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As some of you know I took a little vacation time last week. My wife and I were headed to Curacao for 5 days. We had been to the all-inclusive Breezes resort in the Bahamas several times and loved it. We wanted a change of pace this time so we (She) decided to go to Curacao to the Breezes resort. We (She) decided that since I spend so much time working on laptops and on the Internet that we (She) should leave the Toughbook behind on this trip. They have an Internet café and I think she had visions of me staying online for our entire trip. So... I grudgingly left the CF-29 at home.
MISTAKE!!!
We got to the resort and we were underwhelmed. After we checked in (No free drinks when we checked in like the other resort) we headed to the room. The smell was enough to make a billy goat puke! She started crying immediately and I headed out the door to see the manager. She was still crying when I got back to the room with the news that they were going to move us to their best room. (I thought we paid for their best room... Ocean front!) Anyway... She calmed down and I decided it was time for us to start drinking. The bartenders didn't speak any English and didn't even care about trying to take out order. We eventually got what we wanted at the beach bar. We headed up to the buffet only to find that it was closed until 6:30... So back to the beach bar. They only cooked greasy stuff that my wife can't eat... So she started eating the power bars that she brought with her. I went back to the manager to tell her that we couldn't get anything to eat, that we were pissed and wanted our money back. (This is when I would have used the Toughbook to see what else was out there.) The management gave us both a 30 minute massage (Not nearly long enough) to try to chill us out. They also made reservations to their swanky Japanese restaurant. Well... The restaurant sucked too. We were now at our boiling point. We went back to the manager to ask that they transfer us to the Bahamas resort on THEIR dime. Well... I guess I don't have to tell you their answer. This is the 2nd time I would have been on the Toughbook trying to find something, anything to help us out. Manager names (Higher than who were were talking to.), etc. They told us that they had a 24 hour guarantee if we didn't like the resort they would refund the unused portion. We decided to sleep on it. We headed out to the beach to see what was going on there. WOW!!! There was trash everywhere! Broken glass, cigarette butts, cups, half eaten food and the birds were eating it all up. It looked like a scene out of an Alfred Hitch**** movie! I beat the bartender out of a bottle of champagne for my wife and I stocked up on 3-4 Jack Daniels and headed for the room. The bed was like cardboard over concrete... So not a whole lot of sleep that night.
We went to breakfast the next morning only to see ****roaches at the buffet... I had already eaten my eggs when my wife saw this.... So... More powerbars for her. We decided we were LEAVING!!! (This is the 3rd time I would have used the Toughbook... To find somewhere else on the island. We didn't want to waste the airfare down there.) Well... We met with the General Manager this time who started by saying that they could only refund the unused portion of our stay. I told her we hadn't "used" anything and that I demanded a FULL refund. They finally relented. They agreed to a full refund for ONLY the accomodations... NOT the airfare. (This is the 4th time I would have used the Toughbook to see what flights were available!) Anyway... They said they called and that if we rushed to the airport that we could change our tickets for NO COST and get a flight back home.
We get to the airport. The flights are available for $100 ticket fees for each of us. (I'm REALLY steamed at this point!) I pay the money.... My wife decides that she REALLY wanted beach time... She suggested that we fly into Miami for the rest of our stay. Good idea I think so we talk to the American Airlines ticket agent who prints out our tickets. We board the flight, barely making it and realize that she booked us straight through to home. No sweat... We can clear this up in Miami where we have a 5 hour layover.
We arrive in Miami. We clear everything up with the ticket agent and she prints us out new tickets (No charge this time)... This is the 5th time I would have used the Toughbook as we have NO IDEA where we are going to stay. We just grabbed our bags and hopped into a cab. We were lucky enough to get an English speaking cabbie with a thorough knowledge of Miami. We tell him we want to go to South Beach and ask where is a good place to stay. He tells us about the Marriott... So we head there. They have ocean front rooms available and we check in. This is the 6th time I would have used the Toughbook as we had NO IDEA what there was to do in the area.
We ended up having a BLAST in Miami Beach. We both walked over to Miami Ink and got tattoos! My wife got a little yellow daisy on her bikini line and I got a larger Eye of Horus. (Sometimes incorrectly called the Eye of Ra) We met the guys we had watched on the TV so many times. They were a little short, I guess because they have so many gawkers and tourists that come in... But after they realized that we were getting tattoos for real they loosened up. I thought Ami was going to do mine but ended with Janos, one of the guys who is not on the show but who has been there for a little while. They all signed a shirt for my Brother-In-Law who is a huge fan of their show. It ended up being a VERY cool time in Miami.
We'll NEVER go back to Breezes again but will go back to Miami anytime. There is so much to do you can't possibly fit it all in. We also had dinner at Danny DeVito's restaurant that just opened across the street from out hotel. Now THAT was a great meal!
Moral of the story... Don't EVER go an ANY trip without your Toughbook! You just never know how it will end up and how handy it could turn out to be. My wife would usually complain when I brought the laptop along. I think now she will insist on it!
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That was a pretty good story, you could've always used your phone to do all of that, though
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That's okay... All the Dell guys post in here without reading what the threads are actually about...
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I really think this belongs in offtopic.
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I read it afterwards. I just wanted the first comment
. That was a really well-written story, kept me interested atleast.
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Ok ok.
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Are you lookin for what toughbook, m-34,cf-28, cf-29 or cf-30? I have still in stock.
ohlip -
sounds like they sent you to Zug island, not a vacation resort island
Sounds like you masterfully turned it into a success though.. I don't think I could have pulled off a coup like that! Amanda is gonna be so jealous when she hears you got tats at miami ink!
And umm.. I don't ever travel w/o my toughbook, but that's because the only travel I ever do is for work! Next week it's a plant in Ohio that makes giant earthmover tires -
Welcome back Toughbook. I don't go on trips without my toughbook anymore. It's way too risky without it, because it has maps of anywhere I'll need to go, and I can find anything on the internet worth knowing about.
On a side note, I'm not comfortable staying at anything less than 35° latitude for more than a short duration, and I don't go less than 30° anymore. If I go past that line, I better land somewhere on the other side of it (New Zealand was good for me).
Good to know we both got inked on our last vacation
Oh, Gravitar... Zug Island would be paradise compared to that, from how he described it... -
I always wondered how the devil they made it over to our section... Especially on this thread. We got everybody just busting through the door to see about our mysterious Toughbooks
They do add coolness points to anybody who owns one though, so maybe that is the lure?
Oh, and a quick edit;
To ensure I never leave my Toughbook at home, I'm finally fabricating that mount I said I'd make myself for the last who knows how long...
It will set my 28 up nicely in the hearse, so that it can sit right in front of the passenger or slide right next to the steering wheel, with just as many or more adjustments than most vehicle mounts.
I'll post pictures when it's done. I've still gotta fix the damage that the car took last week... Fire sucks. -
Don't EVER Leave your Toughbook Behind When Going on Vacation!!!
Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by Toughbook, May 9, 2008.
