Mike and Julie - Jacksonville, Florida
Our trip to Jacksonville, Florida for Mike and Julie's wedding began on Thursday August 11, 2006. I had an 11pm flight out of Phoenix that arrived in Jacksonville at 8:30am the next day. Seemed like I might be able to catch a few winks on the flight there, but little did I know that red-eye flights are named as such for a good reason.
There was not much time to sleep on the 3 hour and 18 minute flight from Phoenix to Atlanta. What little sleep I did get was in between PA announcements and air turbulence. But, I did get enough sleep to get me through the Atlanta airport to my connecting flight to Jacksonville.
Mike picked me up from the airport at 9am and we headed out to the Crowne Plaza. My room wasn't ready at that time in the morning, so I crashed in Mike's room for a few hours. Mike, Cole, Jake and James went to the social hall to help decorate.
After a few hours, I got up and called the front desk to inquire about my room. They told me again that it was not ready and would not be ready until after 4pm. I then became agitated and I called the Crowne Plaza 800 number. The agent that handled my call said that my reservation did have early arrival, but that it was not guaranteed early arrival and told me that I was going to have to wait until after 4pm.
I decided to go for a walk to calm down. I walked to the science museum across the street from the hotel, but it looked like it was mostly for kids. I didn't want to shell out the $8 to find out. I cruised around the gift shop which had some cool toys, but I decided to move on.
I walked around the block looking for a convenience store. A few minutes later I saw a BP gas station that had a little mini-mart. I went to the mini-mart and bought some pork rinds, a diet coke and a bottle of water. It was hot outside, so the bottle of water helped out. It was nearing 3pm, so I headed back to the hotel. Once inside, I explored the various conference rooms and other areas open to guests. I found a little room with tables and chairs. I sat in there enjoying the cool A/C and the rest of my bottle of water. After a bit, I got up and went back to the lobby. On my way there, I called my Mom who was supposed to be arriving shortly. Turns out she was in the lobby waiting for my Dad and my Sister for a bite to eat at the hotel cafe. We all joined up and had some drinks and snacks. Afterwards, I went to the front desk again to check in.
My room was ready and it was on the top floor. I was excited about that and thought it would be a great hotel room. However, when I got up to the room, the room was warm and the "Sunset View" was nothing more than a west-facing view of a parking garage surrounded by trees. I called the front desk to ask about possibly getting a refrigerator while I was waiting for the A/C to cool the room down. But, a fridge would have cost me an additional $15 per day. The front desk person was short with me and I did not like the attitude. I called the 800 number again and really let them have it. No early arrival, hot room, crappy view, too expensive and poor front desk reception. After a few minutes, the agent transferred me to another customer service rep who was very understanding and promised to help rectify the situation.
After a few more minutes, the customer service rep called me back and told me that she spoke with the hotel manager and was able to find me another room on the opposite side of the hotel with a "Riverside View" and that the rate for the room would be lowered significantly. I went down to the front desk to change my room key and once again, they were a bit un-friendly and stated that I would be charged a different rate than what I was just told. At this point, I had to get ready for the wedding rehearsal, so I just went to the new room. The new room had a much better A/C unit because the room was cool and the view was spectacular. There was a view of the river and the bridge. Much better than the other room. After I was showered and ready to go, I got a call from the customer service rep who asked how the new room was. I told her it was much better but that the front desk person quoted me a different rate. The customer service rep told me not to worry because she would make sure that I was charged the lower rate. She gave me the case number for my complaint and wished me a happy weekend. I thanked her for making the changes for me and taking care of my complaint. I hate making complaints, but this time it all worked out.
The wedding rehearsal went pretty well. I had to read a few lines of the psalm that I was told to read which was kind of funny because it was written from the perspective of a woman. Mike and Julie picked it, so I decided to read it for them.
After the rehearsal, we went over to Julie's parents house for drinks and dinner. Pete and Diane were very nice and welcoming. We had a great time at their house, meeting our new family and eating some great Cajun food.
The next day, Saturday, went very well...for the most part. I had to wake up a little early to go to the airport to pick up Samantha because she took the same red-eye flight that I did only 1 day later. However, her flight was delayed, so I had to wait a little longer to pick her up. Once we got back to the hotel, we had some breakfast and then went up to the room to go back to sleep. Later that afternoon, we started getting ready for the wedding.
I went to my brother's room to help him get ready and to get the rings. I must have checked my pocket about 100 times to make sure they were still there. The plan was that James would take Mike's car and I would drive James' rental. So, at about 5:20pm Mike and I headed to the parking garage to go to the wedding. We were leaving the parking garage and the attendant asked us where we were going. We told her that Mike was getting married and she wished us well. That's when I noticed that the car's parking brake light was lighted. I thought that I would release the brake and be on our way, but the parking brake did not release when I pushed it in. My experience has been that when you push the foot-operated parking brake all the way in, it then releases. This was not the case. I pushed and pushed, but nothing happened. Mike got out of the car and pushed the brake with his hand and nothing happened. Mike got back in the car because it was hot out and we were starting to get panicky. The parking attendant just sort of stared at us. Finally, I noticed a lever below the steering wheel with a big P printed on it. I pulled it and the parking brake released! We were elated and went on our way. After that little panic episode, everything else went extremely smoothly for the rest of the day.
After the wedding, we went across the street to the social hall for the reception. The food was fantastic, the drinks were great and the jazz band sounded cool. After we all ate and were ready for the champagne toast, I got up on stage and toasted Mike and Julie and said a few things about being Mike's brother. It was a great moment, and several people came up to me afterward to congratulate me on a job well done. We partied late into the night, then I helped shuttle people back to the hotel. Samantha and I turned in about 1am after hanging out with a few people in the lobby.
It was a fantastic weekend and a beautiful wedding. Another great trip!
There was not much time to sleep on the 3 hour and 18 minute flight from Phoenix to Atlanta. What little sleep I did get was in between PA announcements and air turbulence. But, I did get enough sleep to get me through the Atlanta airport to my connecting flight to Jacksonville.
Mike picked me up from the airport at 9am and we headed out to the Crowne Plaza. My room wasn't ready at that time in the morning, so I crashed in Mike's room for a few hours. Mike, Cole, Jake and James went to the social hall to help decorate.
After a few hours, I got up and called the front desk to inquire about my room. They told me again that it was not ready and would not be ready until after 4pm. I then became agitated and I called the Crowne Plaza 800 number. The agent that handled my call said that my reservation did have early arrival, but that it was not guaranteed early arrival and told me that I was going to have to wait until after 4pm.
I decided to go for a walk to calm down. I walked to the science museum across the street from the hotel, but it looked like it was mostly for kids. I didn't want to shell out the $8 to find out. I cruised around the gift shop which had some cool toys, but I decided to move on.
I walked around the block looking for a convenience store. A few minutes later I saw a BP gas station that had a little mini-mart. I went to the mini-mart and bought some pork rinds, a diet coke and a bottle of water. It was hot outside, so the bottle of water helped out. It was nearing 3pm, so I headed back to the hotel. Once inside, I explored the various conference rooms and other areas open to guests. I found a little room with tables and chairs. I sat in there enjoying the cool A/C and the rest of my bottle of water. After a bit, I got up and went back to the lobby. On my way there, I called my Mom who was supposed to be arriving shortly. Turns out she was in the lobby waiting for my Dad and my Sister for a bite to eat at the hotel cafe. We all joined up and had some drinks and snacks. Afterwards, I went to the front desk again to check in.
My room was ready and it was on the top floor. I was excited about that and thought it would be a great hotel room. However, when I got up to the room, the room was warm and the "Sunset View" was nothing more than a west-facing view of a parking garage surrounded by trees. I called the front desk to ask about possibly getting a refrigerator while I was waiting for the A/C to cool the room down. But, a fridge would have cost me an additional $15 per day. The front desk person was short with me and I did not like the attitude. I called the 800 number again and really let them have it. No early arrival, hot room, crappy view, too expensive and poor front desk reception. After a few minutes, the agent transferred me to another customer service rep who was very understanding and promised to help rectify the situation.
After a few more minutes, the customer service rep called me back and told me that she spoke with the hotel manager and was able to find me another room on the opposite side of the hotel with a "Riverside View" and that the rate for the room would be lowered significantly. I went down to the front desk to change my room key and once again, they were a bit un-friendly and stated that I would be charged a different rate than what I was just told. At this point, I had to get ready for the wedding rehearsal, so I just went to the new room. The new room had a much better A/C unit because the room was cool and the view was spectacular. There was a view of the river and the bridge. Much better than the other room. After I was showered and ready to go, I got a call from the customer service rep who asked how the new room was. I told her it was much better but that the front desk person quoted me a different rate. The customer service rep told me not to worry because she would make sure that I was charged the lower rate. She gave me the case number for my complaint and wished me a happy weekend. I thanked her for making the changes for me and taking care of my complaint. I hate making complaints, but this time it all worked out.
The wedding rehearsal went pretty well. I had to read a few lines of the psalm that I was told to read which was kind of funny because it was written from the perspective of a woman. Mike and Julie picked it, so I decided to read it for them.
After the rehearsal, we went over to Julie's parents house for drinks and dinner. Pete and Diane were very nice and welcoming. We had a great time at their house, meeting our new family and eating some great Cajun food.
The next day, Saturday, went very well...for the most part. I had to wake up a little early to go to the airport to pick up Samantha because she took the same red-eye flight that I did only 1 day later. However, her flight was delayed, so I had to wait a little longer to pick her up. Once we got back to the hotel, we had some breakfast and then went up to the room to go back to sleep. Later that afternoon, we started getting ready for the wedding.
I went to my brother's room to help him get ready and to get the rings. I must have checked my pocket about 100 times to make sure they were still there. The plan was that James would take Mike's car and I would drive James' rental. So, at about 5:20pm Mike and I headed to the parking garage to go to the wedding. We were leaving the parking garage and the attendant asked us where we were going. We told her that Mike was getting married and she wished us well. That's when I noticed that the car's parking brake light was lighted. I thought that I would release the brake and be on our way, but the parking brake did not release when I pushed it in. My experience has been that when you push the foot-operated parking brake all the way in, it then releases. This was not the case. I pushed and pushed, but nothing happened. Mike got out of the car and pushed the brake with his hand and nothing happened. Mike got back in the car because it was hot out and we were starting to get panicky. The parking attendant just sort of stared at us. Finally, I noticed a lever below the steering wheel with a big P printed on it. I pulled it and the parking brake released! We were elated and went on our way. After that little panic episode, everything else went extremely smoothly for the rest of the day.
After the wedding, we went across the street to the social hall for the reception. The food was fantastic, the drinks were great and the jazz band sounded cool. After we all ate and were ready for the champagne toast, I got up on stage and toasted Mike and Julie and said a few things about being Mike's brother. It was a great moment, and several people came up to me afterward to congratulate me on a job well done. We partied late into the night, then I helped shuttle people back to the hotel. Samantha and I turned in about 1am after hanging out with a few people in the lobby.
It was a fantastic weekend and a beautiful wedding. Another great trip!
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