I returned the next day to see David at Flight Centre with
my ideal itinerary in hand. I was
excited and scared at the same time, as I had never travelled alone. I had not even told Duane or Monroe what I
was planning on doing, I was going to as soon as I had tickets in hand and on
my way to discovering where I was going in my life. I sat across from David who anxiously was
awaiting my list, which of course would probably result in a huge commission
for him. I handed him the list and he
scanned the list. “Nothing too crazy
here Bella, we can totally do this and keep it under cost. But I am going to suggest you fly out
initially from Buffalo. It will save you
so much; do you think you can get down there okay? There is a bus that leaves from Union Station
and takes you across the border.” “Yea I
can handle it, I have to get used to travelling alone, since I am doing this
entire trip alone. And I checked out
that web site you gave me and have reserved a location to stay in once I have a
flight plan.”
He went to work straight away “So you’ve chosen Florida as
your first stop. Any place
specific?” “Well I would love to go to
Orlando, but I think I should probably wait on that one. I want to go on rides and don’t really want
my first stop to be laden in single rider
calls.” I chuckled at the last part of my statement. He smiled at me and nodded. “How about trying Sarasota first? Then maybe
you can get a taste of what the warm weather will be like and you can go from
there. I am sure you can make some
friends down there and convince them to go to Orlando with you!” I had not
considered Sarasota and went to work quickly on Air BnB checking out places to
stay. I wanted to keep costs down so I
decided to just rent a room to start. I
was searching and found one for less than $100 a night. I read the reviews while David took a look at
flights, and I was sold. The person
offering the room had wonderful reviews from other travellers, and it even said
he wasn’t really home much but would offer as much help as possible. “Okay David, book Sarasota. I found a place to rent and I am booking it right
now.” He smiled and booked me on a
flight leaving in a week to Sarasota, and staying for a week there. He then quickly went through the rest of my
list and started rhyming out my itinerary.
Each place he had booked he gave me a week to ten days in. He suggested I wait on Europe as it was
looking expensive but he would contact me if he found anything after I had already
started travelling. I was beyond ecstatic.
He handed me my itinerary after I had paid, and I was
walking out with a huge smile on my face.
I had to get home and start packing, and for those of you who know women
always over pack. I was practically
skipping down the street, I was finally doing something for myself and I couldn’t
be happier.
*****
A week later I was on my way to sunny Sarasota. I had decided to tell Duane and Monroe the
other day and while they thought I was crazy to do this on my own, they
supported my reasoning. After my four
hour flight and a short cab ride I was standing in front of a place I would
call home for a week. I called Aaron,
the guy I rented from, and told him I was here.
He quickly came walking out of the house running his hand through his
hair and he was gorgeous! “Hi, umm, shit.
We have a problem.” I looked at
him confused and a little defeated, and thought great...when it rains it pours. “The
website double booked that room and the other couple got here about 10 minutes
ago. I double checked and realized what
had happened and I instantly demanded they refund your cash, but clearly that
won’t help you now. I feel horrible
Isabella. So I am going to let you stay
up in my apartment for a week and I am going to go crash at a friend’s
house. I feel horrible. But I won’t charge you a dime, and it is a 2
bedroom! Please forgive me; I don’t know
what happened....” I let go of my suitcase and put my hand on his arm “Aaron it
is okay don’t worry. I am sure we can
find a way to live together for a week.
You said it yourself you’re not home much so it is perfectly fine. I don’t plan on being home much, I want to
explore Sarasota. And I am not a party
girl, so I won’t disturb you. I am only
here for a week; I think we can make this work.” I looked him in the eye and he seemed to
relax and smiled. He grabbed my suitcase
and walked me up to his apartment. It
had a gorgeous view, and it was just as spacious as the unit I had tried to
rent. He showed me to my room which was
nice and cozy and then showed me around the unit. It
felt like a home away from home for me, and I was excited. Despite his claim he wasn’t around much, Aaron
and I got on really well during my stay; he even joined me on some touristy attractions
like the Sarasota Jungle Gardens. I
figured out how to get to the Siesta Key Public Beach and spent a lot of time
there relaxing. We spent a couple nights
in and I cooked while telling him about my upcoming trip, leaving out the disastrous
few years of my life leading up to this.
He took me out on my last night there to a little Japanese restaurant. “So I wanted to ask you, what brought this
trip on. I’ve tried to bring it up but
you didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about it, and I still understand if you
don’t.” I put down my menu and took a
sip of water, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk to him about this or not. Did I really want to ruin my last night with
him? “I tell you what, I will tell you
at the end of my trip.” I winked
figuring it was the best way to avoid the question again. “Ok deal” he said “What is your next stop
Madame Traveller?” “Orlando, I have
always wanted to go to Disney and Universal.
I was hoping I would’ve met a few more people while I was here and maybe
convince them to come with me, but it’s cool.
I will be ok up there. I booked
another room on Air BnB and leave tomorrow morning.” I picked up my menu and continued
reading. Aaron stared at me and smiled
before he picked up his menu and started looking at stuff he wanted to order. We had a wonderful final evening together,
dinner was nice and we walked after dinner to fight the overload of sushi we
had eaten.
After we got back I immediately started to pack up all my
stuff and move the suitcase out to the living room. I wanted to be ready to go when I had to wake
up to get to the airport. Aaron didn’t
say too much when we got back, other than asking if I needed a lift to the
airport. I politely declined and had already
arranged a taxi to pick me up. We stared
at each other awkwardly and then he hugged me and wished me well on my next
journey. I smiled and hugged him back
and thanked him for everything.
The next morning I was up and trying to be quiet as I
shoved my pajamas into my suitcase and even left Aaron a thank you note and
went down to get into my taxi. On my way
to the airport I had felt relaxed and like I was actually doing what I wanted
to do. I giggled to myself as I realized
I was headed to the ‘happiest place on earth’....next stop Disney World!
