|
|
By Vicky Wells, on November 18th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 18 ~ Day #192
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$19200
|
$89.21
|
$16883.63
|
$87.94
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15815.4+249.4=16064.8
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35979.5
|
Current Location: Davie, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $89.21
Transportation: $52.00 (gas)
Accommodation: $31.47 (camping)
Food: $5.74 (lunch)
Miles Traveled Today:
Road Miles: 249.4 (Land O’Lakes to Davie, Florida)
Checking Out
When we checked out this morning there was no charge for ground fees added to our account, thank goodness. As per yesterday’s post we were a bit concerned that they were going to try to charge us $100/day ground fees, but they didn’t.
However, there was an error on our bill. We were being charged for a bar bill that we didn’t incur. We explained that to them and they said they’d check with the food services manager. However, that person wasn’t available.
We made it quite clear that that wasn’t our charge but they didn’t seem that convinced. I was actually starting to get a little annoyed. They looked up the bill and it was for the types of drinks that Geoff and I never have. We insisted the charge be removed.
They seemed reluctant, but couldn’t find a manager to sign off so we made a note on the bill. They said they wouldn’t charge our card until the matter was resolved (not really sure what they meant by that – it wasn’t our charge, plain and simple).
Note: March 4, 2011 – Believe it or not, Caliente only JUST charged our card (on Feb. 28, 2011) for our Nov. 11-18 stay AND they charged the FULL amount. We were not happy.
I called and left several messages with the accounting department and never got a call back. I gave up leaving messages and talked to someone on the front desk. They assured me that they’d immediately credit our card for the disputed amount but it might take 48-72 hours for the credit to show up.
The credit did show up on our card on March 4th, so they were good to their word.
Back to Davie, Florida
We then hit the road for the drive back to Davie, Florida where we’ll stay until our flight back to Eleuthera on November 23rd.
It was a pleasant day for a drive and, again, we took the less-traveled route as we were in no particular hurry.
By Vicky Wells, on November 17th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 17 ~ Day #191
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$19100
|
$28.14
|
$16794.42
|
$87.93
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15815.4
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $28.14
Accommodation: $28.14 (timeshare)
Miles Traveled Today:
Zero
Touring Caliente
As to be expected, whenever you exchange your timeshare into another resort you are always offered a tour of the resort and there is always a bribe of some sort as well.
Caliente was no different. They offered us a tour and an explanation of their system. Apparently they are not, technically, a timeshare even though they are associated with RCI, which is how we were able to exchange into Caliente.
They have a points system that they wanted to explain to us. The bribe was a free lunch and a $50 credit to our account.
The young lady that gave us the tour was very knowledgeable and very friendly. Their system works by pre-purchasing a certain amount of points that can be exchanged for all kinds of things – accommodations, dinners at the restaurants and more. Naturally, the more points you want the more it costs, but as the amount you pay goes up the cost per point goes down to make the higher amounts start to look like a good deal. But, when you use up your points, they’re gone! And, as long as you still have some points, you need to pay a maintenance fee each year just like you do with timeshare, but your timeshare doesn’t expire as long as you’re paying the annual fee.
I’m afraid it didn’t seem like such a good deal to us.
One thing we did learn while talking with our tour guide was that Caliente has a pretty hefty daily ground fees.
Caliente Ground Fees
In the course of our conversation with our tour guide we found out that the normal Caliente ground fees are $100/couple/day. Yikes! That seems awfully high to us.
Then we began to wonder if we were going to be charged the daily ground fees when we checked out. That would make this exchange way more expensive if that’s the case.
Well, we check out tomorrow, so I guess we’ll find out for sure then. RCI is supposed to advise you of any additional fees that you are expected to pay that aren’t covered by your exchange and nothing was mentioned about daily ground fees when we booked this exchange.
No point in speculating, we’ll find out when we check out tomorrow and if they want an additional $100 per day for our stay we will certainly challenge that kind of charge.
By Vicky Wells, on November 16th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 16 ~ Day #190
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$19000
|
$46.14
|
$16766.28
|
$88.25
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15815.4
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $46.14
Accommodation: $28.14 (timeshare)
Food: $18.00 (dinner)
Miles Traveled Today:
Zero
Water aerobics
One of the classes being offered today was water aerobics and we decided to give it a try.
Our instructor was a tiny, very fit woman who was like a drill sergeant! She really got us working and exercised right along with us. I’m sure that’s how she stays so fit.
We certainly got quite a workout.
Trivia Night
Apparently Tuesday nights at Caliente are trivia nights. The trivia challenge is held in the sports bar and they also have dinner specials that night. So, we treated ourselves to dinner and participated in the trivia as well.
There were lots of teams, some with up to six people in the team, that had obviously participated in these trivia nights before.
In the first round we were holding our own and were in second place. However, by the time the game was over we had slipped to fourth or fifth place. Still pretty respectable given the number of teams participating and the fact that our team was just the two of us.
By Vicky Wells, on November 15th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 15 ~ Day #189
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18900
|
$62.95
|
$16720.14
|
$88.47
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15815.4
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $62.95
Accommodation: $28.14 (timeshare)
Food: $34.81 (groceries)
Miles Traveled Today:
Zero
Grocery Shopping
It was time for another grocery run today. With just a tiny fridge in our room we aren’t able to get very much at one time.
Mani-Pedi for Me!
I’m generally not very good at keeping my nails nice, but the last little while I’ve been making a real effort.
So, while we were out shopping (actually, Geoff did most of the grocery shopping on his own), I was treated to a manicure and pedicure.
It was fantastic! I’m not sure exactly how long it took but Geoff was able to get all the shopping done and still had to wait for me to be finished.
I love being pampered like this and wish I could do it more often.
Riverboat Resort
Just down the road for Caliente are two more clothing-optional resorts. We decided to go for a walk and check out the Riverboat Resort.
While I find Caliente a little too large and impersonal, I’m afraid I found Riverboat at bit too small and even a little grungy.
We were given a tour by a very friendly young woman that I can really only describe as a “hippy chick”. She extolled all the virtues of the resort – pool, hot tub, restaurant/clubhouse and seemed very happy there.
I think Geoff liked it too, but I’m not sure I’d be happy here.
By Vicky Wells, on November 14th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 14 ~ Day #188
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18800
|
$28.14
|
$16657.19
|
$88.60
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15815.4
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $28.14
Accommodation: $28.14 (timeshare)
Miles Traveled Today:
Zero
Yoga Class
More classes were scheduled for today and we decided to take in a couple of them.
Both Geoff and I took in the yoga class. It was certainly interesting but neither one of us is terribly supple, so there were a lot of the moves that we had trouble with. But it was still fun to participate.
Belly Dancing Class
Next up was a belly dancing class. It wasn’t very well attended. It was just the instructor, myself and one other participant. Geoff decided to sit this one out. The last time he did any belly dancing was our trip to Morocco over 20 years ago!
I was amazed at how much work it was but had a great time trying to get the moves right.
Karaoke at the Pool Bar
Later that afternoon we spent some time at the pool bar where a lot of people were participating in Karaoke.
Several of the people singing were very good. Others – not so much. No, Geoff and I didn’t sing anything and, trust me, it’s better that way!
Nak’d Truth After Party
Tonight was supposed to the the Nak’d Truth after party, but it didn’t seem very well organized and, again, they kept things roped off and kept the general public at bay.
We wandered over to see what was going on and then just decided to call it a night.
By Vicky Wells, on November 13th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 13 ~ Day #187
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18700
|
$28.14
|
$16629.05
|
$88.93
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15815.4
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $28.14
Accommodation: $28.14 (timeshare)
Miles Traveled Today:
Zero
Zumba Class
Caliente Resort offers a lot of activities, particularly on the weekends. Today we decided to take advantage of their Zumba class.
What a hoot that was! It’s a combination of aerobics and salsa. At times we had a little difficulty keeping up and we wish they had taken just a little more time explaining some of the steps before we got right into it. However, all-in-all we had great fun and it was certainly a good work out, too. We plan to look into getting DVDs or something like that when we get home.
Nak’d Truth Casting Call
As we mentioned in an earlier post, Caliente is hosting a new reality show called the Nak’d Truth. Today is the casting call with people from all over the country vying for a place in the show.
We had thought that we would be able to watch the casting interviews but apparently that was not to be. The entire area was roped off and open only to cast and crew.
Hot Tub & Conversation Pool Roped Off
Unfortunately the area they were using for the casting interviews was where the hot tub and conversation pool were. The conversation pool is a long, narrow, shallow pool with built in seats.
This was our favorite area. We both like hot tubs and when we got too hot we’d just head over the conversation pool for a while. But both were off limits for today at least.
Fortunately Caliente has several pools, so we headed over to another one but the other pools were, of course, pretty crowded with it being the weekend and the other areas being off limits.
Comedy Show
There was a comedy show scheduled for this evening in the main bar. We were really looking forward to that.
After putting a dinner together for ourselves in our room we headed over to the clubhouse and into the bar to settle in for the comedy show.
I guess it wasn’t too bad, but we’ve seen much better comedians. They were supposed to be professional comedians but it felt more like they were amateurs.
By Vicky Wells, on November 12th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 12 ~ Day #186
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18600
|
$99.36
|
$16600.91
|
$89.25
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15815.4
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $99.36
Accommodation: $28.14
Food: $71.22
Consisting of:
$64.80 (groceries)
$6.42 (lunch)
Miles Traveled Today:
Zero
Geoff Appears on Local News Channel 10 – CBS
Amazing as it may seem, Geoff was actually on the local news today – in the background.
The local station was at Caliente to do a piece on a new reality show that will be shot at the resort. All the footage they took was shot very “discretely”. So, even though it’s a clothing optional resort there was nothing exposed that shouldn’t be.
The Nak’d Truth Reality Show
The reality show being shot here is going to be called “The Nak’d Truth”. We have no idea if it’s been picked up by any networks, so watch for it being advertised at some point in the future.
They are having a casting call at the resort tomorrow and apparently an after-party the next day. There’s quite a bit of buzz going on at the resort.
We believe the premise of the show is they are putting several people together that have never been nudists before in their lives and they will live and work at Caliente for, we think, at least a month.
Details were sketchy but this is what we understand from what we’ve heard.
Resort Getting Busier
Things seemed kind of quiet when we arrived yesterday and were still quiet this morning, but it seems to be getting busier now. The staff has told us that weekends can be quite busy.
By Vicky Wells, on November 11th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 11 ~ Day #185
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18500
|
$115.22
|
$16501.55
|
$89.20
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15566+249.4=15815.4
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $115.22
Transportation: $50.00 (gas)
Accommodation: $28.14 (timeshare)
Food: $37.08
Consisting of:
$5.20 (Subway for lunch)
$5.34 (drinks at the resort)
$26.54 (dinner at the resort)
Miles Traveled Today:
Road Miles: 249.4
Birthday Celebration
Today a Happy Birthday wish goes out to grandson, A. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Booking Caliente Through RCI Timeshare System
When we were checking our timeshare options for this trip we were quite surprised to see the Caliente Resort come up as an choice. Caliente is a very upscale, clothing optional resort.
In the “important information” section when you’re booking timeshare through RCI, it does mention that it’s a clothing optional resort and you have to click a check box to say that you’ve read that information. However, you have to check that box for every resort you book, even if there is no important information. So, we couldn’t help but wonder how many people just click the box without actually reading the information. We also wondered if people had booked through RCI and showed up at Caliente not knowing it was a clothing optional resort.
Madge, Our Magellan GPS
Once again we put Madge into service to get us from Davie, Florida to Land O’Lakes, Florida.
She gave us several options, as she always does, and we decided to take the longer route for a leisurely drive, avoiding any major highways. After all, it was a lovely day for a drive and we were in no particular hurry.
Checking In After Dark
The drive actually took us a little longer than anticipated and we arrived at Caliente just a little after dark.
We checked in at the front gate and were directed to the building where the check in desk was located.
The resort uses very soft lighting in the evening which is very attractive, but it also makes it a bit difficult to see where you’re going. But, we did manage to find the right building, and a place to park, and proceeded to check in.
During the check in process we did ask if people had exchanged into the resort through RCI not knowing that it was a clothing optional resort.
They told us about one incident where a husband had booked the trip without telling his wife it was clothing optional. I can’t imagine that that ended well.
This Isn’t a Studio
On our RCI timeshare exchange we had selected a studio unit. When we got to our room, we realized that what we actually got was a hotel room. We were hoping for some minimal cooking facilities, which is what you usually get with a studio, but all we got was a tiny fridge and a microwave.
Oh, well. We’d just have to make do. At least the microwave would give us the option of having some hot meals. We don’t want to be eating out for a whole week.
Free Cocktails and Dinner
After getting settled in our room, we headed back to the clubhouse which was only steps away from our room.
Tonight was “free drinks for the ladies” night so we each had a couple of drinks and, because mine were free, the total cost for the drinks only came to $5.34. Not bad!
We didn’t stop for groceries before we got to the resort because we weren’t certain about cooking facilities. So, we decided to eat in the restaurant tonight and make a grocery run tomorrow.
Beautiful Resort
Caliente is a beautiful resort with an RV section, condos and a residential area, with some fabulous homes, as well.
They also have several pools, a large hot tub, extensive grounds, and planned activities every day. We were able to see what activities were coming up on the tv in our room.
We are looking forward to spending a week here.
By Vicky Wells, on November 10th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 09 ~ Day #183
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18300
|
$31.47
|
$16354.86
|
$89.37
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15566
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35480.7
|
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 10 ~ Day #184
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18400
|
$31.47
|
$16386.33
|
$89.06
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15566
|
12056.7
|
7662
|
196
|
35480.7
|
Current Location: Davie, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses:
Nov. 9 – Accommodation: $31.47
Nov. 10 – Accommodation: $31.47
Miles Traveled Today:
Zero
Combining Days
Once again, we are combining a couple of days into one post.
We are camping again, for a couple of days, and are spending our time sorting out the stuff we had left in the car and the stuff we brought with us from our trip.
In addition to that we reconnected with a few friends we had made before we left and just relaxed around the pool and soaked up some Florida Sun.
By Vicky Wells, on November 8th, 2010
Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
|
Nov 08 ~ Day #182
|
Budget to date
|
Spent today
|
Total to date
|
Daily average
|
|
Total
|
$18200
|
$61.47
|
$16323.39
|
$89.69
|
|
Miles by Road
|
Miles by Sea
|
Miles by Air
|
Miles by Train
|
Total Miles
|
|
15551+15=15566
|
8185.5+3871.2=12056.7
|
7662
|
168+28=196
|
35480.7
|
Current Location: Davie, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $51.47
Transportation: $30.00
consisting of:
$10.00 – cab from cruise port to TriRail
$5.00 – TriRail
$15.00 – cab from TriRail to pick up our car
Accommodation: $31.47 (camping)
Miles Traveled Today:
Road Miles: 15 (Fort Lauderdale to Davie, Florida)
Sea Miles: 3871.2 (3364 Nautical Miles – La Palma to Miami)
Train Miles: 28 (TriRail Miami to Fort Lauderdale)
Disembarking in Miami
Our ship had actually arrived in Miami late last night, so the disembarkation process was able to start very early in the morning – 7:00am!
If you wanted your luggage taken off the ship for you, you needed to have it outside your stateroom door the night before.
Fortunately, we were traveling with backpacks so when we disembarked we were able to carry all our luggage with us and not have to wait for our group to be called. People that had put their luggage out the night before had been sorted into groups and had to leave their staterooms and wait in designated areas for their group to be called. We could get off when we liked because we could take our luggage with us.
Long Line Up for U.S. Customs and Immigration
After a leisurely breakfast, we headed back to our room, picked up our loaded backpacks, a carry-on bag and our laptop computer, also in its own bag, and headed to the gangway to leave the ship.
The line up for customs and immigration was HUGE!
Standing there with fully loaded backpacks got pretty tired after the first half hour. Mine wasn’t too bad as it is actually smaller than Geoff’s. However, Geoff has a bad back and just standing around is difficult for him. But, standing around with a heavy backpack was just too much. He needed to take his backpack off.
The line was pretty bunched up so I had to ask the people behind us to back up a little bit so Geoff could actually get his backpack off.
We then edged our way up to Immigration for the next little while, pushing our luggage along bit by bit.
Best U.S. Immigration Officer EVER
Some people may not know this, but the immigration lines that say U.S. Citizens can also be used by Canadians. That’s because Canadians don’t need to be finger printed or have their photos taken.
So, as we got closer to the front of the line, I mentioned to the person that was directing people to various immigration officers that we were Canadian.
We were immediately whisked out of the long line and right to an available immigration officer.
I think I’ve mentioned before that I never like dealing with government officials. You never know what they’ll be like. With some people, if you put them in a uniform, they feel like they have to be officious and obnoxious.
Well, not this guy. He was smiling and happy and pleasant.
As he scanned our passports he actually started joking with us. And then he said, “Oh, Wait a minute. We can’t let you through too fast. We can’t have any Americans thinking that Canadians can get through the lines faster than they can.” And he then started to tap his fingers on the counter and whistle. Then he said, smiling, “I guess that’s long enough.”
We told him that this was our best experience ever and he said he thought Canadians were great. He said, “I’ve never gotten any attitude from a Canadian.” And, after a short pause, a little smirk passed over his face and he said, “Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I carry a gun!”
We all chuckled. Geoff and I thanked him again and we were on our way. He had even marked our card so that we didn’t have to stop at Customs.
Camping Again
Before leaving Florida in early September we had prepaid our camping fees so we didn’t have to worry when we came back. The receipt was a little cryptic, though, so I had said to the manager, “You had better be here when we get back.” And he had assured us that he would be.
Well, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, he wasn’t there any more.
It took a little sorting out but the new management accepted the receipt (that goodness we had one and that we’d kept it) and all was well.
|
|
