Saturday - March 3, 2012

Saturday March 3, 2012 – Orlando Florida --- Hilton Garden Inn

After a busy morning packing and attending to last minute details – Phil and I got on the road to Orlando about 1:15 pm.   We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn about 4:00 pm.  After checking in we headed to the airport via their shuttle to complete our checking in process and to see about upgrades.   We are flying coach on this trip since we have exhausted our frequent flyer miles – we got our boarding passes but no upgrades – maybe tomorrow.

We decided to dine at Bonefish – a chain that we know from Jacksonville that is very good.   We arrived in time to get two good seats at the bar and met our bartender, Stephanie, who immediately told us the happy hour deals, the daily specials and tips on everything else on the menu.    But – then Stephanie did something brilliant.   She asked for our names --- and proceeded to fold a small card in half – on the side facing the bartenders she listed our names – on the side facing Phil and me she put her name and the names of her colleagues – Yvonne and Daniel.   Immediately by placing this information in front of us  – Stephanie upped the ante for good service ten-fold.   This is better than nametags – of which I am a major proponent – I even had nametags at our wedding.  This simple gesture gave everyone the information they needed to be sure that good service was provided – which it was – ten fold.

As the first photographic posting for this blog I am proud to present:  Stephanie, Yvonne and Daniel at the Bonefish Grill in Orlando near the airport – and of course the card.

Back to business (or pleasure) – Phil and I are on our way to New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia, and Australia.   We leave tomorrow (Sunday) for LAX – where we hop on a 13 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand.  We arrive Tuesday morning—spend two nights at the Pullman Hotel – embark on a 21 day cruise aboard Oceania’s Regatta finishing with two days in Sydney, Australia before arriving home on April 1^st.

I hope you will join us as we explore “down under”.   Our group includes:  Patte, Dave, Beth, Lynn, Phil and Pat .

As always,

Thanks for Reading!

Pat