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The view from my balcony at the truly lovely Hyatt Regency in the Orlando airport

My stay in Orlando has been extended thanks to Continental Airlines. They overbooked my 3:15pm flight by at least 17 and I was without a seat assignment.

They have rewarded my patience and understanding with a room at the Hyatt and a voucher for future travel.

My gilded cage — notice the very nice leather club chair. The window and balcony open out to the airport terminal

Do I take this time to blog? I dunno. It’s the weekend!

OK…I’ll blog a little.

This is not the first time I’ve been stranded at the Orlando airport. Back when Kayla was only 7 years old, Susan and I took her to Disneyworld with my parents. Of course, you never have trouble with travel on the way to your destination…it’s always on the way home.

This held true 6 years ago. Mom and dad left in the morning of our last day in Orlando and we were due to leave in the afternoon. We went to Cocoa Beach where Kayla got her first taste of the beach (and salt water). We came back to the airport and found that the flight before ours had a major mechanical issue. They offered us $300 a seat to spend the night at the Hyatt in the airport. We took them up on it.

Kayla loved the room. The balcony had carpet. It was plush and it was right in the airport. The Orlando airport is a lot like a shopping mall. It has restaurants, coffee shops and stores you usually see in a mall. We had a blast.

This time isn’t as much fun. No Susan; no Kayla; no Emma; no Erik. I called Kayla tonight just to let her know where I was. She didn’t sound jealous…but I know she was.

Kayla was impressed that the balcony had carpet

A word about the Orlando airport: it’s a great place to people watch. I’ve been in a lot of airports in the last 5 years. Orlando is one of my favorites because of the other travelers. You see so many kids with their parents or their grandparents. They all have some sort of memorabilia from an attraction they visited. Mickey Mouse ears, princess t-shirts, stuffed animals. The kids are typically in a great mood while the parents are tired but satisfied. Everybody wins.

This is a generalization, but it’s mostly true.

The flight tomorrow morning will be comfortable. I was able to talk the gate clerk into first class seats. I’ll have so much room…maybe I’ll get to use my laptop for a change.