3-31 Miami and South Beach

Our time is running out, and getting around down here is difficult for us spoiled Southern Californians.  The freeways are a mess with lots of construction, and drivers are incredibly aggressive.  Yes, this SoCal driver did say that!  I've seen more people cut off and flipped off over the past few days.  So we opt not to go to the Everglades and instead do some laundry and head down to Miami to check out the beach area.

We found the Art Deco area of South Beach, and it probably took us more time to find a parking spot than it did to have lunch and walk around (note strong German sarcasm).  The beaches are beautiful and were quite crowded as it's spring break season.  That means lots of young scantly clad bodies floating around, many that were a bit intoxicated.  It was quite a site.  OK, back to the buildings, which were beautiful.  But I think their real beauty is displayed at night with all the neon lighting.

That was about it for our day.  On our way back to FLL we stopped at LensCrafters to have a nose pad replaced on my sunglasses.  Oh, you're probably not too interested in all that housekeeping stuff.

Well, that's it folks.  Tomorrow we board ship around noonish.  And set sail around 3.  Check back occasionally.  I'll try to post an update somewhere along the cruise. Neighbors are sitting outside.  

Here are a few pics from Miami:  Day 5 - Miami

3-30 Driving back to FLL

Today we took our time getting out of bed.  The only things we had on our schedule was to visit the Hemingway House or Truman's Little White House.  Then we were heading back up to Fort Lauderdale.

We decide on Truman's Little White House and we're glad we did.  The conch style home, (1-2 story rectangular with full width porches on each floor) was built in 1890 and initially served as the naval stations's Command headquarters.  In 1946 President Truman began using it as a winter White House.

In 1974 the Naval Submarine Base closed and the house sat unused or years.  Then in 1987 the museum was transferred to the state of Florida where it became a protected property and it is entirely supported through donations and tour sales.  The home can still be rented by current and past US presidents, their children and grandchildren.  But a fee is charged because every time someone stays overnight, all the original antique furniture is removed and replaced with functional furniture, and then reversed after the visit.  The last person to stay there was Susan Ford and her children a few years back.  The Obama's have never vacationed there.

It was nostalgic touring the house.  Bess Truman's bedroom furniture was blond wood, the same color of the bed set I still sleep in when I visit my mother.  Another deja vous item was the studio sofa in the president's bedroom.  I remember my mother having a "studio sofa" in her den after her 1950's remodel.  The studio couch was used for daytime naps because back then one didn't climb back into one's bed during the day. Perhaps that why I don't like to nap in my bed during the day.  It's an old cultural custom!  Unfortunately no photos were allowed in the building, so I've had to rely on the internet for some pics of the interior.

The Little White House - Key West

Bess Truman's Bedroom - Note the blond furniture

Harry Truman's Bedroom - He made his own bed 

and napped on the studio sofa.

So after our tour we headed back up Highway 1 to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale.  Tomorrow is our last day in Florida and then we set sail.  Not sure how much I'll be blogging during the cruise.  Out of the 15 days, half of them will be at sea.  Don't think there will be a lot to report ... or if we'll even have internet.

Here are a few pics from our drive back up Highway 1:  Day 4 - Overseas Hwy

3-29 Dry Tortugas

Wow!  What a day!  First off, we had great night's sleep.  I think our colds have finally decided to take leave AND we've adjusted to the time difference.  On to vacation! 

After a quick hotel breakfast we head back down to Duval Street.  We wanted to walk around without the crowds.  One of our stops was Kino's Sandals, a Cuban sandal maker who's been making sandals in Key West since 1966.  Pretty cool.  Everything is made locally. Their sandals are on a counter, you select a style, give them your size, a pair is grabbed out of the appropriate box (mostly discarded beer cases), you try them on and then either buy or not!  Check it out:  Kino's Sandals 

After our brief shopping excursion, we return to the hotel to prepare for our big outing of the day - boarding a seaplane to Fort Jefferson located in the Dry Tortugas National Park.  The Park is located on one of the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys.  Although never completed the Fort is the largest brick structure in the US. 

Dry Tortugas National Park 

At 1:30 we head over to the Key West airport, sign our liability release forms and join our fellow passengers on the 10-passenger seaplane for the 30 minute flight to the Dry Tortugas. Liftoff was surprisingly quick and before we knew it we were skimming only 500 feet above the Gulf of Mexico.  Throughout the flight we skim over the shallow flats of Key West, an area off the coast that's less than 5 feet deep for miles off the shoreline, see underwater sand dunes, and the wrecks of two sunken ships.   The weather was a bit hazy, not bad considering rain was predicted.  We didn't know what to expect with a water landing in a sea plane.  But this one was incredibly smooth.  I've never been on a flight where the pilot encourages the passengers in back to open the back doors for some fresh air.  

Once on the island we were on our own for 2.5 hour.   Our first objective was to Walk through the ruins of Fort Jefferson.  And if time permitted, we planned to do a bit of snorkeling.  So we headed out to explore, walking through the 150 year ruins of an attempted fortress.  Check out the pics on my Flickr site.   

Did I mention it was really hot and humid (98%)? By the time we ended our tour we were both drenched. So we headed to the beach for a quick dip.  We did attempt to snorkel, but the water was quite rough making the water quite murky.  But the dip was very refreshing.

On the flight back to Key West, Tony got to sit up front with the pilot.  He was all smiles and was able to film a bit.   Will try to upload the video - if I can figure it out!

Time for bed.  Tomorrow we head back to Fort Lauderdale.

3-28 Driving to Key West

One of our bucket list items was to drive the Overseas Highway to Key West - all 127.5 miles of it! Check. I had this vision where the majority of the highway was indeed over water.  Well, it's not.

http://www.fla-keys.com/highway.cfm

Although there are 42 bridges, 113 miles of the road travel through the small towns of the Florida Keys, and the road often narrows to one lane in each direction.  I mentioned a number of times that the landscape reminded me of Cancun - flat, ground-hugging vegetation, and lots of limestone.

So my favorite part was driving over (yes, I was driving) the 7 mile bridge as we closed in on Key West.  There are actually  two bridges here, the original bridge built in 1912, and it's newer replacement bridge completed in 1982.  Mmmm, don't remember that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Mile_Bridge

So after leaving Fort Lauderdale at 11, we reached our hotel in Key West around 4 pm. Ahh, I forgot to mention we had a little car rental issue first.  This morning, when we tried to put our luggage in the trunk, it didn't open.  Fortunately the car rental was just across the street from our hotel and the clerk was very accommodating and exchanged our car within minutes and we were on our way.

Back to Key West, after checking in we head down to the action on Duval Street - just envision Revolution in Tijuana!  Lot's of people, all shapes and ages, and many of them very drunk!  After walking around a bit, we settle on an Italian restaurant for dinner and immediately fall into a pasta coma.  Still too early for bed, we head to Mallory Square to watch the sunset and then head back to the hotel for an early night.  Tomorrow we fly over to the Dry Tortugas.

Click here to see a couple of DAY 2 pictures from our drive.

3/27 - Fort Lauderdale

Thank goodness yesterday is over.  It was a very long and tedious travel day.  Our flight was delayed out of San Diego making our connection in Atlanta very tight.  But we made it to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) exhausted, and in my case very cranky!!  But we're  on vacation, so on to better things.

After decent night's sleep, we picked up our rental car and drove east to the beach. The Atlantic water is so blue and inviting compared to the Pacific.  But not inviting enough for us to get wet.  We walked along the beach soaking in the sights and smells and then headed over to Las Olas Boulevard, the riverfront area of downtown Fort Lauderdale.  Lots of shops, restaurants and bars, but we didn't stop.  Our destination was the Carrie B Cruise dock.  This was just our speed today, a 1.5 hour paddleboat tour on the New River and Intracoastal  waterway checking out the life of the rich and famous.  Yachts, yachts and more yachts. And amazing homes in an area called the "Venice of the US".  Pretty amazing.

After our exhausting cruise we headed to a local Italian restaurant for a late lunch and glass of wine.  Then back to our hotel to rest.  We're both trying to shake off the remnants of colds.

Click here to see some pics from today.

Tomorrow we drive down to Key West, check one item on the bucket list.

We're Off - Again

It's been a crazy couple of months...

• Hosting a 50th birthday party in our back yard
• Caring for our granddaughter in Monrovia
• Business trip to Central Valley, CA
• Business conference in Las Vegas
• More grandchild care in Alamogordo, NM

… and all the other family and daily stuff that goes on.  But we're ready!  Almost!

We returned from Alamogordo on Sunday night.  Unfortunately both Tony and I have a bit of a cold.  Nothing major, just an annoyance.  Hope we're better by the time we get to the Keys.

Although we've cruised before, this one is going to be different.  We spend half of the 15 days at sea.   The great thing about cruising is unpacking 1x - oh, and having someone make the bed!  So we'll let you know if we like cruise life at sea.

So here's our room location on the Island Princess.  We love being on the aft of the ship and because this ship has no aft facing rooms, this is the closest room we could get.  Drawback: the balcony is not covered.  That should only be an issue for half the day, right?

Island Princes - Room C728