Day 1 (May-4, Wednesday) Fly to Ft Lauderdale Fl

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All the planning and preparation is over, the bags have been packed nearly to bursting, and the only thing left is to have fun and relaxation on the trip. There was only one non-stop flight from St Louis (it arrives in Florida just 30 minutes before the ship sails) so we decided not to risk connections on cruise-day and we came down here a day early. That took the “last minute stress” out of the vacation and we will have plenty of time tomorrow to board the ship. So today started the vacation, but we don't get to the ship until tomorrow.

We got to the airport today in plenty of time (thanks to Elizabeth driving us), the flight on Southwest to Florida was a little bumpy as we approach the landing but uneventful, and both we and the luggage got to the hotel without incidents. Surprisingly there were 4 dogs on the flight as well as a quite a few children. Fortunately they were all fairly quiet most of the flight. While crossing part of Alabama, the pilot had everone look at the long wide stripe of brown earth (running southwest to northeast) which was the track of one of the recent tornados.

Ft Lauderdale is well prepared to handle tourists. We got the luggage fairly well, contacted the hotel for pickup, and got delivered in a fairly reasonable time (considering it was rush hour here). After checking in, we took the complimentary shuttle to a restaurant (Tropical Acres) and had a delicious dinner. Janet had beef tenderloin with mushroom sauce and David had a fresh shrimp and scallop pasta. Both were really delicious, but we still had room to share a slice of cheesecake. Then it was back to the hotel on the shuttle and we are now settled in for a quiet evening before starting tomorrows cruise.

Sorry - no pictures today, but there will probably be some soon.

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