The Adventure Begins

Today has been a long day that started last night.

New Year's Day for me was spent packing and doing last-minute shopping for our family cruise. This is an adventure for our family because, whereas most of us have cruised together in couples, we have never cruised all together before. (Let's see if I stay sane throughout the journey.) When my daughter and I finally got out of the house, we drove to my brother's place to watch a movie, eat Asian take-out and spend the night.

We went to bed at around 9:30 pm with the plan to awaken at 4:30 the next morning, but I was awake around 2:30. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get back to sleep. Maybe I missed my dog being cuddled up next to my feet. Maybe I was just nervous about travelling all the next day. Nevertheless, I lay awake and, try as I might, sleep refused to embrace me.

As I lay in bed, a thought occurred to me, "Did I pack my formal gown?" No, I did not. "Should I try to drive back to the house to get it?" The thought of getting out of a nice, warm bed to drive in subfreezing temperatures for half an hour in each direction did not appeal to me. Rushing and worrying I would not be back to my brother's house in time to catch a ride to the airport appealed to me even less. I decided to wait for my sister in-law to awaken so that I could ask if she had a dress I could borrow. My last-minute decision was a good one. I will wear a borrowed dress on the formal night of the cruise. (Hurray for Amy!)

The airport was very busy today. People were all travelling home after the holidays. I must have looked like a suspicious character...or maybe a sleek and sophisticated international spy (?)... because I needed a pat-down by an airport security officer after posing in one of the new airport sceurity scanners. This was immediately after my daughter and I flirted with the older gentleman security officer who checked our travel documents, though, so maybe the lady officer was really just looking to get lucky (?). Funny thing is that when I got my back back from luggage, there was a note inside of it stating that it had also been randomly checked. How strange is that?

On our flight to Orlando, I sat next to a lady who was going to Disney World with her husband and their seven year-old twin daughters. It was really a pleasure to sit next to her and talk about her children and their first trip to the theme park. It reminded me of my own trip to Disney World with my husband and children, years ago. Ahh.... The good old days.

On the flight between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, I sat beside a gentleman who was on his way to a contract job in Ecquador. He was pretty chatty for a man, but also very pleasant. I graced him with the favor of allowing him to translate some Spanish directions on the back of the seat in front of me. :-)

Guess what? When we walked out of the Fort Lauderdale airport into the Florida winter, there were no subfreezing temperatures anywhere nearby! The weather when we landed was 80 degrees F (26.67 degrees C).

The four of us stopped between Fort Lauderdale and Miami for a late lunch at a little restaurant in not such a good-looking area of Fort Lauderdale. The pico de gallo had cumin in it, which is not my preference, but the owner of the place was right there working and he took several minutes to speak and interact with us. He gave us some recommendations for places to eat dinner in Miami, and suggested we visit South Beach while we are here.

Tonight, more family arrived and we went out to dinner. Then after dinner my parents wanted to sip a glass of champagne and take a family photo to commemorate the occasion of this family cruise. Now, I am comfortably resting in my hotel room, about to fall to sleep after a very long day of travel, as occasional airplanes whoosh into or out of the nearby airport.

Tomorrow morning, we will likely do some Miami sightseeing before we head out to our cruise ship. Fear not! I will jot notes and, hopefully, a few stories for your amusement. (I will also take photos.) But it will likely be several days before I am able to post the stories to my blog. Please check back around January 8th.