was getting married and had invited evey relative that had spit out at least 2 kids. There is a Beaches resort on Provo - which is extremely kid friendly - so my guess is that this was their destination.
While listening to some music and reading at the aiport gate in Charlotte, the trail of kids started arriving. First it was the family who insisted on sitting in the seats directly behind us - you know the ones that are connected at the seatbacks. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the kids were running around like savages and their mom was less than graceful when sitting. It was as if someone was pushing her into the seat with all their force each time she returned from chasing her kids. It was knocking me and DaveBrown all around, so we found new seats. This time, we decided to sit in the seats that were connected to ones that had a wedding dress laid across them. No one would dare move or sit on someone's wedding dress - so we were safe. Then, Batman arrived.
Ok, it wasn't Val Kilmer or even Michael Keaton, it was a 6 yr. old in a Batman t-shirt and he was more super-sissy material than super-hero. He started off fine playing with the other kids in the area. But when they started boarding the plane, he immediately turned on his super-cry-baby powers. He was whining 'Nooooooo, I don't want to' and laying on the floor. His parents appeared to have lost total control at this point. I understand not wanting to make a scene in the airport - but really, can't you do a little more to control your kid? (said the woman without any kids - ha ha!) His dad went over and tried to reason with Batman, but he wasn't having it. He even started crying - loudly. The funny part was that his kid brother was very well behaved and sitting nicely by their mother. Luckily we were able to board the plane before Batman, so we didn't have to endure too much of his super repelling powers. And even better - on the flight, Batman slept.
The funniest part of the flight had to be when we were preparing to land in Provo. The flight attendants were coming around collecting trash and reminding folks to put their seats and trays upright. Well, redneck man pulled a classic move by handing the flight attendant an empty Natty Light can - they don't sell Natty Light on these flights. He immediately got a mini-inquisition about where he got that Natural Light beer. When he refused to answer he was told - Don't you EVER bring any alcohol on a flight again. Do you understand me? I said, do you understand me? I swear - it was like my mother was scolding him and I was pointing and laughing in delight....Priceless.
So, we landed without anyone being taken to jail - although I must admit, that DaveBrown was hoping they would teach the redneck couple a lesson. I however, realize that this is just the mentality of many people that I grew up with - and it wasn't too long ago that I would have done the same thing....except for give my trash to the flight attendant. Just a taste of home that almost makes me homesick.
Stay tuned for Phase 2 - Customs and the Resort....
So just before we left, I started feeling a little under the weather. With the pressure to finish several work projects, laundry, boarding the animals and packing - my poor little body fell prey to a head cold. I should have known then, that the romantic vacation that I had envisioned wasn't going to live up to my high expectations. We overslept an hour for our 7am flight - but luckily made it to the airport in time. While waiting to board the plane, my romantic runny nose started - along with the ever seductive hocking up of the loogies. DaveBrown wasn't going to be able to resist me! Our flight to Charlotte was uneventful, I got a much needed nap. We had a 2 hour layover in Charlotte - and this wasn't bad. They even have a line of rocking chairs lined up in the main area of the terminal for relaxing and listening to a person playing a baby grand piano. We searched for a pair of Carolina Panthers shorts to replace the ones that I have somehow grown out of - but were unlucky.
The flight from Charlotte to Providenciales (Provo) was twice as long as the first leg and was twice as entertaining. We were lucky enough to be seated across the aisle from a local NC redneck couple who probably won some rock radio station contest. They were in their late 40s - early 50s complete with bad hair, NASCAR gear and their own 6-pack of Natty Light. They cracked them open as soon as we were in the air and even ran out and had to buy a few beers from the flight attendants. The gentleman spent most of the flight hiding under his coat - he even got hit with the refreshment cart and didn't budge - not that's a real beer drinker. They were such a classy couple that I noticed the woman using her finger as a utensil when finishing the airline snack of spreadable cheese - which wasn't even as good as Easy Cheese.
Another aspect of this flight that made it so entertaining was that it was chocked full of kids. For those that don't know, the Turks and Caicos islands are not very commercial and can be quite expensive - so we weren't prepared for the onslaught of kids that we encountered at the airport gate. It appeared that some lucky couple was getting married and had invited evey relative that had spit out at least 2 kids. There is a Beaches resort on Provo - which is extremely kid friendly - so my guess is that this was their destination.
While listening to some music and reading at the aiport gate in Charlotte, the trail of kids started arriving. First it was the family who insisted on sitting in the seats directly behind us - you know the ones that are connected at the seatbacks. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the kids were running around like savages and their mom was less than graceful when sitting. It was as if someone was pushing her into the seat with all their force each time she returned from chasing her kids. It was knocking me and DaveBrown all around, so we found new seats. This time, we decided to sit in the seats that were connected to ones that had a wedding dress laid across them. No one would dare move or sit on someone's wedding dress - so we were safe. Then, Batman arrived.
Ok, it wasn't Val Kilmer or even Michael Keaton, it was a 6 yr. old in a Batman t-shirt and he was more super-sissy material than super-hero. He started off fine playing with the other kids in the area. But when they started boarding the plane, he immediately turned on his super-cry-baby powers. He was whining 'Nooooooo, I don't want to' and laying on the floor. His parents appeared to have lost total control at this point. I understand not wanting to make a scene in the airport - but really, can't you do a little more to control your kid? (said the woman without any kids - ha ha!) His dad went over and tried to reason with Batman, but he wasn't having it. He even started crying - loudly. The funny part was that his kid brother was very well behaved and sitting nicely by their mother. Luckily we were able to board the plane before Batman, so we didn't have to endure too much of his super repelling powers. And even better - on the flight, Batman slept.
The funniest part of the flight had to be when we were preparing to land in Provo. The flight attendants were coming around collecting trash and reminding folks to put their seats and trays upright. Well, redneck man pulled a classic move by handing the flight attendant an empty Natty Light can - they don't sell Natty Light on these flights. He immediately got a mini-inquisition about where he got that Natural Light beer. When he refused to answer he was told - Don't you EVER bring any alcohol on a flight again. Do you understand me? I said, do you understand me? I swear - it was like my mother was scolding him and I was pointing and laughing in delight....Priceless.
So, we landed without anyone being taken to jail - although I must admit, that DaveBrown was hoping they would teach the redneck couple a lesson. I however, realize that this is just the mentality of many people that I grew up with - and it wasn't too long ago that I would have done the same thing....except for give my trash to the flight attendant. Just a taste of home that almost makes me homesick.
Stay tuned for Phase 2 - Customs and the Resort....
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