Written previously when I had given up hope of any decision! - No decision yet as to what we are going to do in May! Alan did cancel the Michael's Inn reservations because we are definitely not going anywhere near Canada. Oh well, that is always on the cards, Toronto is easy to get to from here.
The need for me to go home is very strong and that is now the direction where we are headed! And I had to take back a lovely offer from my Mom. As soon as we booked the New England trip, Mom said why not let my niece, Candi, have the timeshare in Florida? I was delighted and contacted her immediately. She was so excited......about a week later - I had to contact her and ask for it back! I am so lucky to have a family that loves and understands me. She was fine about it and has reassured me that next year would actually be better for them to use it. Whew! So it does look like a sure thing that we will spend some time in one of my "home towns"!! The remainder of our planning has had to center on this.
Since I never posted this, what follows is the next "chapter"!
My original idea was too ambitious. I suggested flying to Washington DC to visit Alan's cousin, Alex, then drive to Raliegh to see my cousin, Mary. Next, drive to Atlanta to spend time with Candi and Roxanne, two of my very special nieces. Then drive to Fort Walton for the timeshare. And a big treat of New Orleans before going home. As they say on the commercial - Simples.
Of course, this could not possibly work out, it was too simple and uncomplicated. The main killer of this idea was a visit to Largs Travel, where David, the owner, explained that although it looks as if there is no drop off fee for a one way car rental, it is actually in the small print. And he found it - $700!
Then came a week or so of emails, phone calls, conferences and tears (well no tears, but it was a tough time), trying to find an alternative. As we are doing this, the flights are becoming a bit more and more expensive.....
One way car hire was still on the cards - David then advised us that each manager where you get the car will determine what to charge for one way hires. So I got my niece in Atlanta to contact Thrifty. And the real bad news - no one way AT ALL to anywhere but Pensacola, FL. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Pensacola, but it never was on our itinerary.
So last night, at 8:30 pm Jim and Jennifer arrived to make final decisions about driving one way from Atlanta to New Orleans and once again, this could not happen. None of us were going to leave the room until something was decided. Eventually, it was decided to fly into and out of New Orleans and drive up to Atlanta first, ending in New Orleans. Finally, a decision.
We did not book this though because we want all 4 flights on the same ticket and Jennifer had to wire Alan money to do it today. I left for work thinking everything was rosy!
Of course not! Since making the decision to land and leave from NOLA, the prices skyrocketed and this was no longer an option. So another round of emails and phone calls and voila -
after a very painful and enlightening few weeks, who would have thought things could be so complicated, we have booked our flights!
This has been an epic struggle getting the timings, cars, costs, flights, etc to work out. Now we can begin to relax and look forward to quality time with family and fun in the sun!
What good friends Jim and Jennifer are. The struggle was not with them but with the world economy, details, strange costs that appeared when we were trying to do something we thought was simple, you name it, it hit us! The four of us were a very good team working around our needs and ideas and reality!
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