The drive to MSP took about an hour and the closer we got, the heavier the traffic became. Thanks to 70 degree weather just a week earlier, the ground was still warm enough that the snow did not accumulate on the roads much and we arrived in plenty of time with no mishaps.
There were two more hurdles we had to face before I could start to breathe a little easier...(1) would my luggage be overweight? And (2) would we be charged for checking our bags? In July we had taken advantage of an offer from Delta Skymiles and applied for their credit card. This was the first time flying since then and all went well...our checked bags were free...and...my bag only weighed 47 pounds!
I picked up some Caribou Coffee to go with the homemade bran muffins we had packed for breakfast. As we ate, we watched the snow flying and planes being de-iced.
When boarding began, we got in line when they announced priority boarding. I "thought" that was a perk that was included with our Skymiles credit card but half expected to be stopped. No one said anything so I guess we were OK.
I had booked our flights under Delta's "Basic Economy" fare which is very restrictive...and advance seat selection is not included. When checking in for the flight the day before we were given seats on opposite sides of row 15...both in the middle. I guess you get what you pay for! A very large man was seated next to me in the aisle seat. Due to his size, he could not even begin to lower his tray table and his arm was touching me the whole time. He was eating for most of the flight, stopping occasionally to take selfies with his cell phone. Creepy. And for some reason there is no window on that side of row 15, just a solid wall which added to my claustrophobia.
I had brought along Chlorox wipes which I used to wipe down the seat arms, tray table and entertainment screen. Using the wipe on the touch screen caused it to go wonky and changed the language to Arabic. Since everything on the screen was written in tiny squiggles, the nice lady in the window(less) seat helped me figure out how to change things back to English. Except...it would automatically switch back to either French or Portuguese no matter what I did. (Later on in the flight, the attendant was able to reset the screen and get it back to normal.)
With the onboard entertainment not available, I was glad I had downloaded a couple of episodes of the series, "Victoria" from Amazon Prime to keep me occupied. Delta also offered free texting during the flight (a first for us) so my sister got to hear about how my personal space was being invaded. 😏
After the de-icing in Minneapolis had delayed our takeoff, we were only a few minutes late landing in Ft. Lauderdale. As we waited for our luggage at the baggage carousel, I looked around remembering the shooting that had taken place there in January and the videos on the news that were taken in that very spot. So eery.
The warm breeze and sunshine felt absolutely heavenly when we walked outside of the terminal. Bob called for the shuttle to take us to the Hyatt Place and was told it would arrive in about 10 minutes. It was closer to 25, but how could we complain? No snow...and palm trees!! Another couple shared the shuttle with us and were also there for the same cruise. Over the course of the week we enjoyed visiting with them several times.
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| Yes...a down coat in Florida. Bob is always cold (because he has no meat on his bones!) and insisted on taking the coat. |
I booked the Hyatt Place through ValueTrips.com and got a much better price than booking directly with the hotel. No need to pay in advance and the reservation could be cancelled up to 24 hours in advance.
The 17th Street location of the Hyatt Place is near Port Everglades and convenient to a shopping center and many restaurants. After resting for about 30 minutes (and failing to sleep) we decided to go out exploring a bit.
Four years ago we had stayed in the Embassy Suites next door so knew we could get to the waterfront by walking down 17th Street. Using an app on my iPhone, I clocked the distance at around 2.5 miles round trip. There is a water taxi stop next to the lift bridge and is a fun way to get a glimpse of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. On our last visit we took a couple of the different routes, but this time we just watched as others boarded the boat.
Everything from yachts to jet skis went under the lift bridge as we sat and enjoyed the warm weather. While we were there, the Island Princess was heading out to start a 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal to San Francisco. From our vantage point it looked as if the ship was headed right into a residential neighborhood and we kept waiting for the ship to turn. But it didn't.
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| The channel was completely blocked from our view and it looked as if the ship was going to run aground! |
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| And there she goes... |
A couple of years ago we had eaten at a fast food restaurant called "Pollo Tropical" in Ft. Lauderdale and enjoyed the Caribbean style food. I had looked online and discovered another one just a few minutes away from the Hyatt Place...in the opposite direction from where we had just walked. To get there, we walked down an alley and noticed piles of garbage at each house and realized it was remnants from the hurricane. Getting to the restaurant required crossing a very busy 4 lane street (SCARY!) The atmosphere in the restaurant was less than desirable, BUT...the food was good. We each got a chicken platter and it was fun trying out the various sauces available. I chose the corn casserole as one of my side dishes and was a little surprised when it was served cold...not what I was expecting.
It was dark by the time we got back to the hotel. Bob enjoyed watching a movie on the big screen TV while I shuffled things around in my luggage. One more sleep and it would be time to cruise!
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