December 24, 2010

Friday, December 24, 2010: We got up today at 2:45am in order to be ready to leave the house by 3:45. Mom and Dad picked us up and then we went to pick up Darren. We were on the road to Lambert Airport by 4:00. Following the suggestion of Debbie, we parked at Skypark, right across from the airport. They took our luggage and shuttled us to the airport. While in the shuttle, I discovered that I did not bring the cash along that I had planned to bring! Thank goodness for ATM machines! Gees! So we went through the whole check-in process and of all the people in our group, my mom had to be “patted down.” The pin in her arm from when she broke it a few years back made the detectors go off. LOL! Why does it always seem like your gate is the one at the very end of the concourse? Once we made it to the gate, the airline (Airtran) was asking people to check their carry-on luggage because the flight was full and they didn’t think there would be enough room in the overhead bins. Since it was $20 for each bag we checked originally, we took advantage of this so we wouldn’t have to lug our luggage through the Atlanta airport (for our 1 hour layover). The flights were both pretty uneventful except Bailey’s ears hurting as we landed in Atlanta. We landed in Orlando just before 12:00 local time, got our luggage, and got our rental cars. We were on the road heading towards Daytona by 2:00. We found our condo unit easily and the check-in process was smooth as well. Our room is really nice…..it has a fully equipped kitchen, 3 beds in 2 bedrooms, 2 large bathrooms (1 with Jacuzzi tub), 3 TVs, and a pull-out couch in the living room. We got acquainted with the building and our room, checked out the building and the beach a little, and then went grocery shopping for snacks and breakfast items. We brought all the things back to the room and then walked down a block to a Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co. It was good but not as good as I remember it being the last time (at Universal Studios Orlando in 2008). Bruce and I went to Walgreen’s to get a few things and then came back to the room. All of us but Darren played some cards before we went to bed. Brittany and Bailey watched a movie for awhile while lying on the pull-out couch.