Apparently the weekend didn't start off all that well, as Dad started off by going NORTH from Orlando rather than south. As he himself told me.....
"It was a rather tight jawed couple of miles before I was able to turn around."
Then they ran into the approximately 30 plus miles of construction on Florida's turnpike, which prompted dad....no doubt in another tight jawed tone, to say....
"I'm about 2 seconds away from turning this car around and going home!"
Oh, and by the way, before they hit the turnpike they were looking for some gas and dad turned into the station that had the most expensive prices around. I'm positive at this point that mom had the good sense not to mention it to him. Ahem.
So they finally get down to south Florida and pull up to the hotel that we had booked them a reservation in. For reasons not entirely clear to me, this weekend there were ZERO hotel rooms available in south Florida. There was a big boat show down here....and of course it was a holiday weekend...but geez, you woulda thought the Super Bowl was in town or something. (Sorry, didn't mean to remind the Jacksonville family members about the SB.)
Anyway, they were booked into a hotel called "Studio 6", which is sort of an extended stay sort of place. So Mare & Lair walk into the lobby and go to check in....only to find that.......
There is no reservation in their name.
Suffice to say, immediate panic sets in. The person at the front desk tells them that they have a room to give them for Thursday night, but there are no rooms available for Friday.
(They were already booked into the Diplomat on the ocean for Saturday night) Dad begins leaving messages on my cell phone, but of course I'm working late that particular night and don't get the message until after 5pm. And I am beyond livid. So when I get home I call the hotel and ask what in the Sam Hill is going on. They ask me if I have the confirmation number from when I made the reservation. Uh, no....I was under the assumption that you would have put the reservation in YOUR computer and I wouldn't need to keep ahold of my confirmation number (a silly mistake on my part, I understand). Luckily, the woman I spoke to was very nice and told me that there had been a few cancellations and that there would be a room available for two nights for mom & dad. Relief city!
So I finally get to the hotel, and its nice enough. Well.....so I thought. I get to the room and make our greetings and ask mom how everything is. She says the room is fine....except....
"Its a smoking room. But that's fine....don't worry about it."
I ask them if other than that its okay.
"Oh, its fine....the bed is only a queen size.....but don't worry about it."
Everything else okay mom?
"Oh, absolutely. Of course....we would have rather been on the first floor..but don't worry."
I love having a mother who never complains.
So we go out to dinner....and dad starts telling me about what's been going on and says.....
"Hey, is this conversation on the record?? I don't wanna be reading this stuff on your journal."
WHAT UP?
So we have a very nice dinner and mom asks if we can go next door to the restaurant and go into the drug store to pick up a few things.
"They don't have Kleenex or soap in the hotel room......but don't worry about it."
So while we head to the drug store, dad decides to wait in the car....which is parked right in front of a closed bank.
So Mom & I come out a couple of minutes later, and mom asks dad if he had to wait long.
"Well, while I was sitting here....in front of the bank....in the dark...in my Cadillac...alone....a police car drove past me very slowly. I think he passed me twice. I wonder if he thought I was casing the place."
(By the way....wait until you see my impression of dad telling this story.
)And we return to the hotel for the evening.
The next day was Friday, and mom & dad got up and went over to the hospital that dad had been the administrator of, where he had a look at how the hospital had grown over the years.
We met them late in the afternoon for a nice dinner at Carrabas, where unfortunately they did not have their spicey chicken soup.....but I digress. Afterwards, we went to my old stomping grounds--Plantation High School--where the beautiful and vivacious Kellie Jean Poe-Bowdren was competing in the all county band competition (she plays the flute). Mom & Dad were very impressed with the performance, with mom proudly getting Kellie's autograph on the program. Kellie was glowing like......um......well, sorta like her cousin "Scar".
Saturday morning mom & dad got up and traveled down to the Westin Diplomat, where the 30th anniversary celebration for Westside Regional//Bennett Community Hospital was being held. Rene & Scarlett can tell you how fancy this place is. Its about a 40 story hotel right on the Atlantic and the room go for $400 to $500 a night------off season. Its like a hotel you'd find in Vegas. Fortunately my buddy John "Rat Bastard" Foley works as a concierge at the hotel, and did a fantastic job of taking care of the two of them. They got V.I.P. access to the executive club, which is the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. Later that evening, the two of them went down to the evening's event, where they were seated at the table of honor and pretty much made to feel like royalty!! Dad was honored as one of the founders of the hospital and even called upon to give a speech!! What good luck that he always has one on standby---hehehe. Dad says that he was very fortunate to be joined that evening by the most gorgeous looking woman in the place.....I told him that came as no surprise to me, because any woman that has such good looking kids had to be a knockout!
But I think Dad was geniunely touched by the display of good will and good feelings from the doctors and staff members who still remembered him. Afterwards they had a good night's sleep in what Scarlett called the "$350 a night mattress".
This morning as they headed back home, we met them for a great breakfast at CrackerBarrel. It was great visiting with them and we were able to give them a couple of new photos of the kids to take home. It was worth the hour long wait we had to sit down.
There were of course.....other stories.....but as Dad requested.....they remain.....
OFF THE RECORD!!!
Later,
Jeff
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