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.