Discovering The Real America

Stories about places seen and people met as Moragh travels solo in the USA

Really Lost – the First Time

Really Lost – the First Time

by Leave a Comment

Orlando International Airport lounge overlooked by the Hyatt Hotel

It was day four of my first trip to Florida, after arriving on Wednesday April 11th 2007, and it was time to head for the airport in Orlando again, this time to get the flight to Boston, Massachusetts, to visit my sister. Airports have never been my favourite places to drive to as they are so easy to get really lost in, with their myriad of junctions and (to me) confusing signage.

I’d just had a thoroughly enjoyable few days in Florida. The hotel where I been staying, the Comfort Inn & Suites in Sanford, lived up to its name and was very comfortable, and the staff were so welcoming. One of the hotel’s best features, as far as I was concerned, was breakfast being available until 10.30 am, as I am not a natural early riser. At most hotels, breakfast is not available after 9.00 or 9.30 am. I had picked this hotel because I knew it was near where my new friends, Jack and Misty lived. It was lovely to meet them, when they came round to the hotel, and I spent far more time with them during the next two days than I expected would be possible. I was delighted to find out how well we got on together.

However, after four nights in Sanford, it was now time to move on.

This story is about how I got completely lost at Orlando airport. I had, in fact, almost got lost three days earlier. I had picked up a rental car the Thursday morning and I took it out for a test drive. Surprisingly, it didn’t take me too long to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road to what I was used to. But there was no SatNav (GPS) in that car and, as I drove round the town exploring, it wasn’t long before I took a wrong turn … but I’ve already written about that episode in my previous post.

Heading back to the airport

After leaving the hotel this Sunday morning, I set off down the FL-417 towards the airport. My first error was when I thought I was in the nearside lane, but discovered, too late, that it was an exit lane. I found my way to a gas station and, after filling the car, the gas station attendant gave me directions about how to get back on the right road for the airport. But, it was when I reached the airport, that’s when I found myself really lost.

On the way I also had my first experience of toll booths, where I found myself fumbling round, trying to find the right change in the unfamiliar currency.

Going Round in Circles

Once I eventually reached the airport, I went round and round in circles trying to find where I should drop off my rental car. I seemed to be able to find every rental company under the sun, apart from the one I needed. I have never felt so lost in all my life. Eventually I pulled into the drop-off bay for another company to ask the way.

The first person I asked couldn’t even speak English, but he called another girl over. She spoke English but she didn’t know where I had to go either. However, she pointed to a security guard, who she said would be able to direct me. He was, in deed, able to help, but I had to get him to write down the directions as the drop-off point I needed was five miles from the airport.

Once I had successfully dropped the car off, I was directed to the shuttle bus which would take me back to the airport. It dropped me off at the terminal I needed and I was safely on my way again. I was mighty happy to have overcome that hurdle.

Driving on the Wrong Side

Driving on the Wrong Side

by Leave a Comment

First time driving on the wrong side (for me)

In England, we drive on the left-hand side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car, so, for us Brits, it seems as if we are driving on the wrong side of the road when we come to the USA.

Landing in Orlando for the first time, after a nine-hour flight, I deemed it not wise to pick up a rental car from the airport the same afternoon I arrived. Having never driven in the USA before, I didn’t want to try driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time when I was tired from the flight. So I took a taxi to my hotel in Sanford. The next morning, after a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast, I contacted a local car rental company and arranged for them to pick me up at my hotel. They took me to their depot to choose a suitable car for my needs over the next few days. The car I chose was an economy car, a 2007 Dodge, if I remember right, and after all the paperwork was signed, I set off for my first drive.

It felt strange driving on the right-hand side of the road at first, rather than on the left. But it’s just as well that the brake and accelerator (gas) pedals are on the same side in cars on both sides of the Atlantic, else I would have been in trouble. The fact that virtually all rental cars in the USA are automatics was no problem to me as I had been driving automatics for almost twenty years by then.

I soon discovered that my choice of car was not a good one. The driver’s seat was very uncomfortable and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be driving that car over a long distance. Fortunately, I only needed this car for a couple of days as I was due to fly up to Boston to see my sister on my third day in Florida, so I was only going to be driving it locally round Sanford before leaving for the airport again.

I drove around in the immediate vicinity of rental company’s car park a couple of times, to familiarize myself with the controls, before setting off around the nearby roads. I did not have a SatNav (GPS) in this car … in fact, I didn’t even discover what they were until later in this trip … but I had studied a map of the town, so I had some idea of my bearings. I found that I soon started to get the feel of driving on the other side of the road. The transition was easier than I had thought it would be, and having the steering wheel on the left side certainly helped.

I had been driving around for about 20 minutes when I took a left turn. Almost as soon as I’d taken this turn, I realised that I had got myself onto the ramp leading up to the I-4 freeway, but I was committed and there was no turning back. I decided that my only course of action was to just come off the freeway at the next junction and hope that I could find my way back to my hotel. Fortunately the next exit was very close to the hotel and, with what I remembered from my map studies, I got back there safe and sound, much to my relief.

After that, I managed to keep my bearings pretty well … that is, until I had to get back to the airport three days later. But more about that in the next post.

My First Sight of Florida

My First Sight of Florida

by 2 Comments

This photo, taken from the plane as we approached Orlando International airport, shows my first sight of Florida, USA. It was taken just after we crossed the coastline. Fortunately it was a clear day, with just a little haze, but one of the first things I noticed was how much water there was … and I don’t mean in the ocean, but the sheer number of lakes and ponds I could see.

The plane journey had been good, with little or no turbulence. I had left Manchester airport in the UK at about 10.30 am that morning, but because of the five hour time difference, I was about to land in Florida at about 3.00 pm that same afternoon, after roughly a nine-hour flight. The weather was good all that day and our take-off  had been in bright sunshine, enabling me to see the landscape of England, Wales and Ireland quite clearly as we flew over it. It was like looking down on a map.

I always choose a window seat on the plane, whenever possible, so that I can not only see out easily, but so that I can take photos whenever I want to without disturbing my fellow passengers. The scattered clouds over the Atlantic Ocean looked beautiful, like giant icebergs or snow-covered islands, with shadows cast by the sun on the undulation in the clouds, the white contrasting with the brilliant blue of the ocean and the sky.

Economy Class is not the most comfortable way to travel, but it is generally worth putting up with the lack of leg room in order to save the considerable extra cost.

This was only my second long-haul flight … well, the third, if you count the return leg of my first trip to the USA, to Boston, MA, in 1996. On that occasion, I had been travelling with my late husband and we had been to visit my sister who was living about fifteen miles outside Boston. My husband had never flown at all before and my only previous flight had been a short hop from Dublin, in Ireland, to Liverpool, UK. But that first US trip is another story altogether.

It was a gentle touch down in Orlando, followed by a lengthy wait to disembark once we reached the gate. There were approximately four hundred passengers on board, so it took some time to reach the immigration hall.  Next was the long queue to get through immigration. I had my green visa-waiver form ready for my turn at the desk, where they checked my passport, took my fingerprints and photographed me, and asked the usual questions about where I was going to be staying and if I was carrying any forbidden goods.

Once clear of immigration and customs, I was free to go and wait for my suitcase to come round on the carousel and, once I had retrieved it, I walked outside to find a taxi to take me to my hotel in Sanford. The first thing that struck me was the heat. Even though it was only April, it was still a shock to experience it … not only hot, but so humid as well.

Sanford is about thirty-five miles from the airport, and from the taxi I was able to get my first glimpse of Florida from ground level. On arrival at the Comfort Inn in Sanford, I checked in, went to my room and had a quick wash and change of clothing before phoning my new friends, Jack & Misty, to tell them I had arrived. A short while later, they arrived at the hotel and they took me out for a meal. Afterwards we arranged to meet up again the following afternoon … but more about that in a later blog. 

 

 

Recent Posts

Tags

aquarium bar bikers boston Celina charlestown close shaves Cowboy Cowboy Arms Hotel Doc Kazoo driving Faneuil Hall Florida harbour hurricane Jack Jack & Misty Jack Blanchard Jack Clement junction kazoo lost Matthew Misty Morgan Museum of Science music Nantwich Nashville Orlando Orlando airport Orlando International airport party people producer quincy market Recording Spa redneck road sandford Sanford Tennessee travel view weather yacht club