Jan 03/12: Airport Drama & Ft. Lauderdale

January 03, 2012: Airport Drama & Ft. Lauderdale

We had a wakeup call for 7 am. Then a 2nd one at 7:15 am. We had a quick shower, drank the juice from yesterday, each ate a mandarin and shared an apple that I had brought from home. Closed up our bags and headed out to the lineup for check in. At first it moved really slowly because there only a few people at the check in counters, but then more came on and things sped right up. Checked our 1 piece of luggage ($25) and then headed through security. 

We decided to walk the 1/2 mile to Gate A10, since we had time, check in, and then grab a breakfast. When we got to A10 we found out that the gate had been changed and was not at the complete opposite end of the terminal. The agent advised us that the plane was already starting the preboarding so we had better hurry. This meant we had no time for breakfast! We took the minitrain to the end and then walked back to the new gate. When we checked in we told them we had had to run there as had been at the old gate since no-one told us. We were upgraded to first class!!!! I guess being late has its advantages (Ha! Ha!). Dad thought we might not get any of the perks, but they treated us just like any other first class passenger. Then Dad ruined it all by taking his breakfast bowl (we had Shreddies & milk, a croissants, fresh fruit, yogurt & juice) and drinking the leftover milk out of it - I guess I have to send him to etiquette school too! The attendant was one of the best we have ever had. Dad liked it so much he decided we should the extra $$ to come back first class also. They were handing out forms for a Delta Amex card that would give us a free flight ( bonus points) free bag checking and discounts, so we decided to sign up for one. We could not get it activated on the plane though, had to wait until later.

Anyway, we got off the plane in Ft. Lauderdale. It was sunny, but cool & windy. The temp was about 50F, but the wind, which was cold, made it feel much colder. We waited outside for the shuttle bus to the hotel, but it was taking a long time. We decided I should run back into the terminal and see if there was a place to phone the hotel... of course as soon as I called the lady said it should be there 'now, and of course when I ran back out there it was. Dad was ' holding the bus'. We got on, and went to the hotel. It is not fancy, but for one night it is OK. Tomorrow we will get a free breakfast and a free shuttle to the pier to get on the boat, so those are good things.

We had to wait about 20 minutes for our room, and when we got in we basically dumped our stuff and decided to go to the closest shopping center to pick up a few things we had not packed on purpose. Turned out it was only a block away, so of course we walked there. We found a sort of discount store and bought some stuff. Dad decided we should bring it back to the room right away because it was liquid (mouthwash) and heavy and he didn't want to carry it all over, so back we went. Then we returned to continue. Bought a few other things, then looked for sulphur powder. Of course could not find any (even found a home depot there which had lots of garden plants and  stuff like herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers etc. but no sulfur.)

Now, you may be wondering why I wanted stinky sulphur - because a friend that just came back from Brazil said the chiggers were bad and that the insect repellents didn't work to keep them off, not even Deet, but putting sulphur in a sock and then applying it to yourself kept them away ( probably along with everyone and everything else!) .  Dad was relieved - he didn't want me to get all stinky! As we continued along, we came to this very quaint 50's style diner. We went inside and checked out their menu and decided we HAD to come back there for supper tonight. I was still determined to get sulphur though, and since there was also a Kmart I thought we should check it out on the way back - and guess what - they had it! Only it was pellet form so it was of no use to me. Dad was even more relived.

Since they sell liquor in the stores here we decided to look for some in Kmart. Dad went off & found some and put several in the cart. Meanwhile I was trying to get the sales clerk to tell me the price of 2 covers for the nook (which of course had no tags) - which took forever. Dad was getting very fed up. I looked at the selection of wines and wondered if there was anywhere else we could get a better selection. The clerk told us there was a BJ's (like a Costco) literally right next door, and so off we went. Dad was pissed off because he had picked out the wines and I made him put them back because I said we shouldn't buy them until we had checked out BJ’s first. Then if they didn't have anything good we could always come back and buy it. Dad pouted because he said it had wasted his time, and he wanted to go back already. As things turned out BJ’s had a much better selection and much better prices. Even Dad was impressed and said it was good we had come. We bought 6 large bottles of yellowtail (Merlot, Cab-Shiraz, and Chardonnay) and 1 little one. We paid about the same for the large bottles that we would pay at home for a small bottle (actually less), and 7.99 for the small bottle (Gewürztraminer). We had to go to customer service because we were not members, but they allow non-members to buy if they pay an extra 15% on top of the price. As it turned out, there were NO extra charges on the bottles so we got them at member price after all. We got them all for $67... What a deal!

Then Dad realized we would have to carry them all the way back to the hotel. I told him to just put them in a cart and we would return the cart as we had to come that way to go back to the diner for supper. Of course he was stubborn and decided to carry them in a cardboard box (I carried one big & the little one in a cloth bag I brought from home). About 3/4 of the way there I finally managed to get him to put them in a cart (from another store that was left in the parking lot) and we pushed it the rest of the way. We plopped everything in the hotel room and turned around to the diner for supper.

We took Dad's camera with us so we could take some pictures of it since we thought it was so neat. When we got there we discovered that the battery was dead, so... no pictures. I was so frustrated that I left Dad there to wait for me and walked back to the hotel as fast as I could to get my camera instead. I got to the corner and realized I had no card to get in the room so I hurried back to the restaurant to get Dad's. There were 3 young ladies (waitresses) hanging around him, and he seemed to be having fun. I said I had sneaked back in to check up on him and see if he was being good. Everyone thought that was very funny. I went to the hotel, got the camera and by the time I got back it was already getting dark. Too a few pictures outside, then a few inside. They had this neat Coca-Cola clock on the wall by the counter that reminded me of the one we had at home. Anyway, we had a really good meal- plain food but good. Splurged on a big dessert which we shared- brownie ice crème sundae with lots of fudge sauce. We were stuffed! Good thing we had that long walk back to the hotel to work some of it off.

Once we were back in our room we had to repack things so we could carry them to the boat tomorrow (well I guess technically today!). Dad fell asleep early while I tried to get this AMEX form completed on-line. Turns out that we think you have to have a US address (read fine print), although we were told that is not necessary. Talked to them (AMEX) and they gave me another number to call tomorrow morning to see if there was any way to get it done after all  so we could use it to pay for the upgrade on our return flights. Will see then. Then checked email (free WiFi here!) & downloaded the manuals for the new camera so I can figure out how to use it!  As you can see I am having trouble sleeping. Guess I am too excited, plus I feel itchy in the bed. It's now 4 am so I guess I will send this off and see if I can get a couple of hours of sleep after all. We get up officially at 8, then have the free breakfast, and get on the shuttle for the boat at 10:30 am. We board the boat, hopefully at 11, and then our adventure really begins!

Well, will give you another update tomorrow.

Take care you guys, love you both.

Mom & Dad