dshans Big Adventure:
Booked a flight I could afford to MN, but it involved a 2.5 hour drive to Orlando from Jacksonville. 8 AM departure. No biggie. It was to arrive in MSP at a convenient time for my son on Christmas Eve. However, I didn't realize in advance just how screwed up the I-4 reconstruction in "The City Beautiful" was.
I left Jacksonville at 3:30 in the effing morning. I hit the outskirts of Orlando with time to spare ... or at least I thought I did. I missed the exit I needed to take, even though I was familiar with it from my years living there.
Lack of signs, lighting and lane shifts did me in. I got lost. I had no idea which way I was driving since it was pitch black with no sun to give me a clue. On my third stop at an all night 7-Eleven to get directions, I was able to accost an Orange County Sherriffs officer. He cranked up the lap top in his SUV and got me on the right path.
Bottom line: though I got to my gate 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time, they had closed the doors 5 minutes earlier.
I was SOL. I was booked on a later flight but spent 5 boring hours in the airport. OK, so I get to MCO in time for my son to pick me up and get me to dinner at his soon-to-be In-Laws.
Good times. Good food, good company. A wonderful Christmas the next day.
Then I got an e-mail concerning the ticket I'd purchased for the Citrus Bowl. Or so I thought. It turns out that I'd allowed myself to get confused by the fact that what had (in my youth living in Orlando) been the Tangerine Bowl, then The Citrus Bowl, and now the Camping World Stadium. It turned out that there was also a Camping World Bowl Game at the Camping World Stadium.
Ticket Master found no buyer for that ticket so I ate the $$$. I then purchased a ticket for the Citus Bowl Game at Camping World Stadium. Things were looking up. I think that I drank and ate enough to justify the $80 for the official ND VIP Tailgate.
I got to the game about 15 minutes before kickoff. I decided to get some cash from an ATM so that I could get a beer and something more to eat. The ATM grabbed my card. Nothing happened. Pressing the "Cancel" button did nothing. I couldn't pull my debit card out from its evil, unforgiving jaws.
It turns out that the ATM was unplugged for some unknown reason. I appealed to any and every person who looked like they worked for the stadium. One guy put in a call to someone, came back 15 minutes later, and then left to get a pair of pliers to try to get my card out. No Go.
Eventually someone connected with the ATM company showed up. He was able to release my card and get the damn machine running. By that time there was only about 2 and a half minutes in the first half.
The temperature dropped, the wind (coming straight at me) picked up and the drizzle did not let up. I wandered around at half time and managed to connect with Dad4aa as the second half was starting. I went back to my seat, but after about 5 minutes felt the need to seek shelter.
I found a small alcove of sorts out of the wind. Their were four ladies there for the same reason. They were delightful. One was a mother to a member of The Irish Guard.
I bailed to watch what was left of the game on a large screen Monitor in the concourse out of the wind and rain. I probably spent no more than 15 minutes watching the game from my seat.
But, what the hell – we won and I'm still alive. Life is good.
