A Short Trip With Big Stories: Flights, Food, and Florida Tips! [Ep. 898]

Please stand clear of the doors, por favor.

Man.

Tengan se allijado de las cuertas.

Hey everybody, thanks for joining us.

I'm Tim Scott joined by his lovely wife dawn and we're here to talk about recent travel experience.

We had one was a great time.

It was abbreviated but we knew that going in.

Yep.

I think we're probably safe saying what we were.

We attended would.

I think so.

Let's bring it up.

Our niece had a wedding.

She did.

She got married.

Yay.

And as a bonus, your mom has three granddaughters and they're all getting married within this next year pretty much.

That is true.

That is crazy.

It is crazy to think that the grown up.

I don't know when that all happened, but my goodness, they to me still seem like little babies around the Christmas tree.

Excited.

Oh, I know.

But anyway.

But it was such a fun time so we wanted to talk about it.

And there were lots of travel things happened during this trip.

Lots of.

I think we're gonna have lots of good tips to share at least what we did.

Yes.

You know if you want to attack it this way or not.

Yeah.

So I'll let you talk about the flights because you booked the flights.

I did.

And this is a very quick trip.

We had to fly down on Friday.

Yes.

Friday afternoon.

Because we had things going on while.

Work and everything.

Yeah, work.

So.

So it was just a two night trip.

Yes.

We went to Florida and we looked at all the airlines and we picked Breeze.

They had the best prices.

We had flown Breeze before and we had flown Breeze in the ascent seats, which are the front seats that were super nice but the airfare was really expensive this time of year.

And that was not in the Scott family budget.

No, it was not.

But.

And I don't really.

I'm not.

I'm a people person if I know the people or I'm like getting to know the people.

But I am not sit by a stranger kind of person at all.

I have some germaphobia issues and whatever.

I love Breeze because they're a two seat by three seat plane.

Right.

So you and I could sit in the two seat side and not have to worry about it.

That worked out great for us.

So we just sat back in regular coach and we are not tiny people.

So we were a teeny bit concerned about where are we going to comfortably fit in an airplane seat.

I'm just going to leave this out there though.

Tinier than before.

That's all I'm going to say.

Yes, tinier than before.

So we thought we'll give it a try.

And to our surprise and delight, we fit very comfortably.

I thought it.

I mean, the breeze seats, I think they sit a little more upright maybe than most plain seats.

They might.

I'm not sure, but it was super comfortable.

You and I were just fine on the.

On the two seat side.

Yes.

So we didn't have the extra leg room.

No, we didn't.

We could not afford that.

The flights were so expensive, so we just did the regular.

But we did pick our own seats.

We did pay to pick our own seats so that we had two seats together.

We wanted that for sure.

And we only needed one checked bag.

So that was because it was just two nights.

We flew out of Akron Canton.

Yeah, that's our.

By the way, if you can fly out of a regional airport close to you and breeze happens to come in there, take advantage of it because it's like, what, 15 minutes from the house, probably.

Yes, something like that.

But I will tell you, with breeze on your boarding card, it will say what time they start boarding and what time boarding ends pay attention.

Because they're not playing.

No, they get in, they get out.

They are.

We.

They've been on time all the times that we've flown them so far, but this time was a new experience.

We had what was called a breeze through.

Right.

So this flight went from Akron Canton to Myrtle Beach.

Right.

And almost the entire plane got off.

It was a full flight.

We were really, really shocked that there was only five of us going on to Orlando.

I thought maybe 10 people would get off the plane.

Oh, yeah, it was a lot of.

People that got emptied out.

Yes, it did.

And staying on the plane was fine.

They asked us to stay in our seats.

They do a passenger count to make sure the correct passengers stayed on the plane.

Count to five.

They did.

And then they started, you know, boarding pretty quickly.

But those flight attendants, the entire time that they were like.

As soon as people started deplaning, they were like getting the seatbelt set up.

They were trying to get trash because people don't listen and throw their trash away.

Even though they begged them to please make sure they left nothing behind.

They were checking everything, kind of spot cleaning to make sure they were moving.

Like, we should have helped because we were.

I did.

I was like, well, I don't know.

But they were moving.

And.

And all the breeze flight attendants that we have ever encountered have just been super friendly and nice and fun.

Great.

You know, it was kind of funny.

Especially as a teacher, I found this very humorous because even as adults, we don't follow directions.

She had said multiple times to please keep your seat belt on because it's an active Runway.

Do not remove your seat belt until the seat belt sign has been turned off.

We're parked, parked at the gate.

Please do not do that.

And we were still taxiing toward the gate and several people.

You heard the little seat belt come undone.

She gets on there and she goes again.

We're on a taxiing Runway.

Those of you that have detached your seat belts, please reattach them.

That's the first time I'd ever heard a flight attendant.

Right.

Make that comment.

But that made me laugh.

And I'm like, they really value safety.

They do.

So I like that.

But then we went on to Florida.

Oh, can I.

Can we point out real quick?

Yeah.

The planes have always been spotless too.

Oh, yeah.

Clean.

Yes.

We have not had nothing.

Nothing bad.

Nothing bad to say.

It was very clean.

Yep.

Two thumbs up for breeze for both of us.

So we get to Orlando.

That was fine.

We were on time.

Everything was great.

Went down, picked up our bags.

And then you did the rental car.

So you want to talk about the rental car experience?

When we first thought we wanted to do this, and I don't know if you were even sure we were going to go, but I thought, let's book a rental car.

Is.

We're very specific.

We love to travel in a minivan if we can, if it's not cost prohibitive.

Right.

And this was about the same price as like a mid sized car.

But I was able to get through, go through Alamo.

So shout out to Alamo.

If you're happened to be looking for a rental car, check out Alamo.

And they're also one of the ones that are in terminal.

Right.

That was important.

I don't want to shut.

No, we don't want to shuttle.

We just want to get out to the car.

And this is the first time I think we've had the option before, but I never quite trusted it.

Right.

Where there's the full skip the counter.

I did the entire check in online in the Alamo app.

I mean, I scanned my driver's license.

Get everything in there.

I'm like, they're gonna have my scan of my driver's license.

If I do it at the counter, I do it on here.

So let's just get it taken care of.

So we, we did the advanced check in.

We did the skip the counter.

We went right out to the car,.

Which is the terminal is like literally right across from baggage Claim.

Yep.

The pickup, the garage there where you pick them up.

And Alamo, by the way, I think Alamo and National both are on the first level.

Yeah, that was right.

You just walk straight out.

You just walk right up.

There's Alamo.

A little guy helped us who said we need a minivan.

Greeted us.

That was so nice.

He did, yeah.

He's like, what kind of car are you getting?

And we said, a minivan.

And he said, oh, they're right over here.

He did the one handed point, not with the finger, but his whole one handed point.

Take your pick.

No.

Yeah, there's like four or five to choose from.

So I know in the past you rent, you run a certain vehicle and.

Oh, we don't have that one, right?

Nope.

They had several.

We were good to go.

Yep.

So we picked one, went out, had a little weight at the gate.

Not too bad.

Right?

But yeah, they scanned the.

The rental pass or the barcode, whatever is in the wallet app on the phone held it up.

She scanned it, we were good to go.

Gave her the credit card, the id.

She double checked everything and off we were.

Yeah.

So it was easy.

So we had to drive to Daytona Beach.

Oh, before we get into that, one of the.

Sorry.

We had to do this before we left the parking area.

We have a SunPass for our vehicle at home.

Yes.

So in Ohio, we have the Easy Pass, which is the exact same system as the Sun Pass.

So they're totally compatible.

The only trick is, here's a chip.

In Ohio, they charge like a minimal charge every month, like a quarter or something to keep it active.

Florida doesn't do that.

So if you just get it through Florida.

Right.

Use it in Ohio, you use it in Florida.

Bingo bango.

But then before we had to leave the deck, you have to go into the Sun Pass app on the phone and connect the license plate in the back car to the Sun Pass that we have up here.

So as we're going through the tolls, it knows it's us going through.

Otherwise, the state of Florida looks at this license plate, they send all the information to Alamo, who will send you the bill, plus a convenience charge.

I'll know who that's convenient for.

It's not us.

But yeah.

So they had to add because we have increments of $10 put on if we need it.

So they did it twice during our trip.

So we're probably at 20 of tolls.

But we.

Yeah, we drove on a lot of toll roads and it was nice not being on i4.

Oh, it was.

I'll take that over i4 any day.

Or one time that GPS told us to get an i4, I looked over like, we're not getting on i4.

Oh, it WAS so backed up, we.

I'm not even sure we could have gotten onto i4 anytime soon.

It was way backed up.

I'm not sure why she told us to go that way, but.

Okay, so that's my.

Our other tip of the day.

Get a Florida sun test.

The big sun pass.

Not like the little sticker they'll want you to put in the window with the full fledged transponder.

Correct.

That's what we have.

So.

Right.

That works.

Good.

Talk about our trip out to.

So it was pretty uneventful.

I thought our trip to Daytona.

It was good.

We stopped at a restaurant that we will not name because that's key to something else that happened later on.

So it rhymes with wrapper Carol or something like that.

It was.

Anyway, Mary had tried to have a rebrand going down.

That's all we're gonna say.

Oh, so good.

Going down.

So we get to the hotel.

There's a nice hotel right on the beach.

And it was also the hotel where the wedding was going to take place.

Yes.

Rooms were quite large.

Very large.

Not the layout that I would have preferred, but it was fairly clean.

Did not really pay attention to the room type that I booked.

I mean, we discussed it and I said, well, if we're gonna go, I want to look at the ocean, I want to hear the ocean.

And when I booked it, it said ocean view.

I made the mistake of thinking that meant balcony, and it did not.

There was another category that either they didn't have, it wasn't available.

I don't know.

That was balcony.

So we did end up with a window.

And I was a little disappointed at the beginning, but that was my fault.

I booked it that way.

I just didn't realize it.

We tried to upgrade.

They didn't have anything available, but in the long run it was okay because the weather wasn't that great anyway.

And their love bugs came back on May 1st, and I guess they were invading everywhere.

They were all over the place.

They were on our window.

They were everywhere.

And so the balcony said they were just all over the place.

And they couldn't.

Yeah, they couldn't even enjoy the balcony.

I'm like, okay, well, then I guess it worked out for us.

Mark that as a win.

I guess we will.

So bathroom had a very odd layout.

Had a sink that the minute you put your hands under the water to wash them.

Water just flew everywhere.

It just wasn't a good design.

It was like a water park.

They.

And the hand soap was nowhere near the sink.

Like you had to go down the end of the counter to get the hand soap.

So you're dripping water was just.

It was just odd.

And then I, you know, have like a face wash at home, but I don't travel with it.

I just use a bar of soap when I travel.

Not a big deal.

There was not one bar of soap in the entire hotel.

No.

I figured I'll just run down to the desk, go get one there.

I mean.

No, I know most hotels are going to the dispensers of shower gel, hand soap, that kind of stuff.

That's all fin.

But you can usually request a bar of soap and they'll bring it to you.

Yeah, just one of the little ones.

Not like a full footage half size,.

Just a little hotel size bar soap.

But no, they don't even have those anymore.

So I was stuck with shower gel, washing the face.

I wasn't super happy about that.

But anyway, so we get everything situated and it's all good and we go to bed.

And then about 2 in the morning.

It did not go well for you?

No, no.

I apparently had.

Which I think was food poisoning.

I was gonna say food poisoning.

I think that's what it was because it was pretty violent and pretty short and quick.

Yeah, but I mean hours long.

It wasn't like one and done.

It was hours long.

No.

Yes.

So I think things finally calmed down around 6:30, 7:00 in the morning for you.

Yeah, they did.

And I. I mean we've been awake most of the night.

Right, but.

So you went back to sleep?

But I was kind of up.

I saw your mom.

Yes.

Out our window.

She was watching the ocean, the waves and stuff.

So I don't know, maybe it was around 9 o' clock ish or so that I.

Maybe 8.

I don't remember.

Yeah, I don't what time.

I went down and hadn't seen your mom for a while so it's good to see her and had a very, very nice talk with her and just sat and watched the ocean and it was good.

I eventually went down.

Yes, you did.

And it was very pleasant out there.

Oh, it was, it was super nice.

And the ocean just.

I just loved the sound of the waves.

It was nice.

It was so nice to have a hotel that was really, literally right on the beach.

It was nice.

We had intended to go to the beach and we had researched a little bit that said there was a rental company that rented two chairs and an umbrella for $30 for three hours.

And we had intended to do that.

And your mom and I had a good time watching them set everything up.

All their chairs.

They had a great big long drill that they would drill into the sand so that the umbrella sunk down far enough so that it didn't blow away.

And it was interesting watching them set everything up.

But we chose not to take advantage of that because you still weren't 100%.

We were getting better, but not a hundred percent.

But.

So we just sat outside, watched the waves.

It was super pleasant.

Yeah.

Then we got a little bit of lunch and I said I'm going to take a nap because it's not going to.

I'm going to be in bed by 6:30 if I don't get a nap.

So I took a nap.

And then we cleaned up well for the wedding.

We did.

We looked really good.

So went to the wedding.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative.

No, it's been outside.

I know our poor niece, she had to move her outside wedding to the inside.

But the hotel had a rooftop venue.

Rooftop room.

And so where they set up the little trellis that they had, it did overlook the.

There was like three sides of the room.

Yeah.

It was wrap around windows.

It was nice so you could see the ocean and see the beach and stuff.

And the pastor that did the wedding, he was amazing.

He's apparently.

I don't know his name offhand, but he's apparently YouTube famous for.

I guess so like Disney weddings or Central Florida weddings.

So he did a great.

He was fantastic.

So did that.

Then they got some pictures and she did get to go down on the beach a little bit later, do some beach pictures because the weather cleared up.

Her DJ was amazing.

I don't know who he was either, but he.

Yeah, he.

I wish they were around here.

I would hire him in a heartbeat.

For Mackenzie's wedding.

Yes.

And then we had dinner.

I think.

I know there was a vegetation vegetarian choice, but I don't remember what it was.

But I had chicken florentine and you had the rib eye steak.

And then we split it so we could each try the other.

And it was the first time I'd ever had polenta.

Who knew?

Who knew how tasty it was?

It was amazing.

The chicken Florentine was really good.

The ribeye was amazing.

So the ribeye could have fed four people.

It was huge.

It was a massive, massive ribeye.

So delicious.

It was good.

But the venue staff of the hotel, they could not have been more pleasant, more polite, more professional.

They were on the ball.

The service was amazing at the wedding.

It was fantastic.

It was.

And we had not had a chance to see your sister and brother in law for a while.

Right.

And we just had the absolute best time.

It was a good evening.

It was a great evening.

And the wedding was over about 10 and it was so great to just get in the elevator and go down to your room, go to bed.

Right.

So it was fantastic.

We had such a good time and the money we spent going was 110% well worth it.

I'm so thankful that we went.

It was such a fun, fun time.

Totally do it again.

Oh, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I mean, they probably won't have to do it again because I hope they.

Don't do it again, you know.

Hey.

But it was really, really good.

But yeah, we had a.

Just a really great time.

And then the next morning we just kind of got up and laid around.

A little bit and oh, I will say on the way to the resort, driving, we drove by the speedway.

Yes.

We drove by a baseball stadium.

Yes.

And they're playing baseball.

When it looked like a nice little stadium for where it was.

Well, some gentleman told me because he saw this shirt, I had to have.

A shirt that yeah, I was going to get to the shirt purchase.

He told me, he goes, do you know that that is.

It's no longer a major league stadium, but it is the oldest major league stadium in the country.

That's what he said.

I don't know if it's true or not, but that's what he told me.

Huh.

But now I guess it's a minor league stadium.

I'm sure.

But yeah, so.

But it's the Daytona Tortugas and we.

Just love the look of the shirt.

The lady actually at the hotel was wearing it when we got there with a, with a big sea T shirt on it because Tortuga.

Yeah.

It means turtle Ray.

I guess.

I don't know.

Sure, why not?

Or means rum.

One or the other.

But anyway, I really liked it.

And we actually, the hotel has a thing that if you declined housekeeping, and we were only there one night, so it was easy to decline housekeeping.

You got a 15 credit on your account.

Yeah.

And they said they wanted you to use it in one of their marketplaces.

But I think you still would have maybe had a 15 credit because you paid cash for my shirt.

So they wouldn't have known that we didn't charge.

We're too worried about it.

I don't think so either.

But the credit was on there.

Yep.

And I got a cute little shirt out of it.

So there was a win.

Win.

So.

And then we'll wrap this up and we'll do a part two for what.

We did on Sunday before we came home.

Before we came home.

That's going to be a story you're going to want to stay tuned for for sure.

That's what you call a teaser.

Okay.

Anyway, I'm Tim Scott, joined by again.

My lovely wife Dawn.

And thank you for joining us on resortloop.com if you'd like to take a trip anywhere in Florida or any other kind of cruise ship, take us, check us out at Resort Loop Travel.

You can always check us out at Looper Nation Live over on Facebook or resortloop.com you can just go there as little pointers.

I'll take you any of our little homes on the Internet.

Awesome.

Everybody, thanks for joining us.

See everybody.

Sam.