So Gorgeous and I spent the rest of Wednesday evening with his family. My BIL drove us (Gorgeous, myself, and their sister) around Atlanta, showing us all the sights and finally took us back to his apartment where Gorgeous's mom and grandparents were waiting.
Obviously, we were still stressed about the incident at the hotel and though Gorgeous's family was very nice and supportive, I don't think we were really able to relax until the next morning.
The evening at the hotel was rife with excitement as Gorgeous and I were repeatedly awoken by gunshots, sirens, and honking horns. Apparently, this is not a normal occurrence; we were just lucky. :P By the time morning came, I think we both might have gotten about four hours of sleep. Still, there were wonderful plans for the day, so we drank lots of coffee and went to our luggage to get ready.
Yes, THE luggage. The luggage that cost us $50 to check when just a couple years ago (maybe less) it would have been free. (obviously, I'm angry at the airline and you'll definitely understand why by the end of this series). I checked out the garment bag first when it became immediately apparent something was wrong.
The hangar that was supposed to be securely attached to the bag (in order to hang it up) was gone. I hadn't noticed this the night before because we'd just laid it on the floor. So, there was damage. But wait! I then found a nice little hole ripped in the bag indicating someone had been dragging this bag on the ground (a very light bag that had a total of three dresses in it--I didn't even have to drag it on the ground to carry it). More damage! Yay!
And then I opened the other bag.
That hat I'd told you about in Part 1--the victorian-style hat I'd trimmed myself to wear on the day of the wedding--it was totally crushed. I'd packed everything just right so that the hat would NOT be crushed simply because another piece of luggage was put on top of my bag.
Three instances of damage and I paid them $50 to do it. I was getting really ticked. But since this was still supposed to be a wonderful vacation, I tried my best to brush it aside so Gorgeous and I could enjoy the day we had planned with our family.
Breakfast was the first thing planned and my BIL picked us up again in the morning to take us to his apartment so we could wait for his fiance to show up. When she did, a few of us walked to the restaurant while our grandparents rode in the car. It was a lovely walk in a very nice neighborhood. My soon-to-be sister pointed out a plot of land my BIL had dreams of buying one day and I couldn't help but agree with him that it was gorgeous. It was a huge lot (especially for a city) and completely wooded. I love the woods and enjoy the conveniences of a city, so I was totally enamored.
The restaurant was a cute little bakery that also had a wide selection of breakfast foods. Gorgeous, being the eater he is ordered this:
Look at how huge that is!! And it's got peanut butter in the middle!
And here he is ready to devour it:
He almost ate it all, too. The waiter was VERY impressed. He said he'd seen a total of four people ever finish the thing.
All the stresses of the previous day and just a couple hours ago were quickly dwindling away. I could almost forget my total rage at the airline. I was even having so much fun, I decided to take a picture of my BIL and his fiance:
So, after a rough start of a vacation, everything finally seemed to be turning around. We still had a full day ahead of us--the men had to get tuxes and the ladies had a nice night of getting our nails done planned. But you'll have to wait for Part 4--(title not yet thought of) ;) to hear about all that!
Do any of you, dear readers, have any vacation stories to tell? Any airplane woes?
