We dropped off Pippen at the dog sitters as Jason and
Sharon’s dog Wriggly was sick. We got a
text that our plane was going to be an hour late, but we still went to the
airport so that we could be protected on later flights from Atlanta to FT.
Lauderdale.
As we are writing this, Wriggly is ok and Sharon is picking
up Pippen from the sitters – thanks to Jason and Sharon for watching Pippen for
us.
Anyway, we arrived at the airport at about 10:30am and there
was a mess there as the 6am flight had been delayed due to a fuel leak. Our plane was also delaye
We had a 4pm flight from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale and they
waitlisted us on a 5pm flight and were able to confirm seats on a 7pm flight.
Finally at about 1:30pm, both planes arrived with ½ hours of
each other and the Delta staff sorted everyone out and we took off.
We arrived in time to just make it to the gate for the 5pm
flight and were 5th and 6th on the wait list. We were going to be able to get on except
they had no room for our carry-ons. We
did not want to do that due to what we had in our bags.
We then went to eat, got on our 7pm flight and had an
uneventful flight to Miami.
The Marriott shuttle took us to the hotel, only 5 minutes
away and we were in our room by 11:00pm.
They had upgraded us to a suite and it was very nice. It is too bad we are only staying here for
two nights.
Day 2 – Feburary 22
What a beautiful day it was in Miami when we woke up 80
degrees and clear.
We went to the Executive Lounge and had breakfast and then
since it was partly cloudy, we walked about 1/2 hour to a market where we
bought Pepsi, then Barb found a store and bought a pair of slacks and finally
we found a liquor store and bought a bottle of Kahula to take on the ship.
We found a great Cuban restaurant for lunch and then walked
took a Uber back to the hotel.
By then it was 1:30pm and we went out by the pool and stayed
in the sun until 4:30pm, just relaxing and enjoying.
I think this is the first time ever that we did not have
something major to do during the day or evening so we just relaxed and it was
great.
For dinner we went to a wonderful, very local Latin
restaurant and really enjoyed the food.
There
is no question, that in this area, English is a second language and in some
shops, not spoken at all!
Then it was back to the hotel to just relax and be ready to
board the ship tomorrow.
Day 3 – Feburary 23
Again, what a wonderful day it was in Miami. After breakfast, we got ready and left the
hotel via an Uber ride and arrived at the ship at a little past ten.
Check in was a breeze and after leaving our luggage in our
room, we went to the back of the ship for lunch, sitting outside and enjoying
the weather.
There was a fire drill at 2:45pm and after that we went up
to the top deck and made our reservation at the hot glass workshop. Tomorrow in the late afternoon we will
actually get to participate in making a glass piece – it should be fun.
The casino had a welcome get together and so we went and
talked with our Host, Demi, who we have sailed with before and also the Casino
Manager Daniela, again who we had been with before.
We went to the show which was supposed to be a comedian, but
someone forgot to tell him that he was supposed to by funny – he wasn’t so we
left and went to the casino and said hi to so many of the dealers and pit
bosses that we had met on previous cruises.
Then it was time for dinner and we met 2 new couples, one
from Maryland and the other from Northern Illinois. It will be an interesting week eating with
them. We’ll have to wait to see how it
works out.
Then it was on to the casino where Ed had a nice win to
start with and Barb lost just a little on the exact same machine that she won
two $1,600 jackpots last fall.
Tomorrow we arrive in Key West – it will be fun.
Night
 |
| Waiting at Bloomington Airport - thanks Delta for the rocking chair!! |
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| Having an omlette made for breakfast |
 |
| A wonderful Rum - better than Kahula!! |
 |
Grilled Salmon, green plantains, yucca and it was great!! |
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| Port, red plantains, beans and rice - another wonderful meal!! |
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| The view from our room at the Marriott From here down the pictures are a little out of order |
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| Lunch |
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| On the way to the ship |
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| Barb did't like Ed's desert last night!!! |
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| Going out for the evening |
