Happy Friday the 13th, and Happy Valentine’s Day!
It’s been crazy weather all winter, and when we were in Wildwood FL two weekends ago, it was so cold on Sunday morning that the water bottle I’d left in the car had frozen over.
Now, I have family in the PNW where I’m from, so I know how to layer, which was a good thing.
We’d rented a car for something fun on our short road trip and looked forward to decompressing away from the computer. I sent in my synopsis for Cider Falls 2 on Thursday and we packed up for an early Friday morning get away.
I had it in my head that we were going to Winterhaven 3 plus hours away but that was not accurate. We were going to Wildwood, which was 4.5 hours away. That was fine…we could adjust, which was the theme of the weekend.
Plan, plan, and pivot.
We arrived at Avis, using Costco rental cars—amazing price. Avis, however did not have any cars when we arrived.
The woman might’ve been new? We asked if there was a different Avis close by that might have actual cars to rent. We were told the mall. South Florida is covered with malls so CH was smart and got the actual address—only ten minutes away, so off we went. It was relatively painless except for the snafu over the toll plan. CH thought we’d be able to use ours, but we couldn’t hook it up. It was okay—the nice man at Avis allowed us to add the toll plan, which was a huge savings. We rented a sporty red car that was quite different from our SUV. It was good that we had rented a car, as upon arrival, the car had a nail in it. The nearest Avis was in Leesburg, 20 minutes away. That night we met other writers for dinner, and had a blast. Food was great, but we were concerned that the tire wouldn’t hold the air. It was a slow leak, so CH decided to drop me off for the event, while he had to get a new car from Avis. We ended up with an upgrade, at no charge. If we’d had our own vehicle, we might have to replace the tire. See? Pollyanna for the win.
All Booked Up held an incredible event, and I met so many readers—there were over 100 registered attendees. I would come back to WILDWOOD in a heartbeat and all of my author friends agreed.
Being so close to Orlando, we’d planned to meet up with our friends Patrice and David at Disney Springs, one of CH’s favorite places. We had Pazia with us in her carrier and a blanket. It was 45 degrees. Did you know that dogs aren’t allowed in DS? No, I didn’t either, and it never occurred to me to check. Thankfully a very nice security man let us in—we saw plenty of dogs, but they were service animals. Pazia doesn’t ever bark and she was an angel that day. We had an incredible visit. The past two weeks have been catching up with work and I’m on my third draft of Murder at the Scottish Book Club. Also, Cider Falls 2 was approved <3
2.99 is the best price for Death at an Irish Wedding, so be sure to stock your Kindle. Rayne and Ciara have problems as they try to turn their castle into a wedding venue…like, an LA guest falling from the turret which turns out to be murder. Blarney the dog has a serious kleptomania habit, and Amos, well, what is not to love about a handsome Viking?
How is your winter treating you??