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! 

Let's Get This Show on the Road

Thursday, February 26

Living so far away from ANY port, I always plan to arrive a day early for a cruise. There are just too many things that can go wrong…especially in the winter…and missing the ship is not how I want my vacation to start. But…since we fly from MSP which is three hours away, our travels usually start two days ahead.

We drove up to Minneapolis on Thursday morning and took advantage of being in the city to do a little shopping before checking into our hotel late in the afternoon. Our son had used his connections to get us two rooms (for us and J & K) near the airport for a very good price. Even better…the stay also included parking for the duration of our trip. He had taken care of all of the arrangements and all I had was his email saying that everything was set.

The hotel was very busy when we checked in and customers were being turned away because there were no rooms available. I gave the girl at the front desk our confirmation numbers and she searched, and searched, and searched, but couldn’t find our reservations. I showed her the email I had printed from the general manager and she was even more confused.

Eventually the front desk manager was called into service and it turned out that the general manager had made our reservations for the same dates in January…not February. My head was spinning as I tried to think of what we were going to do. We could probably find another hotel, but not one that was willing to let us leave our car for 16 days!

I am happy to report that the story had a happy ending. In spite of the hotel being “full”, she found us two connecting rooms overlooking the pool! Their long-term parking area was at capacity, but we left our keys and they would take care of moving our car when space was available.

Disaster averted! By the time J & K arrived, everything was right with the world and we were ready to start our vacation! After dinner at TGI Fridays and hanging out around the pool, we were off to bed knowing the next day would be starting early.   

A trip to paradise with special friends...life is good!

Prelude to the Carnival Glory Cruise

I fully admit it...I am addicted to trip planning. At any given time I may have two or three different journeys being planned in my head...on a spreadsheet...or on little scraps of paper floating around my desk. Only a tiny percentage of these ever evolve into "real" travel...but that doesn't stop me from planning. For some that would be a disappointment, but not for me. To an addict, research is almost as fun as the trip itself AND I can make the process last for months. The actual trip is over in a blink of an eye.

So...as soon as we returned from our Alaskan trip in June, it was time to start looking for the next cruise. My criteria for searching this time? 1. It had to be cheap. The Alaska trip was planned as a “trip of a lifetime” so I didn’t worry too much about costs. (Although I am already thinking it would be fun to go again!) 2. Schedule the trip so that our friends J & K could join us. J is a farmer and trying to plan around planting season and harvest and hog breeding cycles, etc. gets tricky.

Multiple spreadsheets were created showing various itineraries, costs, ship design, etc. and eventually the choice was narrowed down to one we all agreed on…a Carnival cruise to the Western Caribbean the first week of March.

Besides planning, my other obsession is getting the best possible price on ANYTHING! So…we waited…and I watched the prices. At Halloween, Carnival ran a special for 36 hours with fantastic prices. I was ready to book until I realized that airfare and hotel costs in Florida are outrageous for that time of year…SPRING BREAK!

So…as long as we were going to be stuck with expensive airfare, there was only one logical choice. Book TWO cruises back-to-back! J & K would join us on the first leg and Bob and I would go it alone for he second. Yay!! 

The cruises were booked on the Carnival Glory which alternates routes between the Western and Eastern Caribbean. Eight ports in two weeks. Only two of the ports would be "new" to us, but I was excited to take J & K to some of the places that we have enjoyed in the past.

Week #1 (February 28 to March 7)Western Caribbean

Week #2 (March 7 to March 14)Eastern Caribbean

You can click on the links below to go to the posts for each day:

Let's Get This Show on the Road

Traveling to Florida

Bon Voyage: Embarkation Day on the Glory

First Sea Day...and Formal Night

Cozumel

Belize

Roatan

Grand Cayman

Last Sea Day of Week 1

Turnaround Day in Miami

Half Moon Cay

First Sea Day of Week 2

St. Thomas

San Juan

Grand Turk

Our Last Sea Day...and then HOME!

Prairie Sunsets

It has been nearly four decades since I moved to Minnesota as a young bride. And although the prairie has a beauty all of its own, I still miss the hills and trees from Southern Illinois where I grew up. I remember shortly after arriving at our new home in the late 1970's, I told my husband..."the sky is bigger here." Traveling across the flat prairie your eyes can go from one horizon to the other with nothing to block the view. 

Through the years and especially now that I am retired and move at a slower pace, I have enjoyed watching the prairie sky. With winters that seem to stretch on forever, the colorful evening sunsets are a special treat at the end of the short days. I don't know if they really are that much more colorful or vivid than a summer sunset...perhaps they just seem that way when the rest of the world is in black and white.

My kitchen window faces to the west and often as I am busy preparing dinner, I will glance out and notice the orange glow beginning to cross the lake. That is my signal to grab my camera and quickly walk the short distance to the shoreline. I try my best to capture the beauty of the moment in a photograph that will last, while at the same time giving thanks to God for creating such a work of art! 

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

(Psalm 19:1)

A Good Time in the Badlands

Although the purpose of this blog is to record MY souvenir memories, I am going to make an exception to tell you a little about Bob's weekend.

Bob was invited to join Zach and five of his friends for a weekend of camping and backpacking the the Badlands of South Dakota. My sole involvement was to provide clean sheets and breakfast for the group as they made an overnight stop here on Thursday night enroute to S.D.  

From Bob's report, the weekend was a success. Daytime weather was sunny and somewhat pleasant...nights were in the low 20's and chilly...especially since he slept on the ground with no tent. They enjoyed some beautiful sunsets...