Traveling to Florida

Friday, February 27

After partaking in the slightly above average continental breakfast at the hotel we hopped on the 7 a.m. shuttle to the airport. I checked the weather app on my phone as we were on our way and this is what I saw:

Seeing almost no lines for check-in at Southwest Airlines was a positive way to start the trip…especially considering what an insane amount of luggage we had between the four of us. Thank you SWA for not charging extra for bags!!

I was concerned about our flights because we had a very short layover in Atlanta...but everything went smoother than I could have imagined. Our flight was 30 minutes EARLY getting into Atlanta and we were relieved to watch the baggage handlers putting our luggage onto the plane. We even had time to eat the Subway sandwiches that we had bought in Minneapolis (thinking we wouldn't have time to get anything later.) 

Besides free luggage, I like that SWA has free live TV on their flights. It requires downloading an app prior to your flight, but then there were about a dozen different channels that I could watch on my iPad. Sure helps pass the time! I also had some TV shows that I had downloaded from iTunes. I have a splitter that allows two sets of headphones to be connected so Bob and I both could watch. 

With almost a 90 degree increase in temps since leaving Minneapolis, stepping outside in Ft. Lauderdale felt incredibly wonderful! We were on VACATION!!

Although our cruise would leave from Miami, we flew into Ft. Lauderdale in order to fly on Southwest. And even though the prices were still exorbitant, I found hotels to be slightly less in Ft. Lauderdale as compared to Miami.

Using the hotel shuttle, we checked into the Sleep Inn and Suites where I had booked our rooms using an AARP discount. (Gotta get the best price, remember?) After sitting all day, the four of us just wanted to get out and walk…and look for a spot to grab some dinner.

Palm trees and tropical plants sure looked better than the snow we left behind in Minnesota!

Several blocks from the hotel we found a place called Pollo Tropical that served organic grilled chicken with all sorts of special sauces and side dishes like rice & beans. Wow…do I wish we had these in Minnesota! The food was great…and very cheap. The bill for Bob and I together was less than $12!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in at the Walgreens next door and bought a 6-pack of pop to take on the ship. In retrospect, this probably wasn't necessary. We rarely drink pop at home and only drank about half of what we purchased in the two weeks we were onboard. I was most happy just drinking water like I usually do or an occasional glass of ice tea. One pleasant surprise was that the coffee wasn't too bad!