How to Avoid Florida’s Humidity and Bugs

We discovered there was only one way to avoid the humidity in Florida and to avoid being continually bitten by the bugs that seem to be just about everywhere in that state.  You just head to the airport and hop on a plane to someplace else.  That’s about it.  However, there’s no guarantee that wherever you head there aren’t going to be other problems either.

At the crack of dawn on Wednesday (actually, it was before the crack of dawn), the Hyders picked us up and took us to the airport in Fort Myers.  The good part about it for them was that they’d be able to go back to bed.  At least that’s what they told us.  However, we certainly did appreciate the transportation and not having to take a cab.  Now they might have been able to go back to bed but we figured it would be a mighty long day for us.  It turned into a longer day than we even anticipated.

We discovered that Fort Myers is one airport you really need to allow plenty of time at.  First you need to allow for the possiblity that checking bags could be a hassle especially if the machines are down and not working.  We rarely check bags but needed to this time since it was Christmas and we had way more than we normally travel with.  Then, there’s security. You can whiz through security or you can end up in very long lines.  TSA checkpoints aren’t ever the same.   The line was long and filled with snowbirds heading home for the holidays.  The TSA prechecked line was closed and TSA agents were actually patting down the vast majority of the seniors after they exited the naked full body scanner, one by one. 

Now if I added a picture of what the agent sees when you step into this scanner, my blog would be considered an X rated blog by some.

Our first stop was the Dallas Fort Worth airport.  I always feel like this airport is home.  Perhaps, it’s because we’ve been to it hundreds of times.  I used to think the city was home but after our trip through there this last spring, I no longer feel that way.  However, it was one more backed up flight and one more airport that check-in machines weren’t working.  Oh well, we were happy to have seats and be on our way.

Our original first destination was Phoenix and our flight arrived on time.  One of our bags didn’t arrive at all and our scheduled transportation decided not to show up.  It was becoming a hassle.  

What’d we do?  Well, we could have rented a car but we had just canceled the one we orignally had reserved when we were offered  other transportation … you know the one that decided not to come.   The airline had no idea where the bag was other than, perhaps, still in Fort Myers or maybe in Portland.  Well, we decided to “bag” Phoenix and hopped the next flight to Portland.  We had a long wait for the next flight but still figured it was probably the best, less complicated option.

There was a bright side to this.  There were two empty first class seats on the flight from Phoenix to Portland and they were ours.  Upon arrival, our daughter was at the airport to pick us up and even our lost bag was there.  However, it was a long day and we were beat.  It’s taken a couple days for our bodies to catch up after the 24 hour adventures on Wednesday.  

We did get a chance to check out our little place.  For some reason the furnace isn’t working.  With a smattering of ice on the roadways, heat is important.  Thus, one more thing to add to our list of things to take care of.

We were surprised to see so many deer greet us.  They were hoping for a handout but Terry let them know we had nothing.

That’s all I have time for now but we did leave the humidity and the bugs behind. 


………. to be continued.

‘Tis life on the road.