Barely Escaping Winter to Sail in Sarasota

View from my dad's back porch

You get the idea...

Well, as many of you know, the Midwinters starts this coming weekend in Sarasota, FL. I made a plan to fly to Sarasota by way of Bethesda so I could visit my dad for a few days. Ben and Eric Bussell were going to be driving from Urbana, so it wasn't like I was leaving him to make the long drive alone (hear me rationalizing?).

Anyway, the plan was for me to fly from DC Wednesday (we headed down early to get some extra sailing in) and have them pick me up from the airport in Tampa, since that's as close to Sarasota as Southwest, my preferred airline, goes. But then came winter storm Tobias, or whatever they are calling it. By the way, since when did they start naming things that aren't tornados? Anyway, it looked like the day of my original flight DC would be covered in six inches of wet heavy snow and that did not bode well for my travel plans. Southwest, bless them, let anyone with a ticket change FOR NO FEE to any travel date within two weeks of the storm. Amazing. I wonder if other airlines do the same?

So I moved my flight up by one day. Although Tuesday brought no snow it brought rain and steadily falling temperatures. Then Tuesday also brought fierce storms to Tampa which kept our plane at the gate in DC for an extra couple hours as the temperature continued to drop. As we boarded I saw snowflakes. Gulp. Then while we were waiting to leave the de-icing machines came alongside. Things were looking grim for our hero... I practiced meditation. I listened to the screaming baby one row up and felt for her and her hapless dad. I told myself everyone had the same goal, to get the plane safely to Tampa. I told myself that even if we went back to the gate, it wasn't the end of the world. I took deep breaths. And it all worked. Despite a little extra adrenaline in my system I have to  say I weathered the whole experience pretty darn well.

And, wouldn't you know it, eventually we began taxiing, took off and above the clouds it was all blue skies!!

Landing in Tamps (and here I apologize to my Tampa sailing friends for not calling but I didn't want to be a bother and I have had a marvelous adventure) I realized I had neglected to book a hotel. Well, not neglected, exactly since I was never 100% sure I would take off from DC. It turns out, Tampa is full of people like me trying to escape the snow and the cold. Who would have thought?

After a few fruitless calls, the nice volunteer at the info desk passed me a note. Try the Tahitian Inn it said. I called, they had not only a room but a shuttle that pulled up 30 seconds after I got to the pick up spot. I rode the shuttle with an extremely enthusiastic woman and her husband who had come to the Tahitian Inn five times. She told me all about the marvelous people and accommodations and she was right! The decor is out of Hemingway's day, the people great you like an old friend. And in the restaurant for breakfast I think everyone who ate there was friends with one another and with the waitstaff. It was absolutely delightful!

I have a few hours to kill waiting for Ben and Eric to pick me up and so I'm headed out for a Cubano sandwich. I am full of gratitude today: for the Tahitian Inn, for my sailing life, for the sunshine and for escaping the bad weather up north...also appreciate not sailing today because it is very gusty!!