Tag: Florida

Sailing Away

Sunday, February 2, 2025

So Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. If you believe in the groundhog weather prognosticator, we have six more weeks of Winter. I really don’t think South Floridians care what the rodent predicted – it’s 80 degrees this morning in Ft Lauderdale.

Didn’t sleep great last night but I usually don’t in hotels. The free hotel breakfast was decent – serving both hot and cold food choices. I was very pleased with the taste of the all-important coffee. There were a number of guests taking advantage of the meal and seemed happy with it (except the one toddler who showed his distaste for the fruit loops by dumping his bowl on the floor). There’s always a food critic in every crowd.

At 10:45 we went to the lobby to get an Uber to the port. There were six cruise ships in port today. It took about 15 minutes for our Uber to arrive. I knew the traffic to the port would be heavy. It was. Once we got within a mile of the port, we crawled along at a snail’s pace.

However, by the time we reached the gate, we were ready with our passports to show and to answer “No” to their inevitable question “Are you carrying any firearms?”

There are several gated entrances into the port and the informational signage is good, but it never ceases to amaze me to look over at cars at the gates where people are obviously searching for their passports and holding up the queue. Read the signs people, Read.

I also wondered what would happen if someone in the car answered “Yes, I am fully armed.” Nothing good I imagine.

As soon as the Uber driver let us out at our terminal, porters were out in force ready to take our luggage and the tips. Once they had our luggage loaded on the carts, I looked in dismay at the embarkation line that stretched down the sidewalk and around the corner. Started walking toward it when I finally spotted the priority line. It was much shorter. Yay for being a long-time HAL cruiser!

Everything was going smoothly until I reached the point where they scan your passport and match it with your photo in their file. Chuck’s scanner immediately dinged success! My scanner stayed silent and flashed red. My passport and file photo didn’t match. ??? It matched in October but not now? What? – I have a few more wrinkles and I’m now unrecognizable? Rude. They took another photo of me and the passport scanner gave its ding of approval.

Finally on the ship but people were crowding the middle set of elevators that you see when you step onto the ship from the gangway. We walked down the hallway to the back of the ship and took those elevators. No waiting. There is also a bank of elevators in the front of the ship. I bet there wasn’t waiting for those elevators either.

We were assigned cabin 6158. It was not the one we chose. This one had a connecting door to the cabin next door. I’m not a fan of this type of cabin unless I know the person in the other cabin.

If you have a very noisy person in the cabin next door, the conversations, music, TV, etc. will seep through the door area as you lose that part of an insulated wall.

On one Carnival cruise, we heard a guy fight with his girlfriend back home every night over the phone. Each night, he would end the conversation with “It’s over! Go to Hell!” Next night – same thing. Always wondered what happened to them when he got back home.

The cabin that we chose could sleep 3 and the fine print in the ship contract does say that HAL has the right to move you to a comparable or better cabin if you don’t have the maximum number of people in the cabin and they need it for some family that does. We were moved to the same category cabin just down the hall from the one we chose. I could argue until I was blue in the face that getting a connecting room is not comparable, but I would just end up blue in the face and still be in the connecting cabin. I’m just hoping for the best.

We are primarily on this cruise because Chuck got invited to be a participant in this “Ultimate Gaming Cruise.” Since the cruise also coincided with my birthday, we decided to go for it. We were greeted in our room with a bottle of champagne, special lanyards, an invitation to the opening party, and a list of the special activities the casino would be hosting for the 12 days. We were also happy to note that two people we met on an earlier cruise would also be on this cruise.

I was very glad to hear that we were not going to have the traditional muster drill of standing shoulder to shoulder at the lifeboats – especially in the heat and humidity. Every ship has to do one of those types of drills periodically but today was not the day.

After we had our key cards scanned at our muster station and watched the safety video, we decided to avoid the Lido for lunch and just go to the NY Deli and Pizza area one deck above the Lido deck. Good choice. Neither the bar nor the deli area was busy, and we had our sandwiches and beverages quickly. Chuck was even recognized by one of the bar staff who remembered him from an earlier cruise.

After we ate, I went to the dining kiosk and made our specialty restaurant reservations. We then went back to the cabin to see if the luggage had arrived. Nope. No worries – we unpacked the carry-on and the backpacks.

At 3:00, we went to the sailaway party. It was fun with music, food, and beverages. Afterwards, we went back to the cabin to see if the luggage had arrived. Nope. Hmmm. We’ve usually gotten our luggage by sailaway. But I know the ship is sailing full so trying not to worry.

At 4:00, we went to the Casino party with our friends from the previous cruise. It was fun with food, beverages, introductions to the casino staff, and giveaways (our name was not called). Afterwards, we trekked back to the cabin to see if the luggage had arrived. Yay! – my piece of luggage had arrived. Boo! Chuck’s luggage was still missing in action. We got my bag unpacked and stored under the bed.

We played some slots before the Casino became very crowded. Once it did become packed with players (I did mention that this was an Ultimate Gaming Cruise – we weren’t the only ones invited. 😊), we went to the Lido for their “Welcome Aboard” steak dinner.

We typically choose the Lido on the first night as the main dining room always seems disorganized on the first night. I was happy to see the Lido was offering mussels along with the steaks. Chuck also got a steak but did a “hard pass” on the mussels. Just more for me.

We then went to the first set of the band in the Rolling Stone Rock Lounge. They are very good musicians but are more of a show band than a dance band. Maybe we will have better luck with the BB King band.

Once the set was over, Chuck was eager to play cards. I stopped by the Grand Dutch Cafe and got a piece of Dutch apple pie for me and a Bossche Bol (giant chocolate creme puff) for Chuck. I took them both back to the cabin. Yay! His suitcase had arrived. Whew! Once I got it unpacked, I was ready to listen to the waves from the balcony, eat my dessert, and call it a night.

Tomorrow – Half Moon Cay.

Ft. Lauderdale Bound – Definitely

Saturday, February 1, 2024

Pumpkin was sleeping peacefully in his cat condo until he heard the bags rolling across the floor at 7:45 a.m. He knew then that it was going to be a bad day for the kitty. His trained staff was leaving. He glared at us from under the bed as we said our good-byes. I take great pains to be sure that the cat sitter has everything he needs to take good care of Pumpkin, including detailed instructions, but I get no credit from Pumpkin – only complete disdain. Sigh.

We battled patchy, dense fog as we drove to the shuttle office. I was happy that there was little traffic. The shuttle left promptly at 9:00. The driver had to deal with more dense fog and had to make one stop along the way to pick up two passengers. We made it to the airport at 11:15. We dropped off our big bags at the curb-side check-in.

Using CLEAR and TSA-precheck, we were at the front of the security line quickly. Usually either Chuck or I have one of our carry-ons go through the “naughty” line. This time, we both had a bag. His backpack and my roll-on were both flagged. However, neither bag was opened when it reached the TSA person. He just handed them to us. Okay. On we go to the gate.

Once we got to our gate, we decided to have a Wendy’s lunch. Note – the airport Wendy’s does not offer the special “Biggie Bag” menu option. The fries were cold too. Pitiful. Dave would have been disappointed in that franchise.

We were supposed to board at 1:15 and leave at 2:00. Our plane was at the gate. At 12:30, we got notified that we were missing our flight crew. The flight crew that was on our plane had ended their shift and were leaving. Our flight would be getting a crew coming from Boston. That plane had not yet landed. Since having a flight crew is pretty important, we settled in to wait. They arrived at our gate at 2:00 to cheers from the waiting crowd. We were soon allowed to board, and we finally took off at a little after 3:00.

Chuck started a movie but I just listened to music and kept reading my book. I hate starting a movie on flights that are less than 3 hours. I didn’t see any series I wanted to watch either.

Once we landed and got our luggage, an Uber Comfort took us to the Hyatt Place Plantation. I thought I had messed up by choosing Comfort over XL when I saw the Tesla that pulled up. I didn’t think it was going to be big enough for the luggage. However, the driver was able to get the big bags in the trunk but the carry-on, he had to put in his front seat. The ride was very nice but I need to stick to Uber XL when we have luggage.

This Hyatt Place is not the one I normally choose in Ft. Lauderdale, but it was much less expensive than the Dania Beach one this time. I was even able to use Hyatt points. The accommodations were fine but there are very little food choices within walking distance from this location. We ended up at a KFC down the block. It was surprisingly good. The Colonel would have been proud.

Once we were back to the hotel, we got our bags tagged for tomorrow and settled in for some TV time. No hurry to get up as we don’t plan to leave the hotel until check-out time at 11:00.

Better Late Than Never

Monday, April 17, 2023

We were finally allowed to board at 6:25 p.m. and took off a little after 7:00. The ride was smooth, and I mostly read my book as anything I wanted to watch was over 2 hours long. The landing was a little bumpy but at least we were in Ft. Lauderdale, and it was not raining.

We retrieved our luggage and called the hotel for a pickup. We typically stay here pre-cruise because of its location, and it is comfortable. The hotel shuttle driver got to our pick-up point within 10 minutes. I was happy. Sometimes, it can take much longer depending on traffic.

When we got to the hotel, they gave us a room on the 5th floor instead of the one on the 2nd that I had picked. They said they had to do some shuffling around because of some water issues. Okay. It’s now 10:00 p.m. and I want a room. 5th it is. Looked just like the room we had last time.

They also said, if we were hungry, the restaurants across the street in the shopping center stay open until 2 a.m. No thank you. McDonalds was weighing heavy on my stomach, and I was getting more exhausted by the minute.

Once we got to our room, I tagged our bags with ship information. Know tomorrow will be a better day.

Travel Trivia

Florida – The Sunshine State

Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida ([la floˈɾiða] for its lush greenery and the Easter season (Pascua Florida in Spanish).

Florida became the first area in the continental U.S. to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city.

On March 3, 1845, only one day before the end of President John Tyler’s term in office, Florida became the 27th state.

About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands.

Florida’s is the only state besides Hawaii to have a tropical climate and is the only continental state with both a tropical climate (at the lower tip of the peninsula) and a coral reef.

Florida has several unique ecosystems, most notably Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. and among the largest in the Americas. Unique wildlife includes the American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, Roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottlenose dolphin, and manatee.

Central Florida is the lightning capital of the USA.

Florida’s Venice Beach is the shark tooth capital of the world.

If you’re ever in Tampa Bay, you should take a walk alongside downtown Tampa. The Bayshore Boulevard is the world’s longest continuous sidewalk being a stretch of 4.5 miles.

The Walt Disney World Resort is in Florida. It is the planet’s most visited and biggest recreational resort. It was established in 1971 and is about the same size as San Francisco, California.

The U.S. state of Florida is also home to the world’s most dangerous tree – the Manchineel tree. All parts of the tree contain strong toxins. Mere contact with the sap from this tree can cause blisters on the skin. The tree is also known as “the beach apple” and “little apple of death.

Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida. It is also the third largest freshwater lake (after Lake Michigan and Alaska’s Iliamna Lake) located completely within the United States.

Ft. Lauderdale

Saturday, March 18, 2023

We decided to eat in the Lido tonight and we each had the strip loin. Very good meal. After the meal, we played blackjack for a long time before calling it a night.

The piece of fruit is called Dragon Fruit

When we got back to the cabin there was a note letting us know that the ship balconies would be washed while in port and they may have to have access to our room. No problem. We’ll be on a tour.

We were up at 6:00 and ate breakfast in the Lido at 6:30. It wasn’t as busy as I expected. From the Lido, I counted 4 other ships in dock with us including the HAL Volendam that had arrived today from its 2 month roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale – Grand South America and Antarctica cruise. If we ever get to go back to Antarctica, this cruise is the one I want to do.

We disembarked the ship at 7:30. We had our passport, ship card, and in-transit card that was supposed to allow us to bypass some lines when we come back.

We had to go through Customs. We were able to use the facial recognition system so were approved to bypass the officials. We came out of the terminal at the taxi area. We had to go around the corner to find our tour operator.

Our HAL tour today was called “Everglades Airboat Ride” and the tour description: “The Florida Everglades is an expanse of swampland known for natural beauty and abundant wildlife. Your tour includes a half-hour airboat ride into this vast wilderness. Birds, fish and other animals inhabit this curious corner of the country.

After the airboat ride, take a tour of the reptile exhibit. You will see the notorious Everglades alligator and other creatures that call Florida home. At the endangered-species exhibit — you may even be lucky enough to see the rare Florida panther.

Notes: This tour is available only to guests who are returning to the ship.”

I’ve been confused about this tour because the Navigator app said that we would be going to the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami airport after the tour. I told Chuck that we had to be sure that the tour was coming back to the port.

In reality, the tour operator had three different busses for the tours – one bus for people on the tour and then going to the Miami airport; one bus for people going on the tour and then going to the Ft. Lauderdale airport; and then one bus for people coming back to the port (us). I was happy that we would not have to do any airport runs before coming back.

We were supposed to leave at 8:30 but we didn’t leave until 8:45.

The bus was air conditioned and comfortable. However, the mic didn’t work so it was a little hard to hear the guide. She did her best to talk loud enough about the Ft. Lauderdale area, but we could only catch a few words every now and then.

It didn’t take very long to reach the Everglades Holiday Park. Unfortunately, all the HAL busses seemed to arrive together plus busses from other tour companies and independent travelers. Restroom lines were very long and the park was crowded.

We got in line for the airboat ride. There were a lot of airboats, and we were quickly ushered into one. I wasn’t sure if anyone else from our group was even on the same airboat, but I finally recognized another person. The captain was knowledgeable about the area and was good about spotting the alligators. The ride was very loud when he went fast. I was glad I had brought us some ear plugs. The ride was about an hour.

Once we exited the airboat, we found our tour operator and she directed us to the Gator demonstration. It was a demonstration by an original “Gator Boy” of the same series. He gave us a lot of good jokes and information. I didn’t remember the series, but Chuck said he did. The guy has a You Tube channel now.

Once we exited the demonstration, we were in line for a photo of us holding a baby gator. The cost of the photo was included in the tour package. We saw some rescued tortoises, raccoons, snakes, and foxes – no panthers.

We arrived back to the ship at noon. There was no dedicated security line for in-transit people. We were in line with all the new embarking guests which was moving very slowly – frustrating. Once we cleared security, the only direction we were given was “go around.” We took that direction to mean don’t stop at the check-in desks. When we finally made it to the escalator up to the ship, it wasn’t working. Our choices were to either take the elevator or walk up the steps. Since we weren’t carrying luggage, we chose the steps.

The Lido was crowded so we went to the Dive-In to order a hamburger. They are very good burgers, hot dogs, bratwurst, and chicken sandwiches. They have “Beyond Meat” available also.

We were supposed to leave the port at 3:00. However, three of the other ships set said before us and we didn’t leave until after 5:00.

Time for the first evening of the second leg of this 21-day cruise.

Carnival B2B: Embarkation and our Cabin

After a surprisingly restful night’s sleep, I was up at 6:30 on Monday excited for another cruise. The Hyatt had a nice selection of hot and cold breakfast items, and they were serving Starbucks coffee. It was also 70 degrees and sunny with a forecast of a high of 80 degrees. Nice start to embarkation day.

Our check-in time at the port was scheduled for 10:30 – 11:00. The hotel shuttle was going to charge $30 to ride in their van. We decided to get an UberXL and it arrived in less than 5 minutes after the request. The cost for it was $20.

The port is about 6 miles from the hotel. Only problem I had with the Uber app is that I wasn’t able to find which dock the Paradise was berthed. If it was listed on any paperwork that I had, I never saw it. I chose berth 2 but the ship was actually at berth 3. I offered to change it on the app for the driver, but he said it was no problem. I was glad they weren’t too far away from each other.

We arrived promptly at 10:30 and were allowed to enter the port facility. I was glad to see that they had aisles roped off according to check-in time so if you arrived early for your appointed time, you were directed to your appropriate aisle. Keeps the crowds down. There are a lot of restaurants and even an aquarium around the port so if you have to arrive early, you can drop off your luggage and go have a look around. You don’t have to just stand in the aisle if you don’t want to.

We were through security and seated in our section by 10:40. We were the second section allowed to board. It was 11:15.

Our first stop was our Muster station which was the Leonardo Lounge. The person in-charge scanned our boarding passes and then we watched the life jacket demonstration. It was very easy. We were then instructed to watch the safety video on our room television and then dismissed. It is a very easy process and should be done as soon as you board. However, the cruise director had to make several announcements throughout the afternoon requesting people to go to their station. The ship is not supposed to sail unless everyone has checked in. If they have to track you down and you refuse, you can be disembarked.

As Platinum Carnival cruisers, we could have gone straight to the cabin and dropped off our backpacks. However, we know that the crew is working hard to get the rooms ready, so we waited until the 1:30 announcement said the rooms were finished. When we arrived, our room keys and luggage were there. Plenty of time to unpack before sail-away. Staff were bringing in the luggage by the cartful as quickly as they could.

For this cruise, we had an inside cabin. When our Carnival consultant booked it for us, he made sure that we had a room that we could keep for both cruises. Otherwise, we would have had to pack up the room at the end of the first five days and take it all to another room. I don’t mind inside rooms for short cruises.

Our cabin, M163 on the fifth floor (Main), was in a nice location – midship around the corner from the mid-elevators. It was sparsely furnished – king-size bed, desk with mirror and shelves and a stool, one bedside table, a small refrigerator, a safe, and a large mounted flatscreen TV. There were two closets and a number of shelves. We had one outlet and 4 USB ports.

Bed with luggage mat for unpacking

However, I didn’t realize that this particular room was an adjoining room. Adjoining rooms are great if you have family or close friends next to you. They can be problematic if there are strangers next to you. The first thing I discovered was that the door between the rooms was unlocked so we had to immediately tell our room steward and he called Security. He came promptly and locked the door. Most of the time we have found that unless a person is yelling in the next cabin or has the TV on at full volume, the sound is muffled between the rooms. However, in an adjoining room, the sound leeches through the door and you can hear normal conversations.

We met the guys who had the room adjoining us. They were part of a group of 8 who were excited to be on this cruise as their boss had given them the trip as a “thank you” for all their hard work and dedication. We just gave them a “heads up” that we would be able to hear each other’s conversations. We wished them a fun cruise.

The first night, we were awakened by one of the guys who was mad that his roommate woke him up coming in the room. Think it was about 2 a.m. Next afternoon, we heard that same guy say (I assume to himself) that he was glad he now had the room to himself. That evening, he was talking to his girlfriend and saying he hated the ship, all the guys were drunks and had no class, and he wished he was with her on the ship. The next night was the worse one. He and his girlfriend were calling each other and arguing. He would tell her to stop calling and then would call her. Went off and on all night. We could have gone over there and asked him to lower his voice or called Guest Services, but we didn’t. We felt sorry for him. He was not having a good cruise. He had a falling out with his work buddies and now fighting with his girlfriend. He would have been better off with a bonus check from his boss.

I hope they were using WhatsApp or something with all the phone calls because he may have found himself with a huge phone bill when he got home. Our service provider said it would be $3 a minute to phone from the ship. I assume it might be the same with other carriers. We didn’t hear anything out of him on Thursday night. However, on Friday night, he left the TV on all night which was more annoying than the arguing. He was up and gone early on Saturday. I assume he took advantage of self-disembarkation and took off as soon as they allowed. I hope he and his girlfriend made up, but they sure said some harsh things to each other. We could hear parts of her conversation on that night, so we assume she was yelling into the phone.

We held our breath for the next week. However, we heard nothing the whole week from the new occupants. In fact, if we hadn’t seen the snooze sign on the room doorknob periodically, we would not have known anyone was even in the room. I hope that person(s) wasn’t annoyed with us.

The bathroom had only a shower which was fine with us. I was glad that it had good pressure and had plenty of hot water. Each shower is equipped with shampoo and bath gel. You need to remember to take your own conditioner. The shampoo might have conditioner in it, but my hair felt better when I used my conditioner too.

We had plenty of room to store our stuff and we could put the luggage under the bed. The room can also be set up with the beds separated.

The only issue is that I thought the room was on the warm side. Unlike newer ships, the Paradise didn’t have a thermostat, and you could only adjust the vent at the top of the room. I was glad that I had brought my small fan. It cooled me off enough to sleep.

Our room steward for the first week was Agus. At the end of the week, he was getting to go on a well-earned vacation. So the next week, Japhet took care of us. They were both efficient and friendly. They cleaned the room once a day, always provided us with ice, and left a cute towel animal. We tried not to be messy. As we walked down the hall, if the room door was open, we could see some rooms looked like hurricanes had hit them.

Some of our towel animals during the 10 days:

Once we got the room organized, we were ready for sail-away from Tampa. The music was playing, and the cruisers were dancing. Fun times.

Travel Trivia

Tampa, Florida

After purchasing Florida from Spain in 1821, the United States built forts and trading posts in the new territory. Fort Brooke was established in January 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River on Tampa Bay.

When the pioneer community living near Fort Brooke was incorporated in 1849, it was called “Tampa Town” and the name was shortened to simply “Tampa” in 1855. 

During the first few decades of the 20th century, the cigar-making industry was the backbone of Tampa’s economy. The factories in Ybor City and West Tampa made an enormous number of cigars—in the peak year of 1929, over 500 million cigars were hand rolled in the city.

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders sailed from Tampa to fight in the Spanish-American War.

The University of South Florida was established in North Tampa in 1956.

Downtown Tampa’s Bayshore Blvd, at 4.5 miles long, earns the title of “the world’s longest continuous sidewalk.” It is lined with palm trees and features views of the bay.

The Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a large festival celebrating the legend of pirate Jose Gaspar, dates back over 100 years. 

Movies filmed in Tampa include Edward Scissorhands (1990), Goodfellows (1990), and Magic Mike (2012).

In April 1919, during a spring training game of the Red Sox vs. the NY Giants in Tampa, Babe Ruth hit a record breaking 587-foot homer.

Trivia provided by Wikipedia and Tampa tourist literature

Carnival B2B: Traveling to Florida

In early 2021, Carnival offered Chuck a 10-day free casino cruise that ultimately got cancelled. However, we were given future cruise credit (FCC) for the booking amount plus generous onboard credit (OBC) because of the cancellation.

The deadline to use the FCC or lose it was the end of 2022. Even though we have been to the ports several times before: two back-to-back (B2B) 5-day cruises leaving out of Tampa worked in our schedule, so we booked them as the replacement.

This cruise was a different one for us as we made the decision not to get off the ship at the ports unless absolutely necessary and just treat the ship as a floating resort. For my blogs, I typically discuss each day and its activities – some days are busier than others. Because each day of these two cruises were planned as eat, drink, and be merry, I am going to organize this blog more by topic rather than by date.

Left the house at a little before 7:00 a.m. to catch our 8:00 shuttle to the airport. Our flight was not until 2:00 but since it is the Sunday after Thanksgiving (the busiest travel day of the year according to some reports), the shuttle service said we had to go this early to ensure we made the flight in case the traffic was slow. Okay.

We typically drive to Tampa but the last time we drove home from there, it took 11 hours because the traffic in Tampa and Atlanta was so heavy. Flying can be a hassle, but I was hoping we could get to Florida without being so stressed and achy in case the drive down was again 11 hours instead of the 9 it is supposed to be.

We left right on time and did not have to make any of the auxiliary stops that the shuttle company sometimes has to do. The traffic was heavy, but the shuttle driver was able to take all the HOV and Express lanes and got us to the airport a little before 10:00. The traffic did slow to a crawl as we neared the drop off point at the airport.

Again, from all the news reports, I expected to see long lines of aggravated people waiting to get through security. The CLEAR line was long, but it moved quickly. We were through security by 10:20 and at the gate by 10:30. Way earlier than I expected and easier than some other airport experiences we’ve had.

We had a McDonald’s breakfast at the food court and then settled in with our books until the flight started boarding at 1:15.

Was a bumpy take off but a smooth quick flight. I could not finish the movie before we landed. 75 degrees and sunny in Tampa.

The Tampa airport was easy to navigate and once we got our luggage, we called the hotel for a pickup. I had a digital key, so we were in our room by 4:15. It was nice not to be exhausted upon arrival.

I like this Hyatt Place. Not only is it near the airport, it is near Olive Garden, Longhorn, and Ruth Chris restaurants. The shuttle will also take you to the nearby International Plaza mall. It also has a small bar and does offer some sandwiches and salads for sale. Today, it is somewhat decorated for Christmas.

We had intended to walk down the street to see if we could find the sports bar we’ve visited before. But before we got started, we heard thunder, and the sky looked threatening. We decided to stay close and walk to Longhorn’s.

When we got near it, we spotted a small Mexican restaurant called Lolis and decided to try it instead. The food was fine and filling but nothing exceptional. I had the vegetarian quesadilla which was mostly cheese and Chuck had the carne asada quesadilla. Washed down with Dos XX beer. They didn’t have very many eat-in customers but seemed to do a brisk take-out business.

I was glad we stayed close as the skies opened up and it poured while we ate. But, as Florida does, it soon became just a drizzle allowing us to get back to the hotel relatively dry. We were in for the evening. Looking forward to embarkation.

Travel Trivia

Florida – The Sunshine State

Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida ([la floˈɾiða] for its lush greenery and the Easter season (Pascua Florida in Spanish).

Florida became the first area in the continental U.S. to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city.

On March 3, 1845, only one day before the end of President John Tyler’s term in office, Florida became the 27th state.

About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands.

Florida’s is the only state besides Hawaii to have a tropical climate and is the only continental state with both a tropical climate (at the lower tip of the peninsula) and a coral reef.

Florida has several unique ecosystems, most notably Everglades National Park, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S. and among the largest in the Americas. Unique wildlife includes the American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, Roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottlenose dolphin, and manatee.

Central Florida is the lightning capital of the USA.

Florida’s Venice Beach is the shark tooth capital of the world.

The Walt Disney World Resort is in Florida. It is the planet’s most visited and biggest recreational resort. It was established in 1971 and is about the same size as San Francisco, California.

The U.S. state of Florida is also home to the world’s most dangerous tree – the Manchineel tree. All parts of the tree contain strong toxins. Mere contact with the sap from this tree can cause blisters on the skin. The tree is also known as “the beach apple” and “little apple of death.

Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida. It is also the third largest freshwater lake (after Lake Michigan and Alaska’s Iliamna Lake) located completely within the United States.

Trivia provided by Wikipedia and Florida tourist information.

Day #7 – Heading Back Home

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Since it had started to sprinkle, we headed back to the hotel and sat on the covered balcony, talked, and watched the different excursion boats come and go.

We decided to eat pizza for dinner. We called one that was close to the hotel and advertised that they delivered – Roundabout Pizza which was on the first floor of the same building that housed the Marina Cantina.

However, when we called in our order, they said they were too understaffed to do any delivering. So, Brian and I walked over there to pick it up. We got there just as it was being placed into the brick oven. When we got it back to the hotel, we seemed to inhale it. Excellent pizza. Very nice staff. Hope they get some more staff as I am sure they lose business when someone really wants a delivery.

We continued sitting outside until it started to get dark. Lisa and Brian had two more days of sun and surf, but we were looking at a 9 – 10-hour day on the road so we soon called it a night.

We got up at 6:00, ate the hotel breakfast, zipped up the suitcases, and left at 8:15. Traffic was terrible in Tampa – bumper to bumper and horns blaring – trying to get to I-275. Finally reached I-75. Made me want to consider checking flights to Tampa for our next trip here.

We stopped for gas in Ocala at 10:30 and to change drivers. Traffic was heavy but manageable. We had finished the Craig Johnston audio book and were listening to John Sandford’s Righteous Prey. Definitely helps to pass the time.

We stopped for gas and lunch at McDonalds in Vienna, GA at 1:45. We changed drivers. Our next stop was at an exit near Griffin, GA. We changed drivers again.

Traffic slowed to crawl at exit 212 in Locust Grove and continued like that until past the Eagle Landing’s exit 224. Never saw the problem that may have caused the slowdown but that is not unusual. We were able to enter the HOV lane before getting into Atlanta and traffic was flowing fine until we reached the downtown area. Then, all lanes slowed to a stop and go tempo.

A surprise to me was that the end of the HOV lane used to go for a mile or so until it merged to the right but now it abruptly ended not long after the HOV was no longer in effect. You had to merge right quickly into the fast lane. It was hard today even when the traffic was going so slowly. I bet it is very difficult to merge if you are going quickly, especially if you are not expecting the abrupt ending.

We stayed at a crawl until we finally got past exit 285 – Lake Altoona. Exhausting.

I was glad when we were able to get off on our exit. I was glad that it wasn’t yet dark, but we were looking into the setting sun. Annoying. We finally made it home around 7:15 – 11 hours on the road. Definitely going to look into flying.

Pumpkin must have recognized the slamming of our car doors as he met us at the kitchen door fussing at the top of his lungs. Sure sign that the trip was officially over.

Good times. Great memories.

Day #6 – Down Memory Lane

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Once we had finished with the beach pictures, we went back to the hotel and got Chuck. We then walked in the direction of the bay area to the Marina Cantina for dinner. We chose to sit inside because of the humidity outside and the nice air conditioning inside. They also have a big outdoor seating area if that’s your preference.

They had a wide selection of Mexican and non-Mexican dishes. I had the carne asada dinner and Chuck had the shrimp and scallop ajillo. We also got a side of crispy Brussel sprouts to share with the table. All the food was excellent, but the portions were large. The service was very fast and friendly.

After the short walk back, we called it a night. Chuck and I sat out on the balcony watching the lights of Clearwater come on.

We were up at 7:00 this morning and I felt like I was back to my old self. About 10:00, we drove over to Dunedin to visit Nana and Grandad’s house. Lisa has been wanting to visit ever since she started reading some of Grandad’s journals. Dunedin had certainly grown since we last visited in the 1970’s. I kind of held my breath as I wasn’t sure what kind of condition the house or neighborhood would be in. We had such good times there so I hoped we wouldn’t find it in disarray.

We were pleased to see that the house and yard looked well kept. We could see that the house had undergone renovation – new roof line, new color, new landscaping, expanded driveway, etc. Some of the surrounding houses did look somewhat run-down, others looked nice. The road was no longer a dead-end and the orange / grapefruit orchard was gone. The street had speed bumps installed.

We asked a woman walking her dog if she knew the owners or if she remembered our grandparents (long shot) but she did not. However, a woman from a couple of houses down walked over. She said her name was Margie, she was 72, and she said she had lived in her house since 1960. She did remember them if only vaguely. She told us about the current owners and how the neighborhood and Dunedin had changed over the years. It was nice to be able to talk with her.

We took some pictures and then headed for our next stop – Dunedin beach where they used to take us in the evenings every once in a while to feed the gulls. We never remembered swimming there. They always took us to Clearwater Beach for swimming. I do remember Grandad taking us to fish at least once off of the bridge near the beach.

We entered Dunedin Beach in the GPS and were surprised to find that it led us to Honeymoon Island State Park. The area looked familiar but neither one of us remembered a state park. Oh well, we were here, and it looked as good as any place to feed gulls.

Our first stop after paying the $8.00 entrance fee was the Visitor Center/Gift shop. It was very nice. Had some interesting displays of the area, a movie playing about their efforts to help the sea turtles who nested on the beach, lots of gift items, and very clean restrooms.

I bought a Christmas ornament and we happened to mention Dunedin beach to one of the two Visitor Center volunteers. He said we were in the right place. He said the state bought the land in 1978 from the private landowner to keep the owner from building high rises on it. Once the state developed some trails, put in some amenities like pavilions and paved parking, and cleared some more area for more beach, it was ready for the public. I’m glad it was a state park. I would have been disappointed to see high rises. You see enough of those in Clearwater.

The Visitor Center had a wrap-around deck, so we walked behind the Center to look at the oyster bar where a lot of birds had gathered. Brian spotted three fins in the shallow water. We debated on whether they were dolphins or sharks. They never made the undulating movement like dolphins and floating birds scattered any time the fins got near so we think they were sharks.

Our next stop was the farthest beach out. There were several people on the beach near the parking lot, but the crowd got sparser as we walked down the beach. We found a spot away from others to feed the gulls. It was just like I remembered – feed a few and the rest will come. Fun times.

We also did see some dolphins in the distance. They put on quite a show. I was never able to capture their antics, but they would breach and spin. We watched them for quite a while. I also liked watching all the sandpipers running on the beach.

I would have liked to have walked a couple of the trails, but it was getting close to 1:00 and we were getting hungry. We drove back into Dunedin and stopped at Frenchy’s Outpost bar and grill. I had a bowl full of peel and eat shrimp and a cup of she crab soup. Great food. Good service. Seemed to be a popular place.

Once we got back to the hotel, we decided to wander over to the Pier 60. If you want to walk all the way out, you have to pay $1.00 each. It costs more if you want to fish. There were several people fishing. Only saw a few people catching anything.

One guy accidentally snagged a gull that had tried to snatch his bait. From the signs that were posted, apparently snagging a bird happens quite a bit off of the pier. He did everything right. He got the bird, grabbed his pliers, and took the hook out of the beak. The bird then flew away. I hope he remembers not to grab bait that is flying through the air again. We also saw a number of pelicans and one large crane that were waiting for the perfect moment to snatch a caught fish.

Two guys said that they saw a manatee floating by earlier. Brian spotted a nose that was poking out of the water. Never got close enough to the pier to see the whole body but it definitely could have been a manatee.

We spent a while there until it started to sprinkle. Time to head back to the hotel.

Day #5 – Hole in One

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

We went up to the top floor of the hotel to Jimmy’s Crow’s Nest bar and grill for drinks, food, and to watch the sunset. They even have a countdown clock over the reception desk in the Lobby and one outside the restaurant. And as the time runs out, the crowd starts the final countdown, and the bar tenders ring the bell at the moment the sun sinks into the water. They then turn on the twinkle lights and turn up the music.

I had some excellent wings for dinner. We had a big night of drinks and laughter. Fun times.

However, I wasn’t laughing this morning. When I woke up, I didn’t know if I had a migraine, the Flu, or Covid. But I felt bad! Finally decided it was a self-inflicted nasty hangover. It’s been a long time since I have had one of those afflictions. Ugh.

While Lisa, Brian, and Chuck went to the pool, I took Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, put a cold washcloth on my forehead and stayed in the bed. I declined the offer to go out to lunch. However, about 1:00, I rallied and was ready to go when they got back from lunch. Chuck bringing me a piece of homemade carrot cake from the restaurant helped also.

We went to a near-by mini golf course. I liked the course because each hole was different and challenging. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I was able to putt a hole-in-one and ended up with the best score of the four of us (two over par).

After we finished, Lisa paid to hold one of the many alligators they had on property. This one was named Sparkle. We all got to pet it. She said its belly felt rubbery. The handlers said they keep their alligators until they are four years old or four feet long, whichever comes first. There are several alligator places around Florida that will take their big ones.

Once we returned to the hotel, I went with Lisa and Brian over to the beach to take their picture together. They looked very cute.

Flowers from the golf course:

Day #4 – Heading South

Monday, October 10, 2022

We spent a couple of hours at the pool with the rest of the group before dinner. After the majority of the group headed for the beach, Chuck and I ordered a pizza from the resort bar and grill for our dinner.

We got our suitcases repacked and then spent some time on the balcony enjoying the ocean sounds before calling it a night.

I was up at 5:30 and we were on the road by 8:00. We stopped for gas before we left Ft. Walton and were soon on I-10 heading east toward I-75 south to Clearwater.

We stopped for lunch at a Wendy’s in Lake City, Florida. We continued listening to the audio book – Hell & Back by Craig Johnston – as we kept making our way south which helped pass the time.

As we got closer to Tampa, the traffic got much worse plus we were going into the western sun. Miserable. It stayed congested all the way to our destination – Pier House 60 Marina Hotel in Clearwater Beach, arriving at 4:00. 8 hours.

We finally found a parking spot on the fourth floor of the hotel parking garage. The lobby of the hotel was above the garage. We had a standard two queen room with a small refrigerator and microwave. Our balcony overlooked the bay.

We had a towel animal on one of the beds. Another reminder of cruise life.

We let Lisa and Brian know that we had arrived and were ready to relax.