Well, finally, I am winding up the blog for this trip. For those who thought we might have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle, rest easy; we were not. We had a sea day after Bermuda and then stopped in Nassau in the Bahamas for a day.
Nassau may be fine if you are going to a resort (like Atlantis) or to play golf, but the downtown area is boring and crowded. Cheap tee shirt shops, expensive jewelry stores, and LOTS of people (there were five cruise ships docked including one behemoth from NCL. The Straw Market, an indoor marketplace crammed with local vendors selling everything imaginable, was mildly interesting but too crowded to be enjoyable. We walked the town for an hour and headed back to the ship to relax and start packing.
We landed in Miami on time and were off the ship at 8:20. We declined Oceania’s ludicrously expensive transfers to Miami Airport (where we were picking up a car). Oceania wanted $59 per person for the bus transport. We took a cab for $24. I used Alamo for the first time ever since they offered the best rate (through Costco) for a small SUV, supposedly a Hyundai Santa Fe. The lines were very long at Alamo at the airport, but they had auto check-in terminals. We used them and we headed to the car in five minutes. As were we exiting the Alamo area, the clerk was checking our rental agreement and said she could not let us go as the car was not properly checked in previously. She called a customer service rep over who apologized and quickly brought us a new car. It was a Cadillac Escalade, and the upgrade was free for the inconvenience of their mistake. I was impressed with Alamo customer service.
We drove to Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale where we wanted to have lunch at Pelican Landing at the Hyatt. It is outdoors on the roof of a small building with a great view of the harbor, and previously we have enjoyed great burgers here. It wasn’t crowded at all, and we were seated promptly and given menus. Then we were promptly ignored. Other people came, were seated, and got drinks. Wait staff was standing around. After 20 minutes we got up and left. We called our friends (John & Lino) who were already in town and staying at our hotel, and they agreed to meet us at the hotel and join us for lunch. Sue and Larry arrived later that day from their new home near Naples, FL.
We drove to the Beachside Village Resort (BVR) in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a small town just north of Fort Lauderdale Beach. We like it because it is not dominated by high rise hotels like much of Fort Lauderdale. This was our first time at this resort since our old standby place is now out of business and awaiting renovation. Well, BVR is wonderful. It is run by old Boston folks. Totally refurbished, the rooms are delightful. It’s a two story affair with two pools. The customer service is outstanding. On Sunday we we were planning on watching the Packers-Patriots game in one of the rooms, but Elaine cajoled the owner to set up an outside area where the six of us (and another couple) could watch the game. We all brought snacks, and the owner opened up an unoccupied suite next to us so we could use the bathroom, fridge, etc. without having to go back to our individual rooms. Great fun (except for the game result).
Two incidents of note:
- We were walking down the street to go to dinner one night. I was trailing and admiring the Christmas lights along the way. I never saw the cones on the sidewalk covering a hole, tripped over them, and went down like a sack of potatoes. I sprained my ankle, skinned my knee, and cut my hand, but I was able to be helped up and soldier on to dinner. Actually I was very lucky not to have broken my ankle!
-
We all decided to go to Gulfstream on Sunday to watch some live thoroughbred action. We checked the paper, and post time was 12:35. It wasn’t crowded at all, and at 12:30 there wasn’t a sign of a horse. What’s up with that? I went into the simulcast room and checked the monitors. Aha! They were racing at Gulfstream West (formerly known as Calder Race Course). So no live thoroughbreds for us! We stayed in the simulcast center for five races and then headed back to the hotel.
We had a totally fun three days at BVR with lots of laughing about the good old days in Boston. Great lunches and dinners. On Tuesday we checked out, drove to the airport, and flew home (nonstop on US Air).
Next trip of note: Louisville in February for the wedding of our friends Edward and Dee. Then back to Louisville in early May for the Derby. And in late May we are off to Montreal for a cruise from Montreal to London (Southampton) on Oceania’s Marina, the twin sister of Riviera. Until then we are on diets!!