Safe & Sound in Florida

Hi All - I'm safe & sound here in Florida, ensconced in my parents home. Tuesday was a looonngg day. I woke up at 6 am after 4 hours of sleep - had to finish packing & play with the new iPod. :-)

My flight ended up leaving 3 hours later than scheduled. Not because of any problem on the Frankfurt end though. No, it left Newark 3 hours later that scheduled, so it arrived 3 hours later. Sigh. My plane was one of two that were delayed that morning. However, I have to say that everybody was really laid back about it and the Continental staff were very friendly. I even managed to catch my connecting flight in Newark. We arrived with about an hour and a half before it left, which was just enough time. Time to go through customs, pick up my bags, get back in line to hand the bags off again, go through security (taking off the shoes & belt this time) and walk back to a gate that was six doors down from the gate I came in just as they were calling my row to board. Again, everybody was really friendly, so the process was smooth. One Continental flight attendant was very nice & retrieved my duty free shopping from the previous plane for me - I forgot it in the rush of getting off! That was very nice of her.

Arriving in Florida was great - warm balmy air. One of my suitcases didn't get on the plane, but it arrived on the next one and they delivered it to the house the next morning.

So I'm in Florida, enjoying the warm temperatures - low 70's F (~22 C), sunshine, and big open blue skies. I haven't seen my two middle brothers or their kids yet, but that'll change this evening. And tomorrow is Christmas eve, so I'll get an overdose of nieces & nephews then. I love visiting my parents! :-)