MrsHughey.com

Touchdown

We've made it safely to the United States and have gotten to see some friends and family members (including Romeo!) so far. We've got a busy first few days planned.

We arrived in Orlando yesterday after a long flight with lots of small children headed to Disney World. First we de-planed, then went through immigration. That was actually very quick. Then we waited for our luggage and proceeded through customs. The luggage took a while, but the plane was full and we weren't stopped by customs, so that went smoothly. Then we had to give our luggage back to airport staff and were told it would await us at a luggage carousel on the other side of the airport.

We waited in a long, slow line for a long time, unsure of what we were waiting for. Security staff was only letting a dozen or so people up a set of stairs at a time. Finally we ascended and discovered our hand luggage would once again be x-rayed and searched, and we would once again pass through metal detectors, exactly as if we were leaving on a flight. The line was excruciatingly slow and had lots of signs posted with American Eagles on them. There were about 4 metal detectors and x-ray machines working. Most people (including Mr Hughey) had to take their shoes off and have them x-rayed, too. So it took a good 45 minutes to get through that line and into the international flights part of the airport. This is still an area where no non-ticketed passengers are allowed.

Finally, we got out into a terminal (via a shuttle) and Evan was there. He had dressed up like a chauffeur and was carrying a sign that said "HUWEE". Ha. Then we waited for our luggage - again - and dragged it to his car. Finally, we could enjoy yummy food and huge portions at Wolfgang Puck's in Orlando. It was fabulous and we've just finished having our leftovers for lunch.

Today we got up early (for us - 8:00), had a nice jog, hung out with Romeo, and had lunch. It's a warm, humid day - typical for central Florida this time of year. This afternoon we'll be getting things sorted out to get a car for our use and then having dinner with my mom, stepdad and his family. It's his birthday today, so happy birthday, Bobby!

It's nice to be home and interesting to see the things we notice as "different" now - toilets and TV commercials (daytime commercials are SO bad) as well as restaurant portions. I have enjoyed SEVERAL glasses of iced tea already. YUM.

As you can see, I've posted the entry I started the other day about our bus tour. Sorry for the out-of-order posting, but I wanted to finish it properly before I posted it.

Posted by Erin at March 18, 2003 05:33 PM