January 2011 in Florida (Journal Included)

Southwest flight from BWI to MCO. Neither of us had to go through the body scan x-ray machine. I got through with no trouble, but my husband had his bag inspected. We were there in plenty of time, so it wasn't a problem. Departed on time at 1:15 p.m. and arrived five minutes early at 3:35 p.m. Skies were totally clear. We could see the ground for the entire trip.

I reserved an Alamo rental car through Costco.com. I usually have very good luck with randomly getting free upgrades for no apparent reason when I get to the desk, but that wasn't to be this time. I had my reservation receipt with a barcode, so I should have used the self-check-in kiosk. The attendant tried to sell me a $10 per day upgrade by telling me that I was going to rent a two door Toyota Yaris. I had booked a compact car, and my feeling was that a Yaris was in the lower group (economy), so I was worried that we would be uncomfortable in a tiny Yaris. I had visions of our suitcase not even fitting in the trunk. I asked my husband for his opinion and he said he didn't care. I went back and said dolefully that we couldn't afford the upgrade. Still no dice, because the guy just processed my reservation. We got out to the cars and they were all four door Ford Focuses. The car was very comfortable and the trunk was huge. I'm glad I didn't take the bait to spend an extra $70.

Our drive to the east side of the city was quick and easy. We knew that several roads and bridges have tolls in Florida, so we had lots of quarters with us.

Dinner at my cousin's house was grilled chicken, steak, twice baked potatoes, and Caesar salad.