There was virtually no wait at the airport, as I had checked in online at home, and had no bag to check. I just went right to the gate. There was no line at security, and I passed through without incident. I had a cup of coffee while waiting for my 10:35 flight, and listened to this lady and man sitting across from me talk about a myriad of things, from their kids' schooling (both their current high school situations and their plans for college) to the "second business" that the guy had which is a "sub-agent courier" business. I also tried to reach Robert while there, but his phone went directly to voice mail.
He returned my call right before we backed out from the gate. It was hard to hear with the flight attendant on the overhead going over the safety information. I told him I'd call back in about an hour from Charlotte. The flight was short, and uneventful.
In Charlotte, I stopped at the Uno's, which was the first food place I came to, and had a persona size pepperoni pizza. It was okay, not great, and I left most of the crusts.
I called Robert as I made my way from Concourse E to Concourse C. I didn't realize how big that airport was, or has become. It was quite a haul. Robert sounded okay, but not like he was having great fun or anything. He mentioned running into Jim, Tony's friend who was up here just a couple of weeks ago, so I'm glad that happened. He had gotten out to the bar real late, and he said no line dances were played while he was there. He had gone to the Eagle earlier in the evening.
When I got to the gate for the Ft. Lauderdale flight, they were already boarding. The plane was pretty full, but my row was one of the very, very few that didn't have someone sitting in the middle seat. Thanks goodness, as the row behind me was an exit row, which precluded my seat from reclining, and the person in front of me fully reclined. This made it very precarious to use my laptop, but I was able to set it mostly on the tray for the middle seat and work that way. I caught up this journal. The guy sitting in my row, in the aisle seat, is reading The DaVinci Code. He has an index card, and is jotting things down as he reads, maybe once every four or five pages. I suppose he's trying to "break the code."
We had quite a smooth landing and proceeded to the gate without delay. Since I didn't have a checked bag, I went right to the Alamo counter to get my car. Since I'm a "Quicksilver" member, they told me to go directly to the office, which you did by bus outside. Just outside the entrance to "the office," they had a big, white convertible on display. I'm sure that's a big upgrade strategy in south Florida. I waited a little longer than I would have liked to to get my car, but it wasn't too bad. Maybe 10 minutes. The guy who helped me had a unibrow. Hot, buzzcutt, though.
I drove up to Phyl & Jimmy's, which was about a 30 minute ride. I called from Glades, because I misread the directions, and thought I might have passed the 7/441 intersection. Sandra, their housekeeper, answered the phone, and wasn't too able to help me. She said that Phyl and Jimmy weren't there, which I found odd. As we were talking I saw a sign for the 7/441 intersection ahead. When I got there Phyl answered the door, so not sure what that "they're not here" was all about.
OMG. The house is absolutely stunning. It has two huge glass doors, at least 15 feet high, as the entrance, through which you can see, and enter a living room with marble floors, and THIRTY-FOOT ceilings. The back wall that you're facing when you step in is all glass, behind which is a beautiful kidney shaped swimming pool, with a little hot tub / spa section in the far left corner, which spills over, like a little waterfall into the pool. In the right hand corner of this room is a bar, with sliding glass windows that open into the pool area, with bar stools on the outside, so you can sit out there by the pool at the bar. Absolutely stunning.
And that's just the beginning. There's a huge family room to the left of that room with several sliding glass doors that lead out to where the pool is, but the area back there is fully enclosed by a netting for as long as the house and about 25 or 30 feet back. In addition to the pool and the bar out there, there's also a "kitchen" area, including a Jen-Air range, sink, and refrigerator, all done in tile top, and then a table, whose tabletop was in matching tile, and chairs. That's in addition to all of the patio furniture, which includes two lounge chairs and a glider.
Then master bedroom, and bathroom with whirlpool bath, and separate area with toilet and bidet, and the glass shower stall. All huge, and just beautiful. At the other end of the house is Jeanie-baby's room, and the guest bedroom where I stayed. This house really just has everything.
We started on cocktails as soon as I arrived. Jimmy was playing golf, and came home about an hour after I got there. Phyllis put out some vegetable and dip appetizers, which we had with more drinks, and then Jimmy cooked NY Strips on the grill. We had that along with potatoes and creamed spinach. Oh yeah, and french bread baked with some green olive slices and some melted cheese on it. YUM. For dessert, we had Key Lime Pie. Delish.
Jeanie hit the sack at around 8:30, and we went to bed at around 11:00.