Winter Break Trip - The Unforeseen & Unexpected

In a trip, unforeseen and unexpected problems - despite a scrupulous preparation - are the sweet, precious and unforgettable memories which we will laugh over later on as we reminisce with our children or grandchildren. My recent Bahamas and Florida trip were particularly blessed with this kind of situation. The six months in advance preparation (not forgetting the late night to early morning meeting) did nothing to prevent us from the unpredictable and undesirable forces of nature. In this trip, we believe that there is a story behind every picture. So, I'll let the pictures speak on my behalf. 

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The index finger represents our first night and the very start of our problem. I did not dress up for the picture, but that was truly my sleep wear for the night. All of our luggage (eight of us) were delayed (Thanks to United Airlines), so we were left with nothing to wear and had to buy all survival tools to go through that night. All of those outfits were brand new, notice that Tony and me were wearing Armani Exchange while Winda and Riza Billabong. Yes, weren't we a snob?

In the cruise (before it departed), we started out with joy and excitement - wide smile, nice breeze, wonderful view. Everyone was looking forward for a nice evening in the cruise. However, four hours after this picture was taken, four out of ten personnel went down. Bogel, Riza, Winda and me were having sea-sick; smile was wiped away and shortly after the unappetizing dinner, we lied in our bed hopelessly, surrendered to the power of the sea. 

Greyhound was never (ever) in our schedule and this was definitely the biggest blow. Arrived at Port Miami after the cruise, we couldn't wait to drive to Orlando. Unfortunately, for some reasons, we could not get our booked car and had to find alternative if we still wanted to go to Orlando (Thanks to Enterprise). Apparently, Greyhound was our best resort (this was after long hours of all of us calling every rental car in Miami). However, nice team work guys, and Greyhound was not so bad after all. We ended up sleeping like little pigs.

It was Lia's birthday and that was not the problem that I am referring to. I want to draw your attention to the venue - the apartment that we originally planned to spend our entire five nights. Upon arriving at the apartment, I was bombarded with many grunts and disappointments - how dirty and stink the apartment was. So, despite our exhaustion, a small meeting was arranged to decide whether moving to a better accommodation was necessary. The answer was obvious, so we were (again) getting a little bit busy calling all available hotels in the vicinity. Thanks to Holiday Inn Express we were able to enjoy a nice sleep for the next three days. 

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Well, unfortunately, I have to stop my series of misfortunes here. Those are the big major situations that we faced, that we clearly never anticipated. I call them "The Unforeseen and Unexpected". Not to say that there was no other problems beside those because there were tons, but those were the worth-mentioning . Again, I am glad those problems existed because they added various colour to the trip and, in some unique ways, showed me that no problem is too devastating when friends are around. 

* for more 'happy' pictures, visit my picasa a week from now, pictures are still being compiled and sorted.