Up The Farway Tree

Raining on our parade

So much for Miami sunshine- it's been raining for 2 days now!!  We decided yesterday we couldn't sit in our hotel room all day so decided to head out and get some culture at the Art and Design museum.   It was at least dry there ;-)   It was still pouring in the afternoon so we headed for the cinema and watched Kick Ass which was actually very funny and at least was a distraction for a wee while.  The taxi ride to the cinema was rather odd  - we hailed a 6 seater taxi only to find that he opened the boot and John and Dad had to sit in wee seats in the boot of the car haha!!

What happened to the sun?

Stow aways in the car boot...

We are still very unsure about what is happening on Wednesday - we know that tomorrows flight to Amsterdam has been cancelled so not sure what the prospects are of flying by Wednesday.  We have been trying to call Air France all morning  - Andrew has made 50 calls so far and it only rings 10% of the time and after that we gets 40 seconds in the queue before it cuts off!   I have emailed a couple of times but they aren't responding to that either.    The worry is that if we don't fly on Wednesday we can't get through to rebook.  The other big worry is that the Amsterdam flight is not cancelled until we are en route to Detroit so we should maybe start working out what to do if we get stranded there!    We are keeping up with BBC news and have heard that Royal Navy ships have departed for Spain with the idea that Madrid could become a central hub for UK nationals trying to get home.   Now that would be an experience and a half!   At the moment I would be happy to sail home in a rubber dinghy ;-)

It is still very unclear if we have any insurance for hotel costs, however even if we can claim my policy only covers up to a maximum of £100 per person total!  Better than a poke in the eye I suppose.  I have emailed them again to try and confirm if we can claim and what evidence I will require.   The medication would be covered for a much larger sum if I can claim so am keeping receipts for everything.   I was quite concerned that the doctor said my insulin type doesn't exist in USA but have since found out via UK doctors that it does but just under a different name - so at least I now know what to ask for if I run out.

We are trying to pay most things on credit card now and spin out any dollars we have left - luckily I didn't spend many of my dollars as everyone kept buying me birthday presents on credit cards!!  We have found a great diner across from the hotel which serves fantastic value food which is really nice and massive portions.   We are putting everything on Johns credit card - it is so kind of him to pay for everything ;-)

I am not sure what will happen with work when we get back - I hope some of the time can be taken as special leave as I hardly have any holidays left this year anyway.   So far they have cancelled all my clinics for this week and hopefully my colleagues are not having to pick up too much of my slack.   I am also due to facilitate a PBL group at the university from next Tuesday but hopefully will be home by then - they must have a lot of facilitators stranded as I have had multiple emails looking for emergency cover.  I think a lot of students are also stuck after going away for the Easter holidays.  It is hard to imagine how far the chaos extends and you can start to see how everything has so many knock on effects.

I am missing wee Seb very much although I know he is in good hands with Nan and Bob.   I hope he hasn't forgotten who I am by the time we get home.   I could do with one of his wee fluffy hugs just now :-)

Anyway, everyone is still in good spirits, albeit quite stressed and not sleeping very well!  We are just staying put today and hoping the weather turns again so we can get out and about again.  Will keep you posted on any updates.

Boredom sets in...!