Cruise

  Thanksgiving 2009, Keith and I had our most fantastic vacation.We drove to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, went on a cruise to Nassau, Bahamas, spent Thanksgiving day on the beach, toured the Everglades, and visited family in Lakeland.


   Of course, we got a late start. If we had left Friday evening, then Saturday would have been spent relaxing at Mehl manor. Instead, we arrived just in time for kisses goodnight on Saturday. Using my sister's as a quick pit stop, by 5am we were up and ready for our 15 hour drive. Well, I thought it was 5am, but when I walked outside and the sun was up I knew something was wrong. The clock in the guest bedroom was an hour slow, and I never looked at any other. Maybe fate knew I needed the extra hour of sleep.

   It was a fun drive. Luckily, people mistake the route marker for the speed limit on 95, so we did make it to Ft. Lauderdale in time. Heavy rains in Georgia almost caused us to miss our registration, but we arrived with 10 minutes to spare.

   Our actual hotel was across town. By the time we checked-in, took bags to our room, and changed into flip-flops, it was 11:00 and we were starving. we walked out of the hotel toward some bright lights and found a charming diner. It was the first time Keith had breakfast in the middle of the night.

   The next day we drove to Weston for the required "time-share" tour. The presenters did a nice job and it wasn't awful. We had breakfast and lunch and a nice guy drove us around to see the sights. He kept wanting to talk about the "package" but we were obsessed with the palm trees.

   Then it was back to Ft. Lauderdale to board the ship. Getting on the boat was an experience - not nearly as easy as I had imagined. But I signed up for the onboard vacation plan talk and we were bumped to the front of every line. We also were fed again. I have a hard time saying no so the talk took longer than it should have, but I finally go my voucher for cruise cash.

   The voucher made snorkeling in the Caribbean the next morning affordable. Snorkeling was AMAZING! We enjoyed the whole trip; from the speedboat ride and entertaining safety lesson to swimming in the sea. Keith and I are both good swimmers and had a blast. Diving into a school of colorful fish is awesome.

   We were adventurous for lunch and had conch fritters even though neither of us are big fans of sea food. One thing I loved about going on a cruise at Thanksgiving were the Christas decorations on the palm trees. it added an extra air of whimsy. Eating conch fritters under a Christmas tree was weird.
After lunch we took a loooong walk. We saw a lot, but got very tired and hot. We were searching for a better beach but ended up back where we started.  The water of the Caribbeaan is incredibly warm and calm and blue.

  That night I was all for going to bed early, but Keith said we had to go out and experience the night life on the ship. I kept him up till the wee hours of the morning dancing. We finally called it quits when drunk ladies tried to dance with him. I guess some people don't go to bed at all on cruises.
We stood in the rain as we entered Ft. Lauderdale again. And then sat in the rain waiting to get off the ship. Warning -  exiting a cruise ship into the U.S. is no picnic. Make sure you have snacks and games.

  My favorite parts of the cruise were the hot tub and breakfast. Having breakfast on deck while we steamed into Nassau was unforgettable.

 


When we arived at the hotel that day we collapsed exhausted onto beds. We missed the only bit of sunshine. We sat in the hot tub in the rain for a while. We went to the grocery store for supplies and had dinner in front of the tv - not very exciting.

  The next day we hit the Ft. Lauderdale beach. It was pretty quiet, probably because people were eating turkey with family. We had turkey sandwiches under a palm tree. The water was bluer and calmer than we have seen on the East coast. We paddled up and down the shore. Most memorable Thanksgiving ever!

   We went downtown Thanksgiving night and walked along the canal looking at Chistmas lights and yachts.  Next time we visit we are taking a little cruise on the canals. That seems the best way to see Ft. Lauderdale.





Friday was our day in the Everglades. I could not believe the birds. I had trouble keeping up with traffic through Alligator Alley because I was looking in the trees. To see how our day went view the animoto.

 
We had one day in Lakeland to visit with Keith's grandfather and great aunts and uncles - yes, they are snow birds. I felt bad about the time limit so we did nt leave until late. Therefore, we had kind of a horrific trip back north. We drove all night and arrived mid day back at my sister's. A nap and a meal later we hit the road for NY. We shouldn't have bothered. The Sunday after Thanksgiving traffic was horrendous and it took us about 14 hours to make the 8 hour trip.
  Despite the rotten ending, this was definitely a fabulous adventure. I'm so lucky to have a great son to share good times with.