Tuesday, January 4, 2022; The Journey Home

 Tuesday, January 4, 2022;  The Journey Home

We had our final breakfast at the Embassy Suites and checked out.  We ended up racing the hotel shuttle driver who charged $8 per person vs our Lyft driver who charged us $9 for two.  We ended up at the airport at exactly the same time, and he only had one passenger in his massive Sprinter van.  

Delta Airlines managed to get us boarded  on time, although there was a huge back up at the luggage check counter.  We spent nearly 30 minutes standing in the Sky Priority line to get our bags checked.  It doesn’t seem like First Class on Delta domestic flights gets you much in the way of benefits other than more elbow room vs comfort plus economy.  We didn’t even have access to the Delta SkyClub lounge.  Only First Class international passengers get to use the Delta SkyClub lounge.  Everyone else has to have an expensive American Express card or outrageous yearly membership.  Our flight connected in Atlanta, where we had a less than one hour connection window.  We made our flight largely because our connecting gate was only 4 gates away from our arrival gate, and we didn’t have to go through security again.  

We did get a light lunch box and 2 drinks on our 5-1/2 hour cross country flight.  It was enough time to get a couple of movies watched.  Ben watched Queenpins, featuring Kristen Bell as a coupon addict who ended up running a multimillion dollar coupon redemption scheme.  She got caught in the end, and only ended up with less than a year in jail because the big companies she defrauded (P&G, J&J, etc) didn’t want the bad publicity.  It was based on real events and was pretty funny.  Vince Vaughn placed a postal inspector Rambo character.  It was worth watching.  He also watched Superintelligence staring Melissa McCarthy as a middle of species subject that a self realized artificial intelligence being decides to study to decide if humankind should be allowed to exist, or be exterminated to improve the planet.  It was pretty funny, and also worth watching.  James Corden plays the AI, and of course, her husband had a bit part as a NSA agent, and Jean Smart got to play the President of the US.  

We arrived at SeaTac just late enough to miss the 4pm Whidbey Sea-Tac Shuttle, so we had to wait for the 7pm shuttle.  Surprisingly enough, our luggage made it to Seattle, although one bag ended up coming out on a different baggage carousel 20 minutes after all the others.  That container must have gotten stuck in the plane for a bit.  

As we flew in, Seattle was back to it’s usual January weather of rainy with gusting winds and temperatures in the upper 40’s.  We had missed out on a historic freezing spell, although our master bedroom sinks appear to have suffered some freezing damage.  

In summary, we were able to successfully complete our first late pandemic era cruise in the Caribbean, and return home safely and without contracting Covid.  Ciara learned that one of her room mates was diagnosed with Covid, and was self isolating in the house.  

Cruising in the post-Covid era was signficantly impacted by Covid mitigation measures, but it ended up being an enjoyable and fun trip, even with all the mitigation measures.  Cruising in the pre-pandemic era was certainly more fun and more enjoyable, but this was fun and enjoyable enough to justify the trouble.  

The Omicron variant has been causing a huge spike in Covid cases, but the vaccines and mutations in the virus itself seem to be leading to less severe disease, so we may be seeing the tail end of the pandemic as community immunity builds and the extremely infectious nature of Omicron infects the last anti-vaxxers.

We are scheduled for our next cruise in December 2022 which will be to Easter Island and Antarctica, but it seems unlikely that we will schedule any other cruises before then, given the way this Pandemic has been throwing curve balls and monkey wrenches at every turn.  We were very fortunate that the Regal Princess was able to complete her cruise to the ABC islands without any cancelled ports of call because other ships were not as lucky even while we were out there on the Caribbean.  Pre-cruise testing proved to be the biggest stressor and headache.  We’re hoping that by next Christmas, those lumps will all be worked out.

Monday, January 3, 2022: Hanging Loose in Fort Lauderdale

 Monday, January 3, 2022; Hanging loose in Fort Lauderdale

We were relieved to be able to locate all our kids in their respective households on Find Friends first thing in the morning.  It was quite the challenge to get everyone home with weather and covid related airline staffing shortages.  Ben returned the rental minivan and took a Lyft back to the hotel.  The Enterprise agency in Hollywood was outside the airport surcharge zone.  The Lyft ride was about $20 including a generous tip.  The driver was very articulate and didn’t come across as your typical Uber/Lyft low skilled driver.  Turns out he was in management at a company that does corporate training up until just a couple months ago when Covid caused widespread lay-offs.  So rather than sitting around the house collecting unemployment, he hit the road with his Hyundai Genesis to keep a revenue stream going.  

We had planned on spending a relaxed day at the hotel, resort style.  Janet headed down to the pool but a cold front had moved in, dropping the temperatures and filling the sky with dark grey clouds.  She found a nice lounger by the pool but soon found herself getting sprinkled on.  We had our leftovers for lunch in the hotel room with the balcony door open while Ben worked with Princess EZ-Air to get a refund on Price’s flight which got canceled.  That took over 2 hours on the phone to get to the point where a customer relations agent said she finally had all the information she needed to get another department to confirm the flight cancelation before they could issue a refund, but that she would email me the confirmation within 3-5 days.  I hope things go smoother next year when we have an Easter Island and Antarctica cruise on Viking Expeditions planned for next Christmas.  

The rain played itself out, but it remained overcast and cooler.  Ben went for a walk to explore the area and crossed a large draw bridge which opened up for some very tall sail boats on his return trip. 

Janet relaxed at the pool.  This hotel has a manager’s reception every evening from 5pm to 6:30pm where they give each adult guest two drink tickets per night.  We somehow ended up with 12 tickets, so we dutifully showed up each evening at 5pm for happy hour consisting of some veggie sticks, ranch dressing, and 3 cocktails each.  It seems we’ve been forced to consume more alchohol during this trip than we have our entire prior lives.  

We repacked our suitcases and then walked to a nearby Duffy’s sports grill which was just a block away.  The place had giant flat screen TV’s everywhere streaming all kinds of sports (football, hockey, NASCAR, American Gladiators, etc) and was decorated with sports jerseys and helmets.  It was actually a very interesting place, although not a place to go for an intimate dinner for two.  The prices were pretty fair and the food was quite good.  Janet had a cheese burger with a patty that looked like it was hand pressed and contained about a half pound of beef made to order medium well, while Ben had a Reuben with a half pound of pastrami.  The fries were excellent, and the pickles were crisp deli styled.  We will probably be back the next time we take a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.  

The hotel has replaced cruise bound folk with a large group of Xavier College swimmers who are doing their winter training camp at a nearby pool.  Kind of nostalgic seeing all those swimmers toting their gear and looking unbearably healthy around the pool.  

The news is reporting another 2000 flights were canceled this past weekend. I guess we were fortunate to get all our kids back home.  We are now checked into our flights for tomorrow am and so far, they haven’t been canceled.  We’ll check again in the am.

Sunday, January 2, 2022; Sending the Kids Home

 

Sunday, January 2, 2022; Sending the Kids Home

Price was able to book another flight home, but his flight was boarding at 6:30am so he wasn’t able to partake in the hotel’s breakfast.  Ben drove him to the airport at 4:45am which was a very quick 5 minute drive from the Embassy Suites.  It seemed like it took the shuttle driver at the Courtyard Marriott more like 20 minutes to get to the airport despite the hotel physically being just a stone’s throw from the airport fencing.  Although the Embassy Suites charges $30 per day for parking, and the Courtyard Marriott charged only $5 per day, it seems like the Embassy Suites is a better experience overall.  Our balcony suite at the Embassy suites has two double beds in one room, and a dining table, sleeper sofa, TV and comfy chair in the other.  It was able to accomodate all 5 of us, although having just one bathroom is definitely a first world problem.  But overall, it saved us a fair bit of change over having to book two double rooms, and included a pretty decent breakfast.  

Ben returned to the hotel and slept a few more hours until it was time to get Ciara to the airport.  This time we had time for breakfast.  They had quite a line, but it moved pretty quickly.  There is an attendant who prepares toast or hands out rolls/muffins/bagels.  At the next station you can order eggs or omelets to order, and then the next person dishes out scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage and bacon.  There is also cereal, juices, yogurt, fruits, coffee and tea on the periphery.  It seems like only about half the people wear masks indoors, but at least we weren’t physically or verbally attacked by non-maskers for wanting to protect our health.  It was a little easier to get to the airport in daylight as her flight boarded at 10am.  We walked by the outdoor pool to get to the car, and it looked very inviting.  We may spend most of tomorrow there after we drop off the rental car.  

We did change into swim trunks and spent some time poolside waiting for John’s afternoon flight.  Unfortunately they had run out of pool towels, but it was about 80˚F so it was quite comfortable even if you were wet right out of the pool. The pool was also heated so it was nearly the same as air temperature.  

As we got John to his flight at the airport, we learned that Ciara had spent an inordinate amount of time on the ground in the plane so that she would not make her 7pm Whidbey Sea-Tac Shuttle, while Price encountered an even longer delay which made it impossible for him to make the 4pm shuttle that we had rescheduled.  We called the shuttle and they booked Price on a 10pm shuttle from Sea-Tac.  By the end of the afternoon, it looked like Price would take Ciara’s 7pm shuttle seat and Ciara would take Price’s 10pm seat.  This would get her back to Oak Harbor a little after midnight.  Price will have to make a second run from home to pick up Ciara, and Ciara will probably have to spend the night in Oak Harbor and drive in to work late on Monday.  

While the kids were in various stages of flight or waiting, we drove the minivan to the Costco in Davies, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, to gas it up.  The gas at Costco was $2.99 while it was $3.20 elsewhere, so there was again a massive gas line at Costco.  We were very close to the Plantation Ford dealership where Ben had placed an order for a 2021 Ford Bronco.  We did get to test drive a lightly used (1800 miles) Black Diamond trim in a 4 door soft top, but just around the block and no freeway driving.  Since we have gotten used to the refinement of our Volvo XC-90, it was quite the contrast to drive this off road beast, which you have to climb up into, and likes to sound like a off road truck from the ‘60’s.  It is brash, bold and would be a blast to drive off road but isn’t nearly as easy to drive or comfortable as our Volvo.  But then again, as a tow-behind vehicle for our RV, it would be perfect for running around exploring the wild, or even towing the Pacific Skiff.

We stopped at a nearby Pollo Tropicana for lunch and found it was still crazy busy, even at 2pm.  We had a Cuban sandwich and 1/4 chicken with boiled Yuca, rice and beans.  The Cuban sandwich at 925 Nuevo Cubano was both more impressive and tastier, but the Pollo Tropicana’s version was still tasty and could be finished in a single sitting.  The chicken was less dry than what we had eaten 2 nights ago in Florida City.  Perhaps that chicken had been sitting under the heat lamps too long.  We could see the chicken being grilled at the back of this store.  

We then drove to the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park south of Fort Lauderdale.  They had a remarkable visitor center with board walks through the local mangrove forest and it was all free admission.  There is a 3 story tall observation tower with an elevator to the top which gives a bird’s eye view of the mangroves and estuary system.  We saw ibises, mud crab burrows and mangrove tree crabs from the board walks.  We left just as the park manager was closing up the front gate.  

We returned to the hotel and rechecked in to our same room but now with only 2 guests for the remainder of our stay.  We received drink tickets for the 5-6:30pm manager’s receptions which featured mixed well drinks, wine or beer, and popcorn, broccoli, cauliflower and celery.  Last time we stayed here, they had nacho chips and salsa. 

We walked to a Mexican Restaurant about a block behind the hotel, La Bamba, which was a Mexican/Spanish restaurant.  I ordered Arroz Con Pollo, expecting boneless chicken in a red sauce with onions, mushrooms and olives, but instead was presented with a large mound of yellow rice with sautéed onions and peppers.  Buried under this was a white quarter chicken which was juicy and moist.  The seasoning was mild and buttery rather than tangy and is the Cubano version of rice with chicken.  Janet ordered a chimichanga which came out more like what we’re used to. The servings were huge, so we had leftovers that can be lunch for tomorrow.  

We picked up pool towels for tomorrow’s pool day and watched Sea Biscuit on the TV to finish the night.  At 9:30pm, we heard that Price had arrived at Sea-Tac, but somehow his luggage was still in Denver.  Ciara’s flight was finally on its way to Sea-Tac, and John had boarded his Boston to Newark flight after a long layover.  

It was nearly midnight when we were able to confirm John had made it back home to Jersey City, Price was through the snow and back in Oak Harbor, and Ciara had boarded the shuttle from Sea-Tac airport to Oak Harbor.  Price and Ciara discovered our master bedroom sinks had sprung a leaks presumably from freezing pipes during our absence because the temperatures had dropped into the teens for more than a week while we were gone.  We’ll have to further assess the damage after we get home, but had the kids shut off the water valves to those sinks just in case.

Saturday, January 1, 2022; Back to Biscayne and the Everglades

 Saturday, January 1, 2022; Back to Biscayne and the Everglades

We packed back up into suitcases and stashed our suitcases into the “storage” room, which was actually the “business center” containing a computer and stacks of dining room chairs filling more than half the floor space.  This would allow us to go back to Biscayne Bay for the paddling clinic that we were signed up for without having to leave a car full of suitcases unattended.  It was only a 20 minute drive to Biscayne so we had time to wander around the boat launch and beach areas.  There is a decent sized lagoon with life guard stations and large concession building.  The boat launch had a lot of lanes and parking, as well as a boat lift.

The paddling clinic was run by a family that has had thousands of hours volunteering for National parks.  It was very well run and educational, as well as very enjoyable.  We were treated to a show by a bottle nosed dolphin swimming by the canoe launch ramp area as we were loading up.   The weather was perfect with temperatures in the upper 70’s/lower 80’s with a very slight breeze causing only a slight ripple on the water.  The water was tepid, so stepping into the water was no big deal.  We had to don life jackets, but the area where we were going to be paddling is only 3’ deep, so if we fell overboard and got tired swimming, the guide suggested that we simply stand up on the bottom if we fell out of the canoes.  

Price and Ciara were in one canoe while Ben, Janet and John were in another canoe.  After a short period of instruction, and follow the leader around a buoy course in the water, we paddled a little way through some mangroves, and then to some man made islands where a refinery was planned at some point, but stopped by environmental activitists.  Paddling through the mangroves reminded us of the dinghy rides through the mangroves in the Galapagos.  By the end of the clinic, we were feeling pretty confident about paddling canoes.  

We finished up the paddling clinic a little after noon, so we thought we’d head back and see the Nike Missile base in the Everglades since the ranger really peaked our interest.  We were hoping to grab lunch at the Gator Grill, but it was still closed when we drove past it again.  We had some left over breakfast items from the hotel’s breakfast that we got through, as well as plantain chips and Cheese-its leftover from our New Year’s Eve TV party with Miley Cyrus in Miami.  Miley wore a stick on skimpy top that got unstuck just as the bell struck midnight, resulting in an untimely costume change and improvised vocals on her song.  What would a New Years’ Eve party be without at least one good costume malfunction.  

We arrived at the Nike base about a half hour before the scheduled ranger lead tour, but found that we could just to a self guided tour and spoke with the volunteer guides on the site.  It was really interesting to see a Nike Hercules missile.  There were several models of the Nike Missiles, but the Hercules was the biggest and most powerful, capable of lofting a nuclear warhead 100,000 ft up to do a semi ballistic intercept of Russian bombers invading from Cuba.  The idea of detonating atomic bombs in the atmosphere over US soil is unthinkable today, but during the Cold War, the fear of nuclear annihilation put things into a different frame of reference.

After touring the Nike base, we thought we could do another short hike, and mistakenly thought the Snake Bite trail, which had be recommended by a ranger on our first day in the Everglades, was close to the Nike Base.  However, we had that entirely wrong because the trailhead was closest to Flamingo, which was nearly at the end of the park road.  That meant driving more than 30 minutes each way, plus the trail was 2 miles long, so that took nearly an hour and a half to walk.  The trail was shaded through mostly mangrove forest, but there was very little wild life to be seen, and the last few hundred feet were very muddy and slippery before the boardwalk leading out to a view of the water was reached.  The view was not really worth the 2 mile walk.  There were a lot of deep foot prints in the mud around the boardwalk suggesting people had tried to walk out to the areas around the boardwalk, but for what purpose we have no idea.  Several hikers were carrying very long camera lenses, so maybe there are places to spot shore birds, but we certainly didn’t see any.  

The Snake Bite trail detour ate up so much time that we didn’t have time left to drive down to Key Largo.  So we headed back north to check into the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale.  We made another stop at “Robert is Here” for more exotic milk shakes.  While we were leaving the Everglades, Price learned that his flight on American Airlines was canceled, ostensibly due to weather in Seattle, where there was some snow on the runways.  When he tried to rebook another flight back to Seattle, American Airlines was asking for $2800 one way.  That was insane.  Price ended up booking an earlier flight on Southwest Airlines for $700, or about the same fare we had paid for Price’s flight through Princess EZ-Air.  The EZ-Air phone lines were closed for New Years, so they were of no help.  

We arrived at the Embassy Suites well after dark, and unfortunately most of the family owned restaurants were closed or close to closing.  So we ended up making a late night Taco Bell run.  Price’s flight now departs at 6:30am, so we will have to leave the hotel at 4:30am to get him checked into his flight.  So far, John and Ciara’s flights are still on, although Ciara’s flights may be in jeopardy because of a weather system hitting Chicago in the next few hours.  We’ll see how the day plays out tomorrow.