This has been a VERY long day, and if I didn’t sleep a little on BOTH flights, AND take a nap when we reached our hotel, I’d be a goner.
The alarm went off at 3:15am. I snoozed once and then got out of bed, took a shower and got dressed. Eric was right behind me. I had done all the packing, got our clothes for the trip ready, and even made us snacks the night before. I waited until the shuttle called to pack turkey/Swiss wraps, apples, grapes, chocolates (still left from my birthday), and clementines. I took a lot of snacks because I know they never give you more than a bag of peanuts these days. I remember when we were in Vegas with Geri and Larry, they were starving when they got off the plane, because they had a long flight and didn’t get anything to eat. On the way home, they stopped and bought sandwiches to bring on the return flight.
The shuttle was on time at 4:30am, and we were at the airport before 5:00am. I got our CONTINENTAL boarding passes through a kiosk and we had a short walk to the gate. We relaxed until we got on the flight. I immediately gave Eric a turkey/swiss wrap and I had a salad/swiss wrap. We were half-way through when they came through with drinks. Then, they served – BREAKFAST! I couldn’t believe my eyes. Okay, it was just a bowl of Wheaties with a tiny container of milk and a pouch of raisins, but it was breakfast! We put away our wraps and had the cereal with milk and raisins. I was impressed!
They also showed a movie – RATATOUILLE. I really wanted to see that, and it looked SO cute, but I didn’t have the patience to listen with the earphones for 2 hours. I just slept instead.
We took off on time and landed on time. Unfortunately the connecting flight seemed like a million miles away. We walked, and walked, up escalators, down escalators, and then finally had to get on a TRAIN to take us to the other terminal. Who knew George Bush International Airport in Houston was so huge? We got on the train, which had no seats – I guess because you’re only on it for a few minutes.
We got off the train and had to walk up MORE escalators, down halls, down escalators, and on and on and on. At one point, we saw a woman with a small transport vehicle (like a golf cart with extra rows) and it said CONTINENTAL on the side. Since we’re flying Continental, I asked if she could take us to Gate 84. She said she could and we hopped on (with all four of our bags). She took us at LEAST a half mile and we STILL had to walk more when we got off.
We finally got to Gate 84 and the woman behind the desk informed us that our flight was moved to Gate 88, so we had to go BACK up the escalator and walk down another long hallway. We finally got there, with lots of time to spare, and relaxed until the second flight took off.
The plane for the second flight was very small, so they wouldn’t let us take our bigger bags with us. They weren’t checked, like regular baggage, but they took them away and then brought them back to us right outside the gate when the flight was over. That made me VERY nervous, but it all worked out okay.
Other than that, everything went super-smoothly. Eric thought I was complaining too much about how far we had to walk, but it’s just that the bags were heavy and even though one of mine was on wheels it was still cumbersome and my arms were hurting! Okay, so I’m a big, complaining baby, but I can’t help it! Poor Eric, he had the computer, which is heavy and his carry-on, which was also very heavy, but he didn’t complain at all.
On the second flight, they served – LUNCH! I know, it’s amazing! This time it was even better – little turkey sandwiches on cute little buns with lettuce. They gave you a packet of mayonnaise, a bag of chips, and a tiny little MILKY WAY bar! Who could ask for anything more? It really boggles my mind that we got TWO meals on two flights, when I was expecting two bags of nuts and brought enough fruit and sandwiches to feed a family of 4!
Eric bought a book of Stephen King short stories at the San Diego airport, so he read for most of both flights. I like to sleep, and I did manage to doze a little on both flights.
We got to Columbia and walked a short distance to the ALAMO CAR RENTAL. I requested a PT Cruiser, and the guy behind the counter thought it was VERY strange. I told him that I drive one and I’m very comfortable with it. He understood. He was able to give us one (wheee!). It’s silver and the minute I got into it, I felt completely at home! This way, I won’t mind dropping Eric off and picking him up, or doing some driving if we go for a long ride. I feel like I’m in my own car!
We plugged Betty in and programmed her to bring us to the HYATT PLACE HOTEL, which is in Irmo, South Carolina. I guess it’s a suburb of Columbia. I told Eric I could NEVER live in a place called Irmo. It’s too much like Elmo. Tickle me Irmo!
The hotel looks brand new. We were greeted before we could get through the front entrance by a handsome young man. He showed us the kiosk where we could check in automatically. It gave us a receipt, and two room keys. The whole thing took about 3 minutes!
The room is fabulous! There’s a 42-inch high-definition flat panel TV. Eric is in heaven. It swivels so you can watch it from the 2 full size beds, or from the L-shaped couch with an ottoman. The décor is so elegant—all in neutrals beiges, browns and creams. The sink has a granite countertop. They supply you with an ironing board and an iron, a blow dryer, an alarm clock, a fridge (by the wet bar), a coffee maker, and lots of other great amenities. I’m so happy, since we will be spending an entire week here!
As I mentioned before, we watched a little TV and took a nap. We woke up around 7:30pm and went out for dinner. There were lots of choices, but we decided to try YAMATO – the original Japanese Steakhouse of South Carolina – for some sushi. First, they seated us at those tables where the chef is cooking right in front of you, but we told them we just wanted sushi, so they showed us to the sushi bar and we sat at a table right nearby.
Eric and I were surprised to see a NO SMOKING sign in the sushi bar, but there was a regular bar area right next to the sushi bar and smoking was obviously allowed in there, because I could smell it and it really bothered me. I’m so sensitive to smoke!
Our hotel room is a no-smoking room and they actually tell you that if you smoke in the room they will charge you a $200 cleaning fee. I love that!
We got our usual -- Edamame and Shrimp Shumai, but also got three rolls -- Spicy Tuna, Volcano and Japanese Bagel (which had smoked salmon, cream cheese and avocado). It was all good, but not great -- certainly nothing like we've had in either NY or SD!
We didn’t have dessert at the YAMATO, so we drove around and finally went into a Denny’s, which was decorated like an old-time diner. It was very different from any other Denny’s we’d ever been in. Really cute. We shared a banana split, which was just what the doctor ordered!
We came back to the hotel, I unpacked, washed up, got in my pajamas, set up the computer and Eric took a shower and watched TV while I worked on the computer.
Tomorrow is Christmas Day, so most everything will be closed and it should be pretty quiet. We’ll probably drive around a lot, so we will get to know some of the neighborhoods and drive into the actual city of Columbia. We will do more driving on Wednesday, since the bike shop he’s renting his bike from won’t be open again until Thursday. The weather report tonight said rain all weekend, which would be VERY bad for riding, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
The weather here today was just slightly cooler than San Diego. We DID get here at 5:00pm, so I’m sure it was warmer during the day. It was definitely pretty warm, even when we went out for dinner, and I was happy about that!
MERRY CHRISTMAS, TO ALL OUR DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!