Off to The Cities

Monday, November 4, 2019

Unlike the last few trips, it appeared that this one was going to begin without any winter weather advisories or tropical storm warnings. I was beginning to think our travel plans were somehow tied into global weather systems because regardless of which month we planned our trip, it would coincide with some extreme weather forecast. My youngest son even texted me once when blizzard warnings were posted for our area and said "shouldn't you be leaving on a trip today?"

But...instead we woke to a crisp fall day! Bob began the day as usual by playing pickleball at the community center. I used the morning to finish up some last minute packing and tie up other loose ends at home. By 12:30 we had gotten the mail, finished lunch and were on the road to Minneapolis-St. Paul (better known as "The Cities" to us out state Minnesotans.)

Although it was blue skies above our heads, you can see a storm off in the distance
over the flat farm lands as we were driving to Minneapolis. 

Our destination was the Doubletree Hotel in Bloomington. Booking a night there with the park & stay option was cheaper than paying for airport parking alone for the two weeks we would be gone. Often we spend the night at one of our son's homes and they give us a ride to the airport, but with a very early morning flight, I felt guilty even asking.  

Check-in went smoothly. Bob was given instructions on where to park the car while we were gone and they handed us some warm chocolate chip cookies! Our room was on 17th floor overlooking Bloomington. 

View of Bloomington from our hotel window.

I thought a visit to the nearby Mall of America or IKEA would have been a fun way to spend our evening, but Plan B turned out to be even better. Our son drove into the city and brought two of our grandkids to have a "pool party" with grandma and grandpa at the hotel! As they got off the elevator on the 17th floor, the 5 year old walked off with his daddy (our son) but the 2-year old must have been daydreaming. Before our son realized what was happening, the doors on the elevator closed with her still inside! He instantly pushed the button on the wall and fortunately the doors opened back up. She was freaking out, but a much bigger crisis was averted. I shudder to think how traumatized she would have been if the elevator would have gone back down to the lobby with her alone! 

The hotel pool was large and comfortably warm, making for a fun time. The hot tub was one of the biggest I had ever seen and just the perfect depth for the little kids. Normally I wouldn't want kids in the hot tub, but no one else was around and the temperature was not overly hot. Grandpa Bobby went next door to Subway and brought back sandwiches to turn our pool party into an indoor picnic!

Our little fish showing off what he learned at swimming lessons. 

You could swim laps in the hot tub!

Since it was a school night for our kindergartner, their stay couldn't be late. Back up in the room, our son got them changed into their jammies so they could go straight to bed when they got home and we said our goodbyes.

It was an early-to-bed night for us as well. The airport shuttle was scheduled to leave the hotel each half-hour beginning at 3:30 am. With a 7:30 am flight, I was worried that taking the 5:30 am shuttle was cutting it too close so convinced Bob that we needed to be in the lobby for the 4:30 am trip. The drive to the airport would take 20 minutes or more and construction happening at the terminal may cause even further delays. I didn’t want to deal with the stress of being late. Bob wasn't convinced we needed to go so early, but he let me have my way.

So...by 9 pm we were tucked in and ready for bed with an alarm set way earlier than any human ought to be awake. 

Heading Home

Sunday, February 24

It was still dark when we got up and went to the hotel lobby to wait for our ride to the airport at 6 am. Coffee was available which was much appreciated but we were too early for the breakfast that was included in our stay. When the four of us booked the package deal for Iguazu Falls I had expected that all of our transfers would be together in a van. But no. Again two drivers in two cars showed up. Seems like putting us together in a larger vehicle would have been a cheaper alternative. I know that is what I would have preferred.

Kent and Laurel were traveling with 3 large suitcases, a carry on bag and two backpacks...almost more than the small car could handle. It took some creative maneuvering by the driver, but they made it.

On our way to the airport we went past the obelisk. Very pretty in the predawn light.

Leaving the snow...heading SOUTH! (1-26-19)

Saturday, January 26

Well we are now three for three when it comes to having snow to worry about as we begin a cruise! If you have read about our previous two trips you will remember that our Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam began with weather warnings for snow...in October of 2017. Then in April, 2018 we barely made it out of Minnesota for our Panama Canal cruise before the largest snowfall of the season hit.

After spending the night at #2 son's house, we woke up to snow...again. This time we thought it would just be a little light dusting, but we were wrong. It continued throughout the morning.

We enjoyed some time with our three brown-eyed grand kids and a late breakfast of the most delicious egg bake that my son made. For being a kid whose cooking was more on the order of a bologna sandwich, he has turned into quite a chef!

Our plan was to leave our car with the #3 son who has a little more room to park an additional vehicle. We drove the 5 minutes to his house and had a short time to visit with our blue-eyed grand kids before deciding we should get an earlier start to our drive to the Minneapolis airport (MSP). A good call. The roads were very slick and the closer we got to the airport, the more accidents and emergency vehicles we saw. Traffic slowed to a crawl so my son switched routes to a less traveled road and got us there safely. I am beginning to think the only way to avoid snow here is to travel in June, July or August.

Our South America & Antarctica Adventure! (1-25-19)

Friday, January 25 

(After you read through the daily blog posts from this trip, here are some videos that you might want to check out. These were uploaded two years later when I was trying to keep busy during the Covid pandemic!)

Part 1 of our Cruise to South America & Antarctica

Part 2 of our Cruise to South America & Antarctica

Part 3 of our Cruise to South America & Antarctica

OK...back to the original post...

The day that seemed like it would never arrive was finally here! It was time to leave for our cruise to South America and Antarctica.

Heading south, even to Antarctica, seemed like a smart move given the frigid weather we were having in Minnesota. Checking the weather app first thing in the morning showed it was a cool ZERO degrees. But even that was warmer than what was coming in a few days. Time to get outta town!

Saturday, Day 8 - End of Cruise...Homeward Bound

Ending a cruise is never fun, but Holland America softened the blow just a bit by allowing us to stay in our cabin until we were ready to disembark. This was so much more pleasant and comfortable than fighting for a place to sit in a public area with hundreds of other unhappy passengers waiting to disembark. No...we weren't given special treatment, this is a fleet-wide policy as far as I know. Yay for Holland America!

But lets back up and start the day from the beginning...

The ship was already docked in Ft. Lauderdale by the time we woke up. The first order of business was to check in for our flight now that I had cell service. The good deal we had gotten on our flights was a result of booking Delta's "Basic Economy" tickets. The price was right, but we were not able to choose our seats ahead of time. Back when I had checked in for our flight TO Ft. Lauderdale I was given the option (although very limited) to choose seats. This time, however, all I got was a message saying that seats would be assigned at the gate. Rats.

The other internet business that needed taking care of was completing the information on the Mobile Passport App. The final information (such as Pier number, etc.) had to be completed within 4 hours of going through customs. Done.

As we were packing up the night before, it had occurred to us that we had not been given the usual customs declaration form. We even stopped by Guest Services to inquire and were told it had been discontinued. Hmmmm. I was hoping to use the Mobile Passport App, but had planned to have the paper form ready just in case.

Our flight wasn't leaving until 3:35 pm and we had requested the latest time possible to leave the ship. We took our time getting ready and then had a leisurely breakfast at the buffet.

We left our cabin at around 10:00 am and our color was called shortly after we went down to where we would disembark. Being one of the later groups to disembark made finding our luggage easy...not very many bags were left. When we got to the customs area, I stopped to ask if there was a special line for using the Mobile Passport App and was told "no" it was no longer being used. What??

We were directed to the customs agent (with no line) and all we had to do was show our passports. That was it...and we were through. So easy...but so weird with all of the concern over border security.

Once we were out of the terminal, I called for a Lyft. There were several ships in port so we waited and watched the driver's GPS location on the app as he tried to make his way through the security gate. When he finally started moving we watched him (for real, not the app!) drive right by us and then turn around and drive right by again going the opposite direction.

After a couple of phone calls to the driver with poor reception, I gave up and cancelled the request and started over. We waited for awhile, and then Lyft cancelled the next driver! Finally the third time was a charm or would have seemed like a charm had we not been waiting almost 45 minutes to get picked up!

According to my receipt, the ride to FLL from Port Everglades was 3.74 miles, took a total of 10 minutes and 43 seconds at a price of $11.23. I was glad we hadn't been in a hurry to catch a flight. Other people waiting with us were equally frustrated at trying to get Uber or Lyft and gave up and just took one of the taxis available.

There were no problems with luggage weight as I anticipated and it didn't take long to get through security. At the gate we were told that there wouldn't be anyone to handle seat assignments until one hour prior to the flight which made me uneasy.

Another concern was a call we got from our #3 son who was supposed to pick us up at the Minneapolis airport. A problem had arisen and he wasn't going to be able to get there. After a few phone calls back and forth we discovered our #2 son just happened to be at a seminar at a hotel next to the airport. The seminar was ending just about the time we were to land and he would be right there to pick us up. Thanks to God for answered prayers (and cell phones)!

Eventually a long line of other passengers started to form once the gate agent appeared. I was relieved to find out that we had been given seats together...but not quite so happy when I realized that they were in the very back row. The seats did not recline and they were right next to the line for the bathroom...but at least we were on the plane. Not everyone else waiting for the flight was so lucky.

It was a rough flight, but with the in-flight entertainment and and a video I had downloaded to my Ipad, the time went fairly quickly. We gained back an hour by switching time zones, and then got a bonus hour that night when daylight savings time ended.

I had kept the window shade down while we were watching a movie and lifted it just in time to see the sun set.

Once we landed and got our luggage, I called my son and told him we would be waiting by door #6. A short time later, he called to say "I'm here by door #6, but I don't see you...and oh...my phone is about ready to die." That started a flurry of back and forth calls and texts that in hindsight is funny, but was pretty stressful at the time. Turns out he was on the departure level and we were down a level at baggage claim...both at door #6. He made multiple passes in and out of the airport, but each time missing the correct exit. Once again God was looking out for us. The phone battery lasted until we finally connected!

It was an hour to get back to our other son's house where we had left our car (both sons live in the same town.) After the long day of travel we opted to spend the night rather than face another three hours on the road to get home. (And spending time with the grandkids made the decision to stay over quite easy!)

Although the cruise was full of uncertainty and not everything went as planned with our ports, the good memories definitely out-weighed the bad. In my mind, the week was somewhat of a trial run with Holland America and it passed the test! We already had two much longer cruises booked with Holland America prior to this one and I am happy to say we are looking forward to them even more now!

Stay tuned. We will be cruising again in the spring and putting a big check on my bucket list! 😊

Good bye winter...we are off to Ft. Lauderdale!

One look out the window at 4:30 am and it was confirmed...the weather forecast had been correct. Heavy snow was coming down...or I should say going sideways due to the strong winds.

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.

Yes...a down coat in Florida.
Bob is always cold (because he has no meat on his bones!) and insisted on taking the coat.

When we checked in, we were advised that there would be an extra $2 charge for the shuttle (which we knew) and then given room 101...the last room at the end of the first floor hallway. They look just like the photos on the hotel website, but I will post a few pictures I snapped of our room.

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.

The channel was completely blocked from our view and it looked as if the ship was going to run aground!

And there she goes...

Once we were confident that the Island Princess was on a safe route to the sea (and not going down a city street), we headed back to the hotel.

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!

On our way...the weather curse continues!

Planning for travel always flusters me a bit, but I'm slowly fine tuning the process. I have a long "to-do" list on my iPad and getting through the last minute items occupied most of the morning. My brain was going in a thousand different directions and as I would start to do one thing, I would remember something else and promptly forget the first task. 

Eventually everything seemed to come together and shortly before noon everything on the list had a check-mark next to it. I was feeling somewhat confident that we were ready to go. After all...this was just a one week cruise. How I will cope with planning for lengthy travel? Most likely not very well.

Today's part of the journey was just a 3 hour drive to get to our son and daughter-in-law's home just west of Minneapolis. On many trips, we have booked a hotel near the airport where we could leave our car parked and take a shuttle. This time our son had offered to drive us and our flight time was relatively convenient for him to drop us off and then go to his office in the Twin Cities area.

I am thankful for a husband who is willing to do the driving.

Spending time with our grandkids was an added bonus to our arrangement, but the fun was overshadowed by what we were seeing on the weather forecast. For a cruise that had already been totally changed due to weather this prediction just continued the pattern. Hurricanes...and now a blizzard. 

The snow was not scheduled to start until sometime during the night so I suggested that perhaps we should leave our son's and find a hotel near the airport rather than make the one hour drive in nasty weather during rush hour the next morning. Of course Bob responded as most males would...NO.

Sleep was fitful. I got up a couple of times just to check weather (nothing happening) and also look at the clock. I had 3 alarms set on my phone, but was still worried that maybe we would oversleep. The first was set for 4:30 am and I was up before it went off. It was going to be a long day...

We're Off...Alaska Here We Come!

Here is an itinerary of what we did on our two-week Alaskan cruise on the Norwegian Sun. The links will take you to the daily posts...or you can use the archive list on the right.

• Saturday, May 13 - Fly to San Francisco & Exploring Fisherman's Wharf
• Sunday, May 14 - Biking the Bridge!
• Monday, May 15 - Here Comes the Sun! (Embarkation Day)
• Tuesday, May 16 - Sea Day
• Wednesday, May 17 - Astoria, Oregon
• Thursday, May 18 - Sea Day #2
• Friday, May 19 - Ketchikan, Alaska
• Saturday, May 20 - Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier, Juneau
• Sunday, May 21 - Glacier Bay
• Monday, May 22 - Skagway (Klondike Highway), Flight Over Glacier Bay
• Tuesday, May 23 - Icy Strait Point
• Wednesday, May 24 - Hubbard Glacier
• Thursday, May 25 - Sitka
• Friday, May 26 - Prince Rupert, BC
• Saturday, May 27 - The Inside Passage - Our Last Sea Day
• Sunday, May 28 - Nanaimo, BC
• Monday, May 29 - Vancouver & Home to Minnesota

When you book a cruise eleven months ahead, it seems like there is all the time in the world to research and plan. And then...BAM...it is time to pack the bags and go!! I over packed the last time we cruised to Alaska and this time we were cruising for TWO weeks instead of one. 😲😲😲 We each took one checked bag, one carry-on, and one backpack. This was more than sufficient for Bob, but a stretch for me to pack everything I needed (and wanted.) A few of my heavier items (hiking boots, hair products, etc.) managed to find their way into Bob's luggage and he still had extra space.

Our pre-vacation began by spending a few days at our middle son & daughter-in-law's house in the Twin Cities area. I got in some quality grandma time while Bob was hard at work doing some handy-man jobs. Some last minute planning also enabled us to have dinner with our oldest son and his girlfriend. Getting Chinese food to-go and eating outside at a park was a great decision on a beautiful night in Minneapolis.

Spending the night at the Hilton DoubleTree hotel was when I really began to feel like the vacation was starting. I had gotten what I considered a decent deal on a one night stay with two weeks of parking ($100). After checking on times for the morning shuttle to the airport, we were off to bed. Alaska...here we come!

Vacation Eve

Friday, March 11

Flying out of a nearby regional airport would certainly be more convenient...but definitely more expensive as well. I am all about getting a good value when I travel, or as most people would say...I am cheap. That means we book our flights out of the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport (MSP) even though it is a 3 1/2 hour drive for us. It also allows us to book flights on Southwest Airlines...our carrier of choice!

Two of our sons live in the Twin Cities area so sometimes we are able to stay with them the night before a flight. I figure we provided housing for them for the first two decades of their lives...certainly they can put us up for one night ever so often. 

Our oldest lives the closest to the airport so that is where we ended up. We arrived around 5:00 pm and he and his girlfriend had plans for us all to go out to dinner together. Our destination for the evening was Betty Danger's Country Club...a rather interesting and eclectic place.

The weather was extremely warm (think upper 60's) for Minnesota in March and we were seated in the open air garden room...very, very rare for this time of year but also very enjoyable! 

The walls of the restaurant are covered with tacky wallpaper and go along with the theme of a "country club for the non-elite". The menus are inserted into old etiquette books and range from Mexican entrees to basic comfort food. Everything that we ordered was delicious! The crazy attire of the staff and kitschy decor all added to the fun. 

The best part of the evening came once we finished our meal. The restaurant has a full-sized ferris wheel and tickets are free with any purchase. Although the night was still relatively warm, we were given blankets to cover our laps as we made several rotations...about a 15 minute ride. The moon was shining bright and off in the distance was the skyline of Minneapolis.

Although our son owns his own home, he lacks a formal guest room. He was gracious enough to let us have his bed for the night and being an adventurous type guy, he slept in a hammock in the back yard. (Mind you it did drop down into the 40's!) For him this was really no hardship. I have seen him pitch a tent in the middle of our frozen lake on a night with sub-zero temps!

Next...traveling to San Francisco!

Heading North to Get South

It was 1:00 pm by the time we finished up the last of the items on the "get ready to go list" and hit the road for Minneapolis. The weather was wonderful...temps in the low 70's but the air still had that feel of fall. A perfect day to open the sun roof and enjoy the white puffy clouds. Not much for fall foliage yet, except for the sumac which was a deep red color.

Getting to the Twin Cities by 4:00 helped us avoid the major rush hour traffic. Check-in at the hotel went smoothly…unlike our last trip where our reservation had mistakenly been made for the previous month. Our hotel was next to the Mall of America and also close to our destination for the evening...IKEA. I love wandering through IKEA, but become overwhelmed with the massive amount of merchandise with the funny-sounding Swedish names. Some of the items were so unique that we would have to stop and ponder just what they actually were. My big purchase of the evening was a nylon backpack that folds up into a small pouch. With my IKEA Friends card the price was a whopping $3.99.

Having dinner at the IKEA restaurant was a first for us, but most likely something we will do again. We both chose "veggie balls" which were served atop a cauliflower/sweet potato sauce with a side dish of...more vegetables. Altogether a meal we both enjoyed...and especially my vegetable loving husband. However some of the nutritional benefit may have been negated when we grabbed large, warm cinnamon rolls from the snack bar by the exit! 

After working all but 12 hours of the previous 4 days, Bob was really dragging. With a very short night ahead, lights out was at 8:00 pm. 

Alaska - The Journey Begins

To be truthful, Alaska really wasn't on my list...or at least not very close to the top of the list. I always said "someday" I would like to go, but living in frigid Minnesota, I dream of vacations to places with palm trees, sand and turquoise waters.

However, traveling with friends sometimes involves compromise. Our close friends and traveling companions, Kent & Laurel, were urging us to plan a trip to Alaska. (Well...mostly Laurel!) I on the other hand had discovered the most wonderful 10 day cruise to the Southern Caribbean. The answer to the dilemma? Do both! The four of us took the Caribbean cruise in December 2013 and you can read more about it here: "Our Southern Caribbean Cruise", but for now...join me as we travel to Alaska!

Our itinerary! (Click on the links next to the dates!)

May 28:     From Minneapolis to Seattle (just keep reading!)
May 29:     All Aboard for Vancouver
May 30:     A full day in Vancouver!
May 31:     Sailing Away...North to Alaska
June 1:       A day at sea
June 2:       Misty Fjords Flightseeing
                 Ketchikan - Around town
June 3:       Juneau - Whale Watching
                 Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier
                 Juneau - The Rest of the Day
June 4:       Skagway - Yukon Highway (Part 1) 
                 Skagway - Yukon Highway (Part 2)   
June 5:      Glacier Bay
June 6:       College Fjord
June 7:       Whittier to Anchorage to Seward
June 8:       Kenai Fjords Tour
June 9:       Seward
June 10:     The Journey Home


After many months of planning it was decided that we would spend a couple of days in Vancouver, then board the Coral Princess cruise ship for a 7 day Alaskan cruise. Once we reached Alaska a few more days would be spent touring the area south of Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula by rental car.

Our Alaskan journey began on May 28th, 2014 (which just happened to be our 37th wedding anniversary!) with a flight from Minneapolis to Seattle. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport was eerily quiet when we checked in for the flight.

Although our destination was ultimately Vancouver, we flew to Seattle to take advantage of some airline credits that would be expiring soon. It was apparent that Southwest Airlines is in need of both a Geography and Geometry lesson when it comes to routing their planes. Our trip to Seattle (in the northwest U.S.) took us via Phoenix in the southwest! Having never been to Phoenix, I was a little surprised to see the mountains outside the airport windows.

With clear skies during the second leg of our flight, I was able to see some more mountains, this time snow-covered, out my window...

...and even the Space Needle as we were landing in Seattle. 

Walking through the airport we spotted our first wildlife of the trip...bronze fish embed throughout the floor of the terminal!

Changing time zones added two hours to the clock...but not to our energy level. We were shot by the time we reached Seattle. Dinner consisted of McDonald's chicken sandwiches at the airport while we collected our luggage and waited on the hotel shuttle. 

Spending all day on planes and in airports wasn't the most fun...but necessary. 

The Trip Begins...Good-Bye Winter! (December 6 & 7)

When flying, our trips always begin a day early. This accomplishes two things...it keeps my stress level down by not trying to drive the three hours to Minneapolis on the day of our flight...and...it gives us the opportunity to visit grandkids! Getting a head start is even more important when traveling in winter due to the possibility of snow and bad driving conditions. And yep...we had snow that day. (The view looking out my door.)

Fortunately the roads were great and the fresh snow made the drive a little more scenic.

The next morning the temperature was 17º below zero (with a MUCH lower windchill) as we drove from our son's house to MSP. I’ll admit that I was just a little nervous that we would return to find a car that wouldn’t start. 

Check in at MSP was a breeze and the flight…with a layover in Atlanta…went smoothly. 

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around 6 pm and when we stepped out of the terminal to get a taxi it was almost a 100º increase from what we left in Minneapolis. Ahhhhhh…wonderful!

By being Hilton Honors members, we were able to get what I considered a pretty good deal on the Embassy Suites hotel on 17th Street...our home for the next two nights. 

When we checked into the hotel, I waited maybe 2 minutes at the most, but yet the gal at the desk apologized over and over for making me wait. For my “trouble” she gave me a gift bag containing bottled waters and several snacks PLUS a code for free internet (normally $10/day.) The daily free manager’s reception was still in progress so she offered to keep our bags while we grabbed some snacks and a drink. The snacks were just that…goldfish crackers, chips, salsa, etc. and the drink of the day was a Bahama Mama. Not enough to call it a meal, but hey…it was free!

Kent and Laurel had arrived earlier that afternoon and we joined them in their suite and watched a little football. The two-room suites were nice and provided plenty of room for the four of us to hang out together.

Our rooms were on the 11th floor and from the tiny balcony off the bedroom you could get a partial view of the port although it wasn't large enough for any furniture. There was also a door at the end of the hallway that lead outdoors to a concrete “balcony” where we could go to get a better view of the ships in port. 

Although we hadn't eaten dinner, none of us really felt like going to a restaurant, so instead we walked across the street to the Harbor Shops and grabbed a frozen sandwich from the Publix grocery store and took it back to the hotel. The suite had both a refrigerator and microwave…and even a Keurig coffee maker (although the K-cups were still hotel quality coffee.) After leaving the frigid cold temps of Minnesota I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to enjoy a walk in the warm evening air.

Carnival Legend - Travel

I envy folks who live close to the ports. For us we must endure the time and cost of the flights to Florida. It's not the closest airport for us, but Minneapolis/St. Paul is almost always the cheapest. So...we load up the car and drive the 3 ½ hours to get there. Zach, Matt and Marji all live in “the Cities” so at least they don’t have far to go. After checking airport parking costs I decided it would be easier and just about as cheap to spend the night in a hotel that has a park and fly package. 

After traveling through pouring rain we arrived at our destination...a Hampton Inn. A rainbow greeted us…surely this must be a good sign at the start of our vacation!

The evening was spent at the Mall of America and then some time in the hotel pool before bed. 

Bob watching the ferris wheel at the Mall of America.

Zach snorkeling in the hot tub. Little boys never seem to grow up.

A quick trip on the Hampton Inn shuttle the next morning and we are waiting at MSP for our flights.

Unfortunately Delta has switched our flight to a much smaller plane and is trying to bump 20 of the passengers. :eek: Zach argues that we should all give up our seats to get the $400 vouchers but I refuse. No way am I going to spend my first day of vacation sitting in an airport HOPING that we get out that day and HOPING that we make it to the ship on time…no thanks.

Marji passes the time by “fish tailing” Erica's hair. Not sure how she did this…but it was cool!

After carefully choosing our seats together online months ago we are all scattered throughout the plane when we are issued new boarding passes. 😠

Good Bye Paradise!

Sunday, June 20 – Back to Miami

After the confusion with the clocks on Friday night, I never did get around to turning back the one I had by the bed. When I awoke on Sunday morning I “thought” it was around 6:30 a.m. which meant I could just lay there for another hour before I had to get up and face going home. I debated about looking out the window to see if we truly were in Miami but nixed that idea. The sound of the anchor being lowered several hours earlier was enough to confirm that fact. I was just drifting back to sleep when the phone rang with our wake-up call. That was when reality hit…it was really an hour later and it “was” time to get up!

Kent and Laurel joined us for breakfast in the Paris restaurant. As we sat there talking we all agreed we had a fantastic week. A cruise is a great vacation regardless but we decided it was even more fun when you share it with friends.

We made one last stop in the cabin to grab what luggage we had left. The flying fish was still laying in the porthole window in Kent and Laurel’s room just waiting on the new passengers to board and join him for another cruise!

The four of us went to the casino to wait our turn to debark. Finally a little after 9:30 our color was the last to be called and we got off the ship. Luckily our luggage was in the correct section and it didn’t take long to find it all. Once outside the terminal we assumed we would need two cabs to get to the airport (too much luggage for all four of us to fit in one together.) A cab driver approached us and said he had a van and could take us all. It was a “very” tight fit, but he eventually crammed all of the suitcases into the vehicle and off we went.

Kent and Laurel were on a different airline for their flight back to Nashville so we said our good-byes on the sidewalk outside the airport. Our flight didn’t leave until 1:30 which gave us plenty of time…in fact it was a long boring wait. I had debated about trying to bring some room service sandwiches off the ship to eat while waiting but was scared I would get in trouble going through customs. We opted for Pizza Hut inside the airport, but it just wasn’t the same as the Paradise pizza!! I chuckled when I overheard a couple sitting next to us in the airport…they had also just gotten off the Paradise and he was already missing the ice cream machine!!

Good-bye Miami.

Our flight was on-time and other than waiting an extremely long time to pick up our luggage when we arrived back in Minneapolis, all went well. After a quick call to the hotel, the shuttle from the Wyndham was there in no time to get us and return us to our car. Driving home from Minneapolis took just about the same time as it did to fly all of the way from Miami…a long day.

Doing two cruises on the smoke-free Paradise has probably spoiled us. I think we will cruise again in the future, but Bob and Kent are already talking about the possibility of doing a week somewhere that they could scuba dive. I’m sure we will be looking into all-inclusive resorts. Bob and I are also Disney fans and it’s been four years since we were at Disney World…I’m thinking maybe a trip to see “the Mouse” might be a possibility too! Who knows!

Minneapolis - Let the Travels Begin

Friday, June 11th – Minneapolis

Flying out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota is most convenient for us…it is a small airport and only an hour away. Unfortunately flights out of Sioux Falls are almost always higher priced.  The last time we flew out of FSD, we had some free airline vouchers to use…this time we would be footing the whole bill and I did not want to pay as much for airfare as we did for a week long cruise!! Instead we decided to fly out of Minneapolis/St. Paul…a three and a half hour drive but worth it to save around $400 total!

  

We definitely wanted to fly a day early and I was able to find a direct flight on Northwest Airlines with very convenient times. I suppose we could have gotten up really early to drive to “the cities” for our flight, but with all we were saving on the flights we just decided to drive up the night before and not have to rush. The Wyndham Hotel offered a “park ‘n fly” option where for the price of a one night stay we could leave our car for a week while we cruised.

  

Our son had gotten married the week before the cruise and it occurred to me that we would be at the hotel near the airport on Friday night when the “newlyweds” would be flying in from their honeymoon. They had previously made arrangements for a friend to pick them up, but hey…we were going to be there and we could get them!

Bob took the day off on Friday and we left home around 10 a.m to head to “the Cities”. Our son had left his car at a friend’s house north of Minneapolis so we swung by there to pick it up before heading to the Wyndham Hotel. 

Our son's flight was due around 6 p.m. so our plan was to pick them up, go out to eat and then send them on their way home. At precisely 6 p.m. a huge thunderstorm struck the Twin Cities. We waited and waited and finally around 7 p.m. we got a call…”Mom, we are in Duluth!” Their flight had been diverted. Not knowing when they would finally arrive, Bob and I drove over to the Mall of America, grabbed a bite to eat and enjoyed shopping in one of the world’s largest malls!

The call finally came around 10:15 p.m. that they had landed. The mall is right by the airport so we buzzed over and picked them up. By then they were exhausted and just wanted to get back to their apartment…an hour away. They came back to our hotel briefly and then took their car and left. I was disappointed we didn’t get to spend more time together but glad we did get a brief visit before we left on the cruise.