Leaving to Clearwater

Woke up this morning at 8:00am. I decided to take the shuttle bus from the hotel to the airport, which arrives twice hourly; my flight was scheduled to depart on 11:30am, and I decided that better safe than sorry.

As I awoke, Bruce was already up. We shared a few more laughs, very quietly so we don’t wake Kami up. I quickly packed my belongings and was set to go. Bruce suggested that he goes downstairs while I’m packing so he can bring us all coffee—a suggestion that I welcomed very heartily.

Time passed by quickly and on 8:35am I had to bid Kami and Bruce farewell. It was great to get to know them and spend time with them—we were like family during the last three days. I hope that they enjoyed their time with me just as much as I enjoyed mine with them.

Kami & Bruce—thanks again for everything! Keep the laughter going, we’ll meet again soon!

The shuttle arrived exactly on time (8:40am) and by 9:30am I was already at the airport. The Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta is, how to say it gently, f*****g huge. It’s very well‐marked as well—you can’t get lost, and there are many restaurants and shops. The self‐check‐in thing worked flawlessly. I went to drop off my baggage. Since it’s a backpack with many strings and straps on it, I usually get some sort of a bug nylon bag to wrap it with; Delta, however, wants $5 for the “service” (they give you the bag, and you have to do everything yourself). I passed. Screw you, guys.

Checked my backpack in and off I went looking for some place to eat. I was hungry so I decided to not be too picky, however I came across that restaurant that has a breakfast buffet. Apparently, at breakfast time, an “all you can eat” buffet is all they really have. Food was tasty, the service was absolutely horrific. The way it works is, that you pay $9 for the buffet, and pay separately for drinks. The waitress came by to ask me what I want to drink. I said “water”, and before I knew it she fled the scene, and came back with the water some 20 minutes later. I wanted to ask her a question, but she just turned away and left as I said “excuse me”.

Gee.

Breakfast was good.

I decided to get security clearance over with, so I passed through security and went to the gate. I had about an hour to kill before the flight, so I spent it all writing the previous blog entry.

Flight left without delays. I was seated at the front row, right at the emergency exit, which meant lots of leg room and that I’m the first one leaving the aircraft upon landing. The guy next to me showed me, on his iPhone, some news article about a Delta flight that left from L.A to Atlanta earlier today. It turned out that a flight attendant found a dead woman in the lavatory. We were wondering to ourselves if that’s the same aircraft. We asked the attendants, but didn’t get a clear response. Therefore, both myself and the guy next to me decided to refrain from using the lavatories.

My backpack was one of the first items dropped on the baggage claim belt. Went outside. It was raining mayhem so I decided to take the easy way to Motel 6 in Clearwater—paid $23 for a shuttle bus.

The shuttle bus’ driver was rather grumpy. Above his seat there was a sticker saying:

“GRATUITY NOT INCLUDED”

Take a hike, Superman.

Arrived at Motel 6 about an hour after boarding the shuttle. It was supposed to be a 20 minutes drive but weather was a killer. Upon checking in, I was notified that there’s no electricity in the motel at all, due to the weather conditions. About an hour later, electricity service was restored.

It’s 4:20pm now. Jim, who has been reading my blog and suggested that we go to the concert together, is supposed to pick me up in about two hours and we’ll head to the Ruth Eckerd Hall for the 30th concert this tour.

I’m pretty hungry now… off to hunt for food.

Later,
Isaac