Off to Florida!

---

Retirement isn't always as easy as one might think. Sometimes I find it necessary to get up earlier than normal, like before 8am. Today it was 5:30am. I don't like it when the alarm goes off and it's still dark outside. It's just not right. Karen has done all the packing this past week for both of us. I may not have a certain shirt or pair of shoes I like but by her filling the suitcases without my help or approval, it provides me the freedom to complain about having too much stuff and something that I needed all while having to do absolutely nothing. Yes, there's some risk but it's outweighed by my ability to watch TV and just relax throughout this past week of preparation.
This morning she's running around yelling, "Where's my Medicine?" and "Don't let the cats out!" to which I reply, "Can't you see I'm trying to watch the news?" I think we both need a vacation. Larry and Louann (L & L Limo Service) arrive early and load up our four bags. The rain is really coming down, just another reason I should be in bed right now. Karen makes one more run through the house, checking to see that the two cats, Mancoon and Azul, are comfy by setting the thermostat to 65F. "I hope you have stock in PGE." Actually, we do. It's 7am when we roll out of our driveway, Larry at the wheel applying his Teamster skills while Louann advises him through each operation from the backseat. He negotiates through the traffic just like he's been doing for 40 years and we arrive at Oakland Airport at 7:25am. Right on time. We say our goodbyes to L & L Limo and greet the skycap who takes our luggage and issues our boarding passes. We are on the recheck list so we avoid the huge line for security that extends all the way into baggage claim. No issues here and we're through in about 15 minutes. Apparently it's no longer necessary to remove shoes and I'm good with that. Now we make our way to Gate 32, all the way at the end of the Southwest terminal. She's still not in the best of moods and then the phones start going off. "My God, who keeps calling!", screaming at me and followed by, "Why won't these people leave me alone?". I have no idea. It's not even her phone. It's other people's phones with the same ringtone. Let's just get to the gate. Our flight leaves at 9:05, stopping in St Louis before heading on to Ft Lauderdale, Florida. Since Southwest doesn't serve food and we haven't eaten at all, we stop to buy a sandwich, chips and two drinks. No. $20 isn't going to cover that here. Reluctantly, I pull out another $5. Now I'm the one in a bad mood. Within a few minutes the "A" line starts forming so we step up. A45 & A46 will get us on early. As always, Karen takes a window seat leaving me stuck in the middle again. Fortunately for me, a thin little old lady asks, "Is this seat taken?" Pointing to the aisle seat next to me. "It's all yours." I say while motioning her with my area to sit. The flight is full and I see three football players making their way down the aisle toward me. "Ma'am , sit. Please. "Excuse me, Ma'am. Where's the recline button on this seat?" The attendant smiles sweetly. "Sir. This is Southwest Airlines. We're cheap because you're cheap. No food. No drinks. No TV. No recliners. No restrooms." Ok, they have restrooms but that's it. Mom's out cold and the lady next to me is reading so I type. We're stopping in St Louis for 2 hours and are scheduled to arrive in FLL at 8:35pm EDT. We have a hotel booked, the Ramada Cruise Port Inn. We stayed there last year and it was fine, not too expensive. Price includes a free shuttle from airport to hotel and then another to the cruise port in the morning. Did I mention the free breakfast? That's what I'm talking about! Since I'm just sitting here, let's talk about our trip. I booked three Caribbean cruises last year while on the Holland America Koningsdam. Remember the trip with Queenie and "The Kid"? So a few months later, one cruise ended up as a charter (where some group or company takes over the entire ship) while the other one changed its itinerary to include Cuba. Cuba would have been fine but all the other stops we've been to already so I cancelled two of the three cruises and kept just one, mainly because of the price and amenities I received. Then I added two additional cruises, one before and one after the one I kept. Karen got wind of my plan last summer and I had to cancel one of them to shorten our vacation time. You know, the cats have me on restriction. Because they're old she doesn't want to leave them for too long. Hey! We're old too! So all trips that I plan must be for two weeks or less. That means no more Europe, Antarctica, South America or the Orient. Now we're spending 7 days in the Western Caribbean, reboarding another ship and traveling another 15 days from Ft Lauderdale through the Panama Canal up to San Diego. Yes, it's more than two weeks but don't say anything. More details about that tomorrow. We are approaching St Louis. I'll get back to all of you. We're sitting at the airport now for two hours, waiting for our next flight. Not much to report. Well, one thing. At the airport, any airport, it seems like most people are in a rush. Maybe there running late or delayed in security, nevertheless, they move fast. Karen , on the other hand, moves at her own pace. Let's just say it's not fast. What's more, she will just stop walking at any time causing people to swerve or brake followed by an look towards her like "WTF?" She's oblivious to it at all while I, keeping a safe distance, pretend to be traveling solo. Hopefully, she won't read this comment. I have what you might call "a sitiation". Read the previous blog on Hawaii for all the details about computers, apps and closed web sites. I did, however, find a workaround via a small laptop computer. I was watching for one to come on sale and a couple of weeks ago my wish was answered. Costco had a nice one, nothing fancy, for $200 off. I ordered it at the start of the sale knowing that delivery time was tight. Well, although it was reportedly shipped Monday, it didn't arrive in time for our trip and so I'm improvising. I write the narrative on my IPad via Gmail. It would be simple enough just to send them out from there but when I add pictures, they mess up the text. I could add them as attachments but I think I will copy and paste text to "Travelblog" site on my old laptop and add pics there. That will require some additional Wifi time for that portion but we'll see. If it takes too much time, pics will follow later. I'll know more when I find out what Wifi procedures are used on the ship. Technology is changing and so are ship Wifi plans. We're in the air again, on our way to FLL Ft Lauderdale. We should arrive 8:35pm and I'll be looking for the free hotel shuttle. Last time they were on their way three times before getting there an hour behind schedule. "I had to stop for gas" and "The dispatcher forgot to tell me" were two reasons. We'll see. What is going on here with all the people here in Ft Lauderdale? Did someone say "Spring Break"? Unbelievable! There's all kinds of young people here. Muscle guys, bikini girls, tons of little kids, more bikini girls. True, there are lots of us geezers here too (I'm often confused for a muscle guy) but what's with all the bikini girls? Just my luck. Pass me my sunglasses, Mom. With our bags the last ones out, we get to the shuttle pickup spot outside a little after 9. I call but it takes about 40 minutes for the driver to fight through the traffic to pick us all up followed by a crowded ride to the Ramada Hotel. Our room is similar to the one we had last year but not the primo location. It's 10:30pm here so we grab a meat loaf dinner here at the restaurant and share it. Returning to the room after 11 it's time to wrap up this blog and get some sleep. We have reserved a space on the shuttle to the cruise port leaving tomorrow at 10:30am. See you then.

---

Comments

[Boom, Min and Kaylyn]

Have a great trip guys!

[Boomer]

Cats: The Solution
No one gets an airport snack for less than $20. All you can do is accept the pain. What you clearly need to do is start taking the cats with you. I think they would enjoy Antarctica.