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[Principessa_di_Fata]

Originally Posted by Coop

Meds and sunscreen. You don't want a migraine or a burn! Have a super fun, safe trip!

Oh yes, I've got all of my meds with me, and sunscreen is absolutely on the list, too!

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Glad to hear you weren't skipping the unmentionables!! It is a kid-free trip, afterall....

HAHAHAHAHA! This made me laugh clear out loud.

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

This pretty much sold me to stay on the ship.

Have a fabulous time! Sounds like everything is about ready!

I love staying on the ship while in port (depending on the port, of course).

Originally Posted by rlb38

A corkscrew ? I don't recall there being one in our cabin . Not much longer now!

I don't think I'm allowed to take one on the plane. That's something I should look into.

Originally Posted by KMB733

I think you've got everything covered and sounds like you are all set to go!!! Hope you have an awesome trip!!!

I'm beyond ready. Napping in the sun... ahhhhhhhhhh.

[Dlandmom2]

Have a super duper great time! Sorry I've been so crazy busy that I haven't been able to keep up with everything! I know you'll have a blast! Take lots of pictures for us!

[chezp]

Too funny about the unmentionables! I don't think a corkscrew's an option either in carry-on luggage.

[rlb38]

Screw cap wine it is then !

[Grammy Grumpy]

Today is the day! Have fun, relax and come back safely.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Hey all!!! I'm here in my hotel in Ft. Lauderdale! And thus the trip begins!!

I set my alarm for 6:10am, and woke up to find Meri in my bed. I wasn’t surprised to find her there, but I was surprised that I slept through her climbing in! I left her snoozing and I got up and hopped in the shower.

Once showered and dressed, I packed up my phone charger and my plastic bag of liquids (my facial lotion and eye cream) and went to go get Meri up. She got up with no problem and was very excited and anxious all at once. I got her dressed, and did a last check to make sure that I had everything (passport, check card, camera, phone and laptop were the key items – everything else was replaceable). Then we all hopped in the car – grabbing Meri’s “Wednesday” envelope along the way.

Meri held the envelope all the way to the airport, and she kept asking if she could open it NOW! I told her she had to wait until they had dropped me off, of course. I sat with Meri in the back seat, and when we got to the airport, she got just a little anxious as I kissed her goodbye. I reminded her that we would Skype when she got home, and that the trip would pass quickly (quicker than I’d like, I’m sure), and when I came home, I’d have some surprises for her. That did the trick! I grabbed my bags, got out of the car, and did a last check at the curb before mom pulled away, to make sure that I had the passport, laptop, phone, camera and check card, lol.

It was weird to go to a different terminal… United is in the C gates, and Delta is B… so I felt a little like a fish out of water as I went through the main security gate. I didn’t like it I tell you what, lol. The line was endless, though it actually moved quite quickly. I was through security in a flash, and I headed to my gate – B30. At this point it was 8:03, and I knew we’d be boarding somewhere around 8:10, so I had plenty of time to grab Starbucks. Another long line that moved incredibly quickly. $5.25 later I had my tall latte and a croissant, and I called mom on the way to the gate.

We had initially thought that Meri would be a few minutes late to school, so mom planned on walking her over in order to check her in. I had already emailed the teacher to let her know that Meri may be late, so that was covered. Once the second bell rings at 8:00am, the doors lock and you have to go through the office and sign in, in order to get your child to class! They don’t mess around! Apparently they JUST made it! Mom said she walked Meri to the door, kissed her, and as Meri ran into the foyer of the school, the bell rang. PHEW!
I walked up to the gate, and they were just boarding first class. Since my seat was in the front of economy (9A) I had the first boarding group after first class. Not bad! So I walked up and my group was called a minute later!

I got on board and there was someone in the aisle seat, eyes closed. Oh dear. I put my bag up in the overhead bin, and then tapped him. He asked me if I’d care to switch seats with him, because he planned on sleeping for the entire flight, as he got no sleep last night. At first I was going to keep my seat, but then I realized I had a cup of coffee and planned on getting an OJ when the cart came around… and I just KNEW that if I was blocked in, I would automatically need to go to the bathroom… so I agreed to switch.

I took a few notes on my croissant bag, because I forgot to pack a notepad. Oops! I’ll grab one on my Walgreens run, though, because I’m going to need one to take notes throughout the trip! Otherwise I won’t remember a thing! The flight was really empty in my area because I was in economy plus (at no extra charge - because the row in front of the exit row doesn't recline, I guess they figure they won't charge an upgrade fee?) with one person per row, and in some cases, two, but definitely no more than that. Some rows were completely empty. It felt nice, I have to say. In the regular economy section it was still not particularly crowded, but moreso than up front.

While we taxied to the runway, there was this really annoying hydraulic noise. And I have to tell you, we taxied so long that I started to wonder if we were going to drive to Ft. Lauderdale!!! Finally the captain came on the intercom to explain the annoying noise. He said that it’s typical of an Airbus, that it would go away before takeoff, and it was nothing to worry about. He said they call it their “barking dog”, and he’s right, that’s exactly what it sounded like.

Fortunately, the noise DID stop, and we took off. Once in the air, I took out my laptop to type up my TR notes so I didn't have to rely on a paper bag, lol, and listened to my iPod. I saw that my battery was pretty low because I had used it last night without it being plugged in (stupid me) and didn’t charge it overnight – I automatically packed it before bed, without thinking about that. That’ll teach me. I won’t make that mistake again, lol! There’s wifi on this plane but no power outlet at my seat, so I decided not to pay to use the internet (which frankly at $12 is overpriced for barely 2 hours of use anyway).

The flight attendant came around with drinks, and I got an orange juice, since I was still working on my latte. I also got a choice of pretzels, peanuts or a cookie. I chose the pretzels. After a while of tapping away on the laptop, messing around in some documents and whatnot, I shut down, put the laptop away and laid my head back to listen to the music and relax.

Before I knew it, we were landing, and then I was off the plane and outside in the beautiful weather! It was 76 when we landed and now it's 80. It's absolutely gorgeous out! Alas, I'm in the hotel, putting in 4 hours of work! I'll finish up at 5pm and then I plan on grabbing a bite to eat and taking a nice long nap. Toni will land at 830, and then when she arrives we'll head out to a restaurant to grab a late bite. We were going to go to a movie but I see that I was mistaken on the distances between things, and it's just not nearby.

In good news, the beach is a 1.5 mile walk... so we are considering walking there early in the morning (not TOO early). It would be roughly an hour round trip, plus maybe 15 minutes with our feet in the sand. Our shuttle to the port is at 1130am, so we should have tons of time.

I didn't really take many pix, but I'll post some room photos later on! Gotta knock out some work first! Forgive me for not responding to individual posts at this point... I'll have internet on the ship and will likely pop on to post a fast update once a day, but with the ridiculous cost of internet, I won't be spending a lot of time on here once on the ship.

Have a great day!

[chezp]

Glad you made it down there safely!

[num1DVCfan]

Glad you made it safely! The weather sounds gorgeous, I can think of a lot worse places to have to do some work

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you made it!

[Principessa_di_Fata]

After work, I took a little walk to the shopping center a couple of blocks away. It was a little windy but a lovely walk. I had on light sweats and a tshirt and was perfectly comfortable.

After walking and walking and walking around this outdoor shopping center, I FINALLY found what I was looking for... Firehouse Subs. I love their cheesesteak sub! MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMM! The cute little cashier guy was flirting with me. I was highly amused, as I'm easily old enough to be his mother. Still, it was flattering and charming, lol.

I was THRILLED to see that they had sweet tea, so I got a large drink and brought my food back to the room where I ate while watching NCIS. I had to laugh at myself, speaking of crime shows... on the way back to the hotel, there was an alleyway between shopping centers, and it would have provided quite a shortcut back to the hotel, and I considered it... and then said thought to myself, This is the part where I scream at the idiot on the tv, saying, 'DO NOT TAKE THE SHORTCUT YOU TWIT!' shortly before they take said shortcut and are kidnapped and never heard from again. Needless to say, I decided to skip the shortcut. I'm sure it would have been perfectly fine, however, I wasn't willing to run the risk, just in case.

Now I'm relaxing. I think I'm going to take a snooze for a little while, and then I'll take a nice bath. When Toni gets here, we're going to watch Criminal Minds, and then we'll run down to the Walgreens real fast to get a few necessities. Then we'll paint our toes, and after they're dry, we'll hit the sheets, I think.

I am so excited for tomorrow! It's been so long since I've been on a cruise ship! Too long! I have a feeling this is going to make me book another cruise some time in 2013... lol.

[B.M.]

Sounds like the trip is off to a great start!

[chezp]

I'm like that as well - screaming at the TV, "don't do it, you know what's going to happen!" I think I'd have made the same decision as you....

[num1DVCfan]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that thinks like that! Maybe we've just watched too many CSI type shows I would have taken the longer route too.

[KMB733]

Glad you made it safely to Florida! It's because of the crime shows that I watch that I never talk on a cell phone while walking alone or go jogging through the park (you know there is always a dead body!)

[MayraLR]

Glad you made it safely to Florida!
About the shortcut. You forgot to mention when the person (usually a woman) realizes she's being followed, she starts running and falls. Then she takes a ridiculously long time to get up. And that's when they get her.