Escape from the Polar Vortex

I live in Northern Michigan. It’s my favorite place to be, except after a long period of grey days, starting in November. This winter was colder and snowier than the last couple. I felt the need for a get-away to sunshine and warmer days. My partner agreed. We scheduled our short four-day trip to Florida and then looked at the weather. Ikes! Temperatures in the 40’s and snow was even forecasted. We had booked a four-night stay in St. Augustine but decided to cancel and to head south.

My partner had booked the hotel through an online reservation app upon my suggestion. He incurred a $180 cancellation feel. The hotel itself would not have charged anything. This was the start of the trip that just kept on giving.

After a 3-hour delay sitting in our seats still at the gate followed by the 2-1/2-hour flight, we made it to Orlando and headed south. We made it as far as Cocoa Beach, found a hotel, and enjoyed an evening sitting by heaters at an outdoor tiki bar.

The next morning we continued our journey south. We stopped off at Lion Country Safari for a drive-through safari tour. There is an accompanying walk-about park. We loved it all – from seeing exotic animals up close to feeding the giraffes.  After we jumped back in the car. We made it to Miami right about rush hour, but the sun was out, and the car windows down. Woohoo! We spent the night in Key Largo and sat outdoors in short sleeve shirts on a deck for drinks and dinner.  Just the break from winter that was needed.

The next day we decided to drive to Key West. Neither of us had been in the Keys. The skies were overcast, but we loved the being on the road. Key West was congested for us northerners, but we found a parking spot, said hello to the meandering roosters, and toured the Hemingway House (mostly to say hello to the cats all around the property). Next stop was the Key West Aquarium. We found another parking spot, paid for parking, and put the receipt stub in our windshield. We did a couple of the aquarium shows, explored all the marine exhibits, and got fish and chips from a food truck parked outdoors. On the way back to the car, we found gifts for family back home.

Arriving at the car, I spotted the ticket for $55. Why did we get a ticket? We checked to see if we had mistakenly parked in a handicapped space or loading zone, but didn’t see any indication. This put a damper on our day. As we drove back to Key Largo, I appealed the ticket online and included a picture of our receipt.

We found another hotel in Key Largo. Attempting to retrieve some of the $180 my partner spent cancelling our original reservation, I suggested we book through an online app as it was $30 less than the hotel outright. We did this right in the hotel lobby. We then went over to the counter and were told that breakfast was complimentary and given a ticket for two breakfasts. We had small breakfasts (just bagels) and turned in our comp ticket.  We were also told that the internet was free and signed in just as instructed. We did not sign up for premium service. When checking out we were told we needed to pay for the premium internet service. We told her we hadn't signed up for premium. She said she would take care of everything.

We started our trip back north but first stopped by a park near the water in Key Largo and another gift shop. We made great time on the travels northward and decided to make a pitstop in Juno and walk the beach and pier. It was overcast and windy, but I loved every second. This was Florida! Surfers were out. Waves crashed. Pelicans waited for fresh fish to be tossed by fishermen. Reluctantly, we left Juno and headed along the coast toward Jupiter. We had lunch and hiked a nature trail complete with white sands.

It was time for the last leg. We hit Orlando again around rush hour. It was raining and traffic was crazy. My phone app directed us onto a road designated for drivers with passes. We couldn’t figure out how to get off and kept going, seeing sign after sign about the fine we were going to incur. I was so happy to get out at the hotel, practically kissing the ground. We had a lovely last dinner at a sports bar nearby, but thoughts of the forthcoming fine lingered.

The next morning flew by, and we were back in Northern Michigan in no time. I contacted Key West to find out why we got the ticket. The very kind gentleman said we parked in a loading zone and the sign was posted behind the truck in front of us. I had hoped they would take pity on it being our first time visiting, we paid for parking, and the fact that the sign was not visible to us, but no. The appeal came back denied and I paid the ticket, feeling like we tried to do everything right, but were punished anyway.

The next day my partner showed me his invoice from the third hotel and the reservation app had added $114 on top of the $189 for the one-night room. He immediately called the hotel and asked to speak with a manager. The manager determined we had not paid for breakfast or the internet and went on to charge his card for these items. Even though earlier we had been told the breakfast was complimentary and the internet was free. We have been unable to resolve the $114 additional charge either. Feeling scammed.

I have been attempting the past few days, especially during meditation, to let the negative feelings go and to focus on the fun we had and how we met our purpose, escaping the zero temperatures of the north for a few warmer days and some sun. If I hadn’t have been trying to make up the $180 cancelation fee for my partner, we probably would not have used the booking app. Attempting to help caused more harm, at least to his bank account.

We both have fears and worries around loss of monies, but this seems more than loss. It was the betrayal of being told one thing i.e. breakfast was complimentary and then being charged for it anyway. It was the betrayal of being told the $189 one-night room charge was inclusive and then incurring $114 additional charges (that we still have no clue as to what for).  Trusting in another’s words (even online words) and then being “duped”. I am attempting and struggling to discern what the lesson is or even if there is a lesson here for me.

I have so many, many blessings in this life. One of them is to have the resources to take a journey like this and that the ticket, breakfast, and even the $114 additional can be easily absorbed. Another is to have a partner who says yes to my desire for the get-away. I am grateful for our encounters with wildlife and for those who take such good care of our fellow creatures who live in captivity. I am grateful for the time in my "happy place", the beach. I am grateful that we survived the crazy traffic and arrived home safely and the trip for the most part was smooth. I am grateful for all the smiles we encountered along the way, especially the friendliest ladies at the iHop in Cocoa Beach. I am grateful that I have family to care for my furry babies and our home when temps dropped below zero. I am grateful for Guidance and that I feel such profound Love.

Meet every situation as an aspect of yourself, as the Divine. I have yet to experience the situation with the ticket, the breakfast/internet, and the additional $114 as an aspect of the Divine, but I am trying, and I ask the Guides for help with this as I sit in my daily meditation.

Another recent idea from my readings was that resentment is really entitlement in disguise as one feels entitled not to participate in the sufferings incurred by all in this world. Please help me to accept the feelings of betrayal and injustice as a share in the sufferings of all and that I am in no way entitled not to participate in experiences such as these. The feelings generated by the ticket and the fine for driving in the wrong lane I can more easily put behind me, but I struggle with the $114, especially since it impacted my partner and all because I made the wrong choice to reserve through an online app. The Guides seem to whisper to stop the battle. Stop fighting to right the wrong. Stop trying to understand the why behind the $114 additional. Stop trying to get the credit and to discredit them. Just stop the struggle. This is so hard, because I want to fight. I want to fight this injustice with every fiber of my being. They whisper relax in The Eternal One and trust that all is well. And I let it go.  All is well and all is well. And the polar vortex is behind us, at least for this year.