Wedding - First Installment - TheTrip

Well, it's been awhile since the last update, but with the wedding travel, etc., there really hasn't been time to compose a new post. I have been going through the over800 pictures taken while we were in Cabo trying to pick some of the best for posting. In addition, we babysat Greyson on Saturday and Sunday, and during that time he demanded 100% attention. I did post some videos on Picasa and sent out email invitations. Check them out, he is really growing fast, has a great personality, and is sooooooo much fun!

To start off, the trip was one to be remembered. At 7:00 PM Christmas Eve I got a phone message from American Airlines that our 6:30 AM flight had been canceled and we were rescheduled on a flight leaving at 6:00 PM. So much for plans! The reason they gave was the storm in Dallas, our one stop. Since over a hundred flights into Dallas had been canceled, I thought there would be a large backup, even at Norfolk, so we got to the airport with hours to spare. The only benefit was that we had a leisurely dinner and a couple beers before we boarded the plane.

Dinner in Norfolk..................

We got into LAX around 11:00 PM, got our luggage, and went to Steph's, arriving around 12:30 AM. The airport shuttle was picking us up at 4:20 AM for the trip back to LAX. Due to the canceled flight, we missed Christmas Dinner, but Steph brought it to us at the airport. We got to eat our Christmas Dinner in the car on the way to Steph's. We all met up in LA so we could fly on the same plane to Cabo, even though we sat in different areas of the plane. Gail likes to sit in the back. Everyone else prefers to sit more toward the front.

After a couple hours sleep, we were back up and heading for the airport . Our flight was scheduled for 7:20 AM, but "they" suggest you get to the airport at least two and a half hours before international flights. So, that's what we did. Again, we were way early, but this time no beers.

The flight was pretty uneventful until we got near Mexico City. We hit some rather bumpy air. That didn't make Gail too happy. Anyway, we flew for four hours to get to Mexico City, had a three hour lay-over, then flew for two hours back in the direction from which we came to Cabo. The lay-over flew by. We found a small sports bar near the gate and decided to toss back a few tall cool ones.

Mexico City lay-over.................

The flight to Cabo was pretty good, at least until we arrived. First, Nancy, Rick, Steph and Jake's luggage got misplaced for a little while. While we were waiting, Gail went to check on the rental car. What a fiasco. First, the desk by baggage check told us that our reservation was through Hertz Advantage and that was not him. He told us to go through some sliding doors and talk to the man at the end of the counter. We did that and he told us to go through another set of sliding doors and there should be a Hertz Rep there with a sign with our name on it. Like good little travelers, we did as instructed. Guess what ! There was no rep with a sign. We did see a guy in a Hertz shirt, but he couldn't help. Again, the Hertz - Hertz Advantage thing. Soooo, I thought I would go back inside to talk with the original guy. The doors were closed and marked "Authorized Personnel Only", but that couldn't stop me. I waited until the doors opened to let someone out and went in. I was immediately confronted by a female "Federalie", about four foot tall and 100 pounds soaking wet. She couldn't speak English and I don't speak Spanish so I just kept pushing forward. An Airport "Official" who could speak English came up and told me I couldn't re-enter. Together they escorted me to the door. He told me if I had any more problems outside to come back and talk to him. I went back out to find that nothing had changed. I went back in and was confronted by the same little "Federalie" but the "Official" was nowhere to be found. By now my frustration level had about peaked! I went back outside to talk with the Hertz guy. Big mistake! See, I had had about two hours sleep in the last 24, I had been traveling for the better part of two days, and I was pissed. He explained the situation to me and I repeated it back to him for clarification. To wit: "Let's see if I understand, you do not represent Hertz Advantage, you cannot contact Hertz Advantage, the Hertz Advantage rep left because he has no cars, therefore, we have no car!" He said yes and he and his three friends started to laugh. That's when I lost it! My response was "This is Bullshit!" At that point his three amigos stood up and started to look serious. Their humor had faded. Gail thought that we were about to mix it up right there in the street and stepped between us. She led me away to the safety of the other side of the street. She was afraid I would get arrested and spend my vacation in jail. Maybe!

After that, we arranged for a van to take us to the condo. Nancy and Rick took care of that. Nancy didn't want to share a van with strangers and insisted on a private one. The cost was $85.00, so Rick gave the head guy a $100.00 bill and he disappeared. Nancy freaked. She thought the guy had taken off, but he just went to get change. Needless to say, by the time we got to the condo, we were all ready to eat, DRINK, and sleep. What to do? We headed to Zippers (more about this place later). We ate, drank (cold beer and great Marguritas) and then went back to the condo and crashed.

Dinner at Zippers................one of many visits...........
Next installment, condo and rehearsal dinner.................