Cruisin' 2014

Cruise Minus 1 day ...

03 May 2014

Yesterday, Tyler and I drove to Halifax so I could fly out Saturday morning for my “exotic Western Caribbean” cruise aboard the Carnival Conquest. After the long winter we just endured, I need this!

The drive was pleasant, and we arrived without incident. Emily was waiting for us, and I finally got to meet their zoo- the soft and nervous chinchillas, and the beautiful tabbies, Princess (well named!) and Garnet (so tiny!) . We had a fabulous meal at a great all-you-eat Japanese restaurant, Tyler did a little stint as tour guide (the area has built up so much I didn't recognize anything), and back to their place for sleep.

Up obscenely early on Saturday for a pre-dawn drive to the airport. The fog was incredible – Stephen King fog. But, as usual, it lifted with the sun, and it was a clear day. Thanked Tyler -again- for his help, and off I went, into the wild blue yonder.

Have you ever flown Delta? Seems nice enough, but they charge for even the first bag, and there was no in-flight entertainment on either leg of the journey- no audio, no movie/TV, not even a newspaper handed out. It was a small jet (CRJ700, I think?), but comfy enough. I snoozed most of the way to NY, anyway. LaGuardia is much smaller than I had expected for an airport in NYC, so navigations were easy. It was amusing that after you left the plane- on the tarmac, because it's too small to gate- they loaded us all on buses, and drove us to the terminal doors... about 50 yards away! LOL! We had all cleared US customs in Halifax, so I guess this was the extent of the security check. Had a long laylover, but there are thousands of iPad stations with free internet everywhere. (Mind you, if you want to use your own device, there is a fee for the internet.) Boarded the jet for Ft Lauderdale and was pleased to discover that it was only about 1/2 full. Had a row to myself, so it was a very comfortable flight ... until we hit the storms over Florida. We ended up circling for a long time (interspersed with occasional attempts to land) before we finally got the all-clear and landed at one very wet airport. I collected my bag and went outside to wait for the shuttle. Ahhhhh!!! It was like getting smacked in the face with a wool blanket that had been soaked in boiling water. Yep, it was Florida, and it felt wonderful! It was a short ride to the Courtyard Marriot, and I was settled in my nice room quite quickly.

There was a restaurant in the hotel, but a lovely Norweigan couple on the bus told me about a seafood place next door, so I headed there. I was somewhat taken aback by the “no firearms”sign at the entrance, but it was a good call! Had a truly delicious meal – Key West shrimp in a lobster alfredo on linguine. Mmmmm!

It was a long day, so headed back to the hotel for an early night. Tomorrow, I cruise!!