ode to a burnt knee

i managed to go the entire trip without incident- until the last day. i take 70 spf sunblock but apparently, i got ripped off because folks were telling me anything over 35 spf is pretty much marketing. although, they pretty much all cost the same anyway- so whatever. i don't know that i have talked too much about flying- but i hate it. yep. some folks don't mind- i think hatred is too weak a word to adequately describe how i feel about flying.

i have a phobia about heights- so that doesn't help- and i don't like rollercoasters so those turbulance dips that make your stomach drop- forget it. i get white knuckled. add to that the fact that people are practically sitting on each other's laps- i mean really, who designed these things- and it isn't a great mix for me. that's just the actual flying. i hate airports even more especially philly. has to be the worst airport i have ever flown from or to- the folks who work there must feel the same way because they are generally unpleasant and rude. we always have to rush from one side of the airport to the other- and the food sucks. anyone who has recently flown- probably can attest to that.

my sister-in-law works for tsa- so i don't talk airports with her but airport security- the thing that we pay billions of dollars for- is a fucking joke. no lie. oh, and fyi, homeland security alert is still at orange. it has only been what- 5 years or so? i didn't see any terrorists but i did see an old lady in a wheel chair getting hassled because she hasn't driven since 1991 and therefore it was the last current picture id she had. i feel so much safer. the rules are so arbitrary that you know inherently that everything is about squeezing as much profit out of each customer as possible. the signs all tell you how to pack your crap in a plastic bag- but that's just for carryon. trust me- take the $25 and check your bag. it's simpler. then they just rifle through your undies. on the return trip, we had a random tsa spot check before getting on the plane- even though all of us had already been screened by security. i just rolled my eyes because if you even think about whispering a word about anything- you can get slapped with federal penalties. or so the sign said. so, i hate flying.

as for the trip itself, i hate florida. yes, i used to live there but that was back when the tourist crap was confined to south florida and the rest of the state was largely rural. now, the whole damned state is housing developments and tourist traps. i was talking to hubby about how ridiculous it was to have so many resort hotels. we stayed at the westin diplomat- they have a website- and there was probably at least 20 more of the same kinds of hotels all along the beach- and more out the other side of the hotel. a lot of resources go to pamper convention goers and the people rich enough- and stupid enough- to pay $300 and up a night for a hotel room. but, that's another post.

the convention was thursday to saturday for us- and we stayed a couple of extra days so hubby could spend some time with the fam who drove down from orlando to share our amenities. yeah- we were so excited to share that we didn't think about the logistics of 8 people driving to visit 2. but his family aren't the sharpest tools- and brought 3 cars. sigh. that's another post. we hung about the pool area- and this hotel has an infinity pool on the top of a lagoon pool. we didn't go in the infinity pool- which isn't really any different than a regular pool- except there aren't any edges. whatever. so, i didn't bother to sunscreen because i was going in the pool and the only sunblock i had wasn't waterproof. so, why grease up and bleach the coral reefs if it's just going to wash off anyway? the sky was overcast and we weren't in that long. we were getting ready to head back to the room- and the sun came out. his family is slow at everything so i think i was there a grand total of 10 minutes- and the burnt knee (and shoulders) were created. sigh. it's ok. hubby and i had a nice couple of hours in the room after they all left and we got room service with champagne- so it was all good ;)

the convention itself is by qualifying or invite only. i think his company had about 300 people (that's including spouses) go this year. they always do things nice- always a resort on the beach and they give gifts to everyone. the first year we went they gave out really nice back packs and tshirts and the other year we got beach towels and tshirts and water bottles. this year we got tshirts and a tom-tom gps. go figure. anyhoo- they pay for activities too- shopping trips or snorkeling or golf- you sign up and seats are limited but hey, i think that's nice. this year, they paid for a dinner/beach party for all of us- and bused us there- to bongos. bongos is gloria estefan's restaurant/club and it was pretty cool. they hand you drinks as you walk in :) i am not a big fan of mojitos though. the food was excellent and the music good- and no, they didn't limit the playlist to the miami sound machine. it was too loud though. the decor was neat- and i know mary will appreciate the fact that much was done with mosaic tiles. the inside part of the steps leading up to the second level was tiled and the bars were mosaiced- they had two large mosaics on the wall- and i only got a picture of one because the lighting was bad. but it was cool. it's right next to the arena where the miami heat play.

so, we had a nice time- and i won't do my social commentary in this post- and i will save the fact that we got interrupted by neighbor/tenant dispute while away for another post. that's plenty for now.