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Slinkie and Grumpy do London Town

Grumpy1

By Grumpy1,
in Holland America Line

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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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Tuesday, 20 June 2006

The Good Ship Rotterdam was just tieing up at the dock in Stockholm, Sweden when Grumpy & Slinkie awoke. The skies were once again filled with sunshine, the temperature was in the upper 60's. Slinkie and Grumpy had a tour scheduled for 9:00a... Stockholm sightseeing, Viking Museum and the Gold Room. Sorry, no free samples... The tour guide, unlike the rah rah social welfare proponent in Helsinki, was of a much more conservative bent. He made it clear that he sees problems looming on the horizon with a large influx of immigrants with minimal education and skills, a social programs system that is spending more than it takes in, an extremely repressive tax system.... hmmm, sounds like another country that Grumpy is more familiar with... except Sweden's taxes are much higher... The tour wandered around the city and the guide pointed out the main churches, embassies, government buildings and universities. There was a short walking tour that went down very narrow alleys in the oldest part of the city, and then to the Viking Museum. The museum is still very much a work in progress, with several areas housing no displays. The tour was interesting and the guide informative. After wandering through the exhibits, the tour went down to a lower level to the Gold Room. There, many artifacts and early examples of Viking gold work were on exhibit, along with displays of gold working tools. Upon leaving the museum it was quite evident that the string of 17 consecutive days without rain was in jeopardy. The skies were overcast, the temprature dropping a little and it was getting quite breezy. The tour ended back at the ship at noon and Slinkie and Grumpy were safely aboard without getting wet. Later in the day there was rain and they talked to a few people that had been out in the early afternoon and got caught in the rain.

Sailaway was moved indoors, as there was still some rain, off and on. The Crow's Nest had already been decorated for the last formal night... white balloons, all of the chairs and columns covered in white, "snow drifts" lining the hallways, styrofoam icebergs here and there... you would think someone was celebrating winter or something. Slinkie and Grumpy joined a large group of fellow passengers for a few drinks and after getting underway and listened to commentary by Frank Buckingham as the Rotterdam made her way through the maze of islands. Slinkie and Grumpy had to leave so they could get all gussied up for dinner. Early seating has some disadvantages in that there were a few times when it seemed that getting to dinner on time was rushed.

The dinner menu was the usual formal night type fare... jumbo shrimp cocktail, escargot, large lobster tail... Grumpy tried to convince Oscar that there was a misprint and it should have been "tails". Nope, the menu is correct, said he. Perhaps realizing that the comment cards would be distributed shortly, he came around as the main courses were about done and asked if anyone wanted seconds. Well, that first tail was so good that, although it was a good sized tail, it just wasn't quite enough, so Grumpy and tablemate Richard took advantage of the offer.

Suddenly the window shades were lowered, the lights dimmed and... voila!... the baked Alaska parade began. Since it was guaranteed to be fat and calorie free, Grumpy had a good sized helping. Slinkie, being somewhat skeptical and less trusting than Grumpy declined the temptation... as she had all through the cruise. After dinner, Slinkie and Grumpy and their tablemates moved up to the Crow's Nest and watched as Rotterdam continued to twist and turn through the maze until finally there was a pilot boat by one of the buoys, the pilot was sent on his way and the ship was fiinally in the open waters of the Baltic. The band in the Crow's Nest is quite good, with a female vocalist that does an excellent job. Before long, the place was jumping and Slinkie and Grumpy had a very enjoyable evening.

Wednesday, 21 June 2006

No need to be up early, so Slinkie and Grumpy slept in until after 9a. They skipped the disembarkation talk at 10, knowing that everthing they needed to know would be in the information package with the luggage tags, and if not, the talk would be on TV several times before departing. The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse, with periods of rain and fog. Hey, it's a sea day, so it doesn't make much difference what the weather is. The seas are still very calm, as they have been throughout the cruise. A check of the Daily Program showed lots of exciting activites... art auction, twofer sales on the Baltic Tee shirts, more amber for sale, flower arranging demo, ice carving demo... Grumpy decided to skip those in favor of catching up on his email and reconciling his preliminary statement.

All in all, Slinkie and Grumpy have to say that the Rotterdam is a wonderful ship... much different than the Prinsendam... and would book a cruise on her again if the itinerary were something that piqued their interest. Some of the crew, although friendly, do not seem to be as outgoing and eager to please as the crew on the Prinsendam 2005 World Cruise, but it is still a very fine crew. The cabin location, well forward on deck 6, was evrything hoped for. Of course deck seven would have been even better... but the Upgrade Fairy was nowhere to be found. There were a couple of noshows in the SS category, but the upgrade to those cabins was used as a bingo prize. There seems to be an air conditioning problem in the lower dining room, as they do not seem to be able to keep it cool. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was a little warmer than it should have been. A couple of the crew members apologized for it being too warm, but, of course, there wasn't anything they could do about it. Grumpy didn't see any evidence of other major problems and didn't hear of any catastrophies, so it appears that the staff is staying on top of things. There have been no problems with Noro Virus outbreaks, so hopefully the problems that began on the So. America cruise are now a thing of the past. The staff is still strongly encouraging the use of the Purell hand sanitizer when boarding the ship and when entering the dining room or Lido.

 

Serendipity... Grumpy suggests you go with the Black Russian persuasion technique... unless DH is a biligerent drunk... better yet, try to figure out a way to go business class or at least get exit row seating where he can stretch his legs a bit.

 

hammybee... There are still cabins and good prices on the HAL-oween-dam cruise... you should try to join the fun.

 

CruisinTexans... Grumpy suspects that the cabins with the best wireless access will be the ones close to the forward Atrium. He doesn't know if the signal will penetrate the steel deck between your cabin and the explorations cafe area. It probably will, but he hasn't talked with anyone that has tried to use a laptop in that area. There is a pickup antenna in the Atrium area and the signal seems to get a few cabins into the hallways off of the atrium. Grumpy's cabin is too far forward. There is a little bit of signal, sometimes, but not strong enough to connect and use.

 

Update... Grumpy walked down the hallway of deck seven portside and found the signal to vary between good and very good all the way from the forward stairwell to the midship stairwell. You should be OK if the amsterdam is wired the same.

 

Laffnvegas... let Grumpy know how the champagne and vodka is... Perhaps he wasn't clear, but the champagne was served on arrival for lunch, and the shot of vodka was served neat a bit later.

 

RuthC... The Rotterdam was in St. Petersburg on a Saturday and Sunday so the traffic wasn't too bad. London traffic was much worse. Grumpy forgot to mention the highlight of the tour in Poorvoo, Finland.... the CHOCOLATE store with the free samples!... Also very good licorice. He threw away the information that had the name of the company... he's thinking it was Brugman's or something like that.... he's sure the resident chocolate conoisseurs can come up with the right name. Prices seemed very reasonable, too, but Grumpy settled for a couple of samples, knowing that there would be two chocolates on his pillow each night...

 

hammybee... to avoid having to get a Russian visa, it is necessary to book online with one of the registered tour companies and provide them with your passport information. DenRus confirmed with an Email with an attached .pdf file. The file was the tickets for the two days of the tour. It was necessary to show the Russian authority on the ship a passport and either a visa, a tour ticket with a registered guide or a HAL tour ticket (which are subcontracted through registered tour guides) in order to leave the ship.

 

For all of you that posted but didn't have questions... Grumpy wishes to thank you for your comments. The questions and the comments from all of you make it worthwhile to do the onboard commentaries. It's been fun and also tends to reinforce some specific memories by writing about the events. Thank you all for riding along. There may or may not be any more postings before Slinkie and Grumpy get back to Naples... depending on access in Copenhagen.

More to come... but no guarantee when...

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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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Grumpy got up early this morning and, sensing that the ship was not moving, threw open the curtains for his first view of Copenhagen. For a few seconds he thought there was a giant mirror on the pier as he was looking at the mirror image of the Rotterdam. He quickly realized that the image had a couple of problems, though. Grumpy wasn't on the verandah in the mirror and the name of the ship wasn't a mirror image. In fact, it wasn't Rotterdam, it was her twin sister Amsterdam tied up on the other side of the jetty.

Now it's usually nice to see another HAL ship in port, but in Copenhagen that means it's going to take a lot longer to get a cab. Rotterdam was cleared for disembarkmentment by 8a and the first groups headed out. From Grumpy's veranda he could see them leave and go into the large bay where luggage was being set out by color and number. Of the many that went in, only a few came back out on the side toward the ship, walked around a security fence and disappeared under the TAXI sign. Slinkie and Grumpy had indicated that they were not in a hurry to leave, so they enjoyed a liesurely breakfast, gathered their carryons, and headed to the atrium to user up the last of their internet minutes. The port side seat they chose also allowed them to keep an eye on the disembarkment procedures. Most of the first ones off were on HAL shuttles to the airport, or, for those with an afternoon flight, a city tour and then be dropped at the airport. There must have been quite a few that were taking taxis, though, as it wasn't too far into the process when the line disappearing under the taxi sign came to a halt right at the side of the building toward the ship.... not a good sign. As Grumpy watched, the line would disappear into the building, another number would be called, and the tail end of the line would again be outside the building and then started snaking across the front of the building. About that time Grumpy's Blue 2 group was called and he and Slinkie quickly headed out, grabbed the two big bags and lined up in the taxi queue. Almost all of the remaining tags were for those taking cabs and it wasn't long before the queue was about 2-1/2 times the width of the building. It took about an hour to get to the front of the line and snag a taxi for the 15 minute ride to the hotel. It was probably an hour and a half before the last ones off the ship could get a cab.

Grumpy was really glad that he had internet access. When he checked his Email the night before getting to Copenhagen, there was an urgent message from the Copenhagen Island Hotel, which is where he had reservations. It seems that this brand new hotel did not make their June 15 opening date and will not open until tomorrow. Not to worry though, with 9 other properties in the group, Grumpy's reservation had been transferred to the Grand Hotel. The location is actually better, as it is just a block from the Tivoli Gardens entrance gate. Slinkie would have preferred the Island, as it is next door to the Fisketorvet Shopping Center. The Grand is not all that grand, but the room is clean and comfortable. It is pretty old, and very little storage space. It will do for the day and a half that Slinkie and Grumpy will be in Copenhagen, and it does have unlimited wireless internet. Life is good....

After getting settled in, it was already lunch time. After a light lunch in the restaurant in the hotel.... Grumpy's missing the Lido already... Slinkie and Grumpy set out to explore. Of course, they headed toward Stroget, the walking streets, which is a couple of streets that are pedestrian traffic only and lined with lots of shops. After some liesurely shopping, but no buying, they found themselves at the Nyhaven canal. They boarded the green waterbus for a 1 hour tour that took them to the Little Mermaid and the Opera House and gave them one last view of the HAL Twins. They wandered back up Stroget, and again escaped with Grumpy's retirement funds intact. Back at the hotel, they got the computers set up, checked Email, posted on a couple of CC threads and then went down the strret for dinner. What? The menu has prices on it? And where's Oscar? It's starting to sink in... it's over... PCD is setting in...

After dinner, with several hours of daylight remaining... at 7:30p... Slinkie and Grumpy decided to check out Tivoli Gardens. The admission, if you don't want to ride the rides, is 10.5 Euro. Grumpy had a few Euro left and opted to use them instead of the DKK that he had acquired. Tivoli is a rather compact amusement park, with about two dozen rides. there are also about two dozen restaurants. They strolled through the park, stopping frequently to check out the flowers and stopping for a bit to listen to the Tivoli Big Band performance in the bandshell. Not finding much more to do, they decided to call it a day.

There was some rain early in the day, but it stopped before Slinkie and Grumpy left the ship. There were times that it looked like it would rain again during the afternoon, but once again, it was a very pleasant day. Tomorrow looks like a good day for city sightseeing if the weather holds, and then it will be time to say goodbye to Copenhagen and to Europe. It's been a hectic three weeks, but a very good three weeks. Slinkie and Grumpy have enjoyed having all of you along for the ride. Grumpy will try to post once more before leaaving Copenhagen.

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crystal808

crystal808

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<< Slinkie and Grumpy have enjoyed having all of you along for the ride.>>

 

And, to be sure, Grumpy: we've enjoyed being with you! :)

 

Thanks for taking the time and sharing!

 

Paul

glad to hear G's retirement funds have (almost) made it back from Europe! :eek:

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johnlcruise

johnlcruise

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<< Slinkie and Grumpy have enjoyed having all of you along for the ride.>>

 

And, to be sure, Grumpy: we've enjoyed being with you! :)

 

Thanks for taking the time and sharing!

 

What am I going to do without my daily fix of the "Adventures of Slinkie and Grumpy"

I so much enjoyed reading your stories..You are a great writer.

When will be your next trip? Can't wait to join you on the board reading about your next adventure.

Have a safe trip home.:)

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Southbound

Southbound

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What a wonderful travelogue! The smooth writing and subtle humor made it such an enjoyable read. Looking forward to hooking up with you two for the Westerdam sailing in Oct. Wishing you a safe and pleasant journey home.

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c-to-sea

c-to-sea

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Slinkie and Grumpy

 

We and our friends are on Rotterdam July 28th. for the same itinerary.

Thank you for your complete and informative postings. They have given us

tremendous insight into what to expect and how to get around. In fact,

having read the entire saga, we are wondering of we still need to go (just

kidding). It has been wonderful and we are most grateful to you for

taking the time to do this. I am sure others feel the same way.

We are proponents of the 'pay it forward' principle. Since there is no way

that we can repay you for what you have done, we will take the time and

make the effort to assist others with our experiences whenever possible.

 

Cliff and Diana

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BuckeyeGal1956

BuckeyeGal1956

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The limo is ready to go to pick up Slinkie & Grumpy tomorrow ... let's hope that good weather fairy returns! Today's flight from Copenhagen was an hour late arriving. That would NOT be good tomorrow since they have only two hours after scheduled arrival to clear customs and depart for home!

 

For tomorrow, Weather.com says it'll be nice in Copenhagen - but Newark is another story: "Thunderstorms likely. High of 77°F. Winds SW at 10-15 mph. Chance of rain 80%."

 

So, needless to say - the computer will be on and the cell phone handy! Just in case arrival is later than planned. That would be a bummer for an otherwise great trip!

 

So, here's hoping for a change in the weather and fair flying!

 

Lynn

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serendipity1499

serendipity1499

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Grumpy & Slinkie..Hope you had a wonderful last day in CPH,,Hope you have a pleasant trip home..Weather here hot & humid..

 

Thanks again for taking us along on your wonderful vacation..Looking forward to your next jaunt..:) Betty

 

P.S. Grumpy..Can't afford business class, :( so will ply DH with Black Russians & ask for an bulkhead seat instead..He's a pleasant drunk!;)

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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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Return to Naples is delayed a day. Plane was delayed an hour and a half leaving CPH. The flight to Naples didn't wait. Continental decided Slinkie and Grumpy should spend the night in Newark at Continental's expense, so this update is being sent to you courtesy of the free HoJo wireless net.

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Ides of March

Ides of March

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Grumpy and Slinkie:

 

Well, it was just like old times. I would read your thread at work and print a copy out for Grux who would save it to enjoy with her glass of wine after dinner. She could have gone online at home and done her own printing but she likes to be pampered.

 

I knew she had her heart set on the Baltic cruise on the Pdam in July 2007 especially because several couples who we did the Circle with and are now good friends will be doing the back to back version and have been urging us to join them. I have been very cool on the idea seeing no reason to miss the only decent weather we enjoy in this frozen hinterland to visit another temporarily thawed locale. I thought our next cruise in a few years might be along the Turkish coast out of Antalya on a sailboat where snorkelling is mixed with touring but then I started reading your posts. Of course I got the bug again. It is a part of the world I have only seen from airport lounges or from 30K feet up so my peception is not fully developed as your posts made clear.

 

We now have another S&G binder which will serve as our Fodor's yet again but this time with many more common ports.

 

Thanks again for the effort you put in which I now fully appreciate.

 

Hope we do get to sail together and thanks for the Fekko tip. That cinched the deal.

 

Ides

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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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Obviously, Ides, you have way too much liesure time at work... reading CruiseCritic, printing out threads...:rolleyes: Now all you really have to do is compress the work schedule into those hours and you can do both the Baltics and the Turkish coast with all of the free time you will build up.:D

 

You alluded to something that I, too, have found: perceptions change once you have a chance to personally observe and interact. Of course, most of the tour operaters do their best to turn your viewpoint in a direction most flattering to their country, but by being observant one can still get a feeling for how the people live and what the country is really like. I think you would enjoy the Baltics... we'll be looking forward to reports by you and Grux from the Baltics and the Turkish coast within the next couple of years.

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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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Well, Ol' Grumpy is up to his old tricks of leaving the thread incomplete... no post about the last day in Copenhagen. So here goes...

 

After a liesurely breakfast at the hotel restaurant, slinkie and Grumpy decided that they should take a bus tour of the city. The tour left from city hall square wich was just a short walk from the hotel. It was a double decker totally enclosed bus... some of the tours were on open top buses. Slinkie was happy with the closed bus as the temperature was somewhat cool. The tour wound around through the city with several stops for photo opportunities or souvenir shopping. The guide spoke pretty good English and a few times repeated things in German for a small group that spoke some English but had difficulty understanding the guide in English at times.

 

The first stop was to observe the changing of the guard at the palace. After that it was back on the bus and out to visit the thing that everyone comes to Copenhagen to see... No, not the sex museum... the Little Mermaid. There was a guy at one of the stops pushing handbills at everyone. Grumpy took one and found it to be a rather graphic ad for the above mentioned museum. According to the map, Slinkie and Grumpy were only steps away from it while walking around the day before, but didn't see it... oh, well...

 

The tour was two and one half hours, and by the time it was finished, it was time to find a place for lunch. The most reasonable place around was a small pizzeria close to the hotel that had an all you can eat salad bar and pizza for 55 DKK... over $9 USD. Pizza Hut back in the states is better and cheaper, but it was OK and the beer was good. The afternoon was spent doing a little more wandering around.

 

When dinner time rolled around, Slinkie and Grumpy wandered up the street to Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard and found a nice French restaurant... Le Coq Rouge. As usual, Slinkie found a seafood entree that was quite good, Grumpy went with the special of the day, which was a delicious chicken breast entree. By the time the overfed duo had waddled bvack to the hotel it was time to pack up and get ready to head for home.

 

The next morning, there was no time for breakfast at the hotel. With a nine a.m. flight, Slinkie and Grumpy headed for the airport about 6:30. The cab dropped them off at the wrong terminal, but after grabbing a free baggage cart and loading all of the bags on it, it didn't take long to get to the next terminal and find the line for Continental. At the end of the queue, but before getting to the ticket counter, there were security personnel checking passports and asking lots of questions about the luggage. After being satisfied that Slinkie and Grumpy and their luggage posed no danger, they were allowed to proceed to the ticket counter and check in the three heaviest pieces. From there it was a short hike to the security checkpoint and the line moved quickly through.

 

There was a snack shop and Grumpy used up some more DKK for Danish, juice and coffee. They then set out to find the departure gate. After following the signs toward the assigned gate for what seemed like a mile or so, Grumpy spotted a sign that said the walking time to the gate was another 10-15 minutes. Grumpy soon saw why. The duty free shop area is a whole dayum mall! Fortunately, there was no time for shopping...

 

Arriving at the gate, a line was forming in the hallway but no one was allowed into the lounge to sit down and wait. finally after a 15 minute wait, everyone was allowed into the lounge. By that time, it was pretty obvious that the plane would not depart on time. It was at the gate and being serviced, but it was past time that boarding should have started. Finally, about the time the flight should depart, boarding began. Part way through the boarding process, the captain announced that there would be a power interruption while power sources were being transferred. The lights went off and on a couple of times before staying on. After a while the captain came on the speakers again and said that they had encountered problems fueling the plane and the power transfer was necessary to set the relays in the proper mode... OK, if you say so, Cap'n... and the fueling would be completed in about 14 minutes, the paperwork would be signed and the plane would be on its way.

 

About 20 minutes later the fueling operation was finally complete and after the paperwork was completed the cabin door was closed. OK, it's only 45 minutes late, still possible to make the connection in Newark... except that the plane sat at the gate for another 45 minutes, finally getting underway 1-1/2 hours late. Once again, the captain came on the speakers and informed everyone that there were strong headwinds crossing the ocean and "marginal" weather in New Jersey... Not much chance of making up any time.

 

The flight was pretty smooth and Slinkie and Grumpy had a relaxing flight.. well as relaxing as possible when folded into those torture devices they refer to as seats on the 757 planes. Grumpy still had a few DKK... mostly coins... and was pleased to hear the flight attendant announce that beverages could be purchased with DKK or dollars. Taking inventory, Grumpy found that he had enough for 6 bottles of wine, with only 4 DKK (about 60 cents) left over. 3 wines each... now you know why it was a relaxing flight.

 

The plane landed in Newark about 30 minutes before the flight to ft. Meyers was supposed to leave. With the rain they were having, Grumpy was hoping that the Ft. Meyers flight might be delayed... a lot of flights were... but, no, that one was running ontime. Grumpy called Lynnaldo's Luxury Limo and advised her that she wouldn't need to dash off to the airport. She had already been checking options and mentioned a couple of possible alternative flights. At the Continental reticketing desk, Grumpy got the bad news... no seats available, everyflight was full, standby lists were long. Continental did get them on a flight at 7:10a the next morning and provided vouchers for Howard Johnson's, $20 for dinner and $16 for breakfast. The Newark airport is very easy to get around, even with a cart piled high with luggage. Soon Slinkie and Grumpy were settled in at HoJo's in a pretty nice room. Since it was still raining, sightseeing wasn't much of an option. There was a free wireless internet connection so Slinkie and Grumpy decided to catch up on Email, have dinner at the hotel restaurant and turn in early.

 

There are quite a few flight crews that stay at that hotel and at the nearby Holiday Inn. The two hotels use a common shuttle bus and it runs every 20 minutes. The shuttle departed the hotel at 4:40a and arrived at the terminal at 5:00a. Stepping inside, Slinkie and Grumpy were confronted with huge lines and a sea of people. Fortunately they were all in the International portion of the airport. the domestic checkins were on the second level and not crowded at all. after breezing through checkin and security, it was time for breakfast at Starbucks and then settle in for the flight home.

 

Fort Meyers has a new airport terminal, less than a year old. A nice feature that they put in when they relocated the terminal and parking is a cellphone waiting lot. Pull into that parking lot and wait there, no parking fee, and wait for a call on your cellphone. Grumpy called Lynnaldo upon landing to let her know that they were there, and then called her again after retrieving the luggage. a couple of minutes later she pulled up at the curb, the luggage was loaded and off they went. It sure beats circling through the airport or parking in the short term lot.

 

So finally the journey had come to an end, Slinkie and Grumpy can settle into their normal routine and start working on plans for excursions on their next adventure in August.

 

Stay tuned for future threads...

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