Continuing...

Saturday, December 02, 2006


Well, I'm back......
Category: Travel and Places

Well, it's a Saturday evening and I'm home. Actually got home yesterday evening around 3pm.

Basic rundown of last couple of days ---

Thursday had a last lunch with Senhor Rubens and Dona Lourdes. Then we finished packing and they, Dani, I, and Maria went to the airport. Made a little loop near the Santos Dumont airport (the domestic airport - we had arrived at the international airport) and then we got there. It was raining a little all day, and Senhor Rubens said Rio was crying that Dani was leaving.

Well, the flight was delayed, so the ticket person gave us a ticket on an earlier flight (they were all delayed as the rain slowed down everything air traffic-wise). So we were supposed to take off on a 4:25 flight, but caught a 1:25 flight that had been delayed at 5:00 pm.

I wonder how pissed the people (who had been waiting for much longer apparently) got.

We got to Sao Paulo and there was a discussion over whether we'd need a taxi or find some other way to get to the other airport. The itinerary said "You will be responsible for means of travel between the two [airports]." -- which to me says "taxi". Dani assumed there would be a bus or something and got pissed when I pointed out what the itinerary said.

Needless to say, she expressed severe dissatisfaction with the fact that I paid for a cheaper means of transport.

1. She bitched about having to drive to Miami (I drove, she just complained.) Which then turned into "Let's spend a few days in Miami before we go"
2. She bitched about having the trip stop in Manaus, Belem, and Brasilia before getting to Rio. (She slept on the last two trips, I didn't sleep except for 30 minutes between Brasilia and Rio).
3. She bitched non-stop about having to make any stops, that if she'd had her way, it'd've been non-stop from Miami to Rio and back, with a flight from Jax to Rio (and back) as bookends.
4. She complained about not being in Rio longer (even though she admits she needs to get back to work to make some money).

Well, turns out the airlines have buses from one airport to the other. So we caught the TAM bus to the Sao Paulo international airport (which was pretty nice btw). Took little over an hour and was free, thank God, while a taxi would've taken much longer and probably would've run around R$300 (according to D).

Well, we spent from 8 to 11 at the airport. Ate a little pre-packaged pita sandwich, bought some souvenirs, picked up a copy of Foreign Affairs, and hit the security line.

(Dani got a lot of scrutiny since she now had a carry-on bag full of medicine. That was fun. And it's always fun carrying her crap for her. Believe me, I am not one of those put-on guys who are always happy to carry the gf/wife's bags. They got arms, they carry their shit, that's my opinion. If I carry it, it's my job to make you miserable.)

Well, we got on the plane - flight 8090, an Airbus A330 which actually had a first class section (it was business class on the earlier plane) which looked pretty sweet. Needless to say, A330s over A320/1s, although I still like Airbus. Movie was POTC:DMC, or you could watch toons (Yogi/Fred/Scooby) or Click (the crappy Sandler movie)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383574/ - Pirates

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389860/ - Click

So, the plane took off at midnight local time. After watching the movie, it was four am local, 1am EST. So I managed to take a three hour nap before we landed in Miami at 5:05 am.

Well, getting out of Miami became the trick. I thought that the rental agents would show up at 7, allowing us to rent a car. So we waited from 6 to 7 near the rental car stations. (It took an hour to get off the plane and get Dani and her gear through security and both of us through customs).

(Speaking of which… on the customs form, it tells you to enter the amount of good you purchased and are bringing through customs. So you put that amount [in my case US$50 – I had a SHOPPING BAG in my hand]. Dani said leave it $0 if it's below the amount they allow private, non-commercial purchases [US$400]. That was an argument – Honestly, I am not going to tell people I didn't buy anything when I've got a shopping bag in my hand and they've got weapons. What'll they think - either I'm lying or I stole it.)

Well, we rode to Enterprise. They didn't have any cars, and one-way trips should be reserved beforehand anyway, so they said tough titty. Then we rode to Dollar. Got another Dodge Caliber. (And they're open 24 hours, just catch the shuttle – so I felt foolish for waiting for an hour.) Have I said before that I like that car? Yeah, I do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Caliber

Enough to get rid of the Mustang? Not really.

Drove back to Jacksonville. Dani slept. Dropped off the luggage, Dani got her car, we dropped off the Dodge at the Jacksonville Airport. Came back home.

Called Doug to let him know we're back (I'd called the family on the drive back – my Dad turned 59 on Friday, so it was a birthday call as well.) Dani called some friends and Philip so she could get Jaws back.

Ordered a pizza, Doug came over and brought the key back. And then, to my surprise, Cameron came in. I'd thought he'd gone back to his truck already (he drives for TransAm Trucking)

So I drove him to his truck in St. Augustine and dropped him off at the truck stop. Had been almost two months since I'd seen him (10/8) and it was good to do so. Of course I was tired so I ended up driving south on I-95 after I dropped him off. Was 20 miles south of St. Aug before I realized what happened.

Came home, ate a slice of pizza and fell asleep.

Home.