Changing Plans

Okay, I sat down over the weekend and took a good long look at my planned trip to England this spring. Unfortunately the US dollar is not doing well right now and fares on all the carriers are quite high with no sign they will be coming down anytime soon. Combine this with my employer messing up my state income tax withholding last year and I just can't afford to go. Maybe next year?

I do have some weekend trips planned in the near future. The last weekend in April I'll be driving down to Richmond, Virginia for something called RavenCon. It's a chance to meet up with other fiction writers and Twitter friends from down that way. I'll certainly be blogging about it.

On Memorial Day weekend I'm going to another Con, but there won't be much travel involved since it's just up in Baltimore. Balticon is a Science Fiction convention where a lot of the writers and podcasters in the genre meet up every year. I'm sure there will be a blog or two over the course of the weekend.

To my friends in England: I'm sorry I won't be seeing you this spring, but as soon as I can afford to I'll be booking another trip. Keep the beer warm and chips hot.

How NOT to Spend Your Winter Vacation

I bet you've been asking yourself, "What has Julie been doing that is so much fun she doesn't even have time to make a blog entry for three whole days?"

Well it hasn't been all that much fun, but since Monday night I've been flat on my back with a 101 degree fever. I don't know where or when I picked up my little traveling companions, but they have been very busy making this vacation the most uncomfortable one I can remember. Right now I feel almost human, but it wouldn't be the first time this flu has tricked me into thinking it was done with me. At this point I'm just hoping to be well enough to go home on Saturday.

Florida Scenery

Before I flew down to Florida someone on Twitter suggested I enjoy the scenery. Here are three examples that show I'm trying my best to do just that.

These two shots were taken near the Tarpon Springs Golf Course.

And this bit of Florida scenery is especially for Viv.

Arriving in Tampa

I had planned my flight for Saturday afternoon to allow for contingencies, so of course there were none. After a long morning of fretting over every single thing I'd packed the night before, I finally set out for the airport.

At BWI, I waited in the line at Air Tran for about fifteen minutes. On the counter were signs that said they were having an upgrade sale. Even the check-in kiosk automatically offered me an upgrade. I thought about it for a moment then said, "What the heck. I'm on vacation."

So I rode the whole way to Florida in the nearly empty business class section. I practically had the attendant to myself and she soon ran out of things to do for me. I had a more or less constant refill on my water glass. I even splurged and had a shortbread cookie from the snack basket she kept tempting me with. The two hour flight seemed far too short for once and before I knew it we were on the ground in Tampa.

TPA has free Wifi, so I took a few minutes to Twitter my whereabouts and then headed down for the long wait at the baggage carousel. Now if I had four planes landing at roughly the same time, I might find a way to use more than one baggage belt. Instead Air Tran had the passengers from all four flights scrambling for luggage off the same belt. So much fun!

My luck with car rentals is still holding up. I'd tried to reserve a Prius for the week, but they were all out. I had a coupon for a free tank of gas, so I stopped at the Hertz counter on my way. I mentioned the Prius and the woman said, "Oh, I can give you a Prius if you want." I walked out to the garage and it's the same exact color as mine back home.

I drove off into a beautiful Gulf sunset, ready for what I hope will be an enjoyable visit. Mom was waiting on the porch when I drove up. I got settled in, hooked up her wireless that had been disconnected when she switched to DSL, then turned in early. All this relaxation can wear a girl out!