Day 1: Monday, 4/25/16
The alarms started going off about 4:30 am. We needed to leave the house about 5:15. Yes, we were sleeping in compared to last year’s vacation. It was a whopping 30 degrees outside, and we had turned the heat off, thinking since it was the end of April we wouldn’t need it anymore.
Needless to say, changing into traveling clothes was a very quick process, and a fleece jacket was necessary with the capris, t-shirt and flip flops. Pretty soon the luggage was loaded in the car and we were on the road south.
We drove to my dad’s house, where the garage door was already open and he was waiting for us. I parked, handed off the keys to dad, and we loaded the luggage in the back of his truck. We were flying out of Manchester, but back into Boston, so we were leaving my car at his house for the week, and he would leave it at the bus terminal for us the day we flew home.
The ride to the airport was about 15 minutes, and we pulled up to the curb about 6 am. Perfect timing. We grabbed our luggage, reminded dad what day we were flying home, and headed inside...into a nearly empty airport. Oh...right...it’s Monday. I usually fly on the weekend of vacation!
There was no wait for the Southwest line, and within minutes, our luggage was checked and we were on the escalator up to the security line. I had read that they were doing construction to expand the already efficient security checkpoint, and even that they were demolishing the staircase to the observation deck (BOOOOOO), but I was still surprisingly disappointed to see that one of the checkpoints (my favorite because no one notices it) was walled off, so everyone had to enter the same line. Fortunately, it moved quickly, we passed the hand swab test, and pretty soon, after only one of us being violated for forgetting to remove his belt, we were through security, and heading to a very empty gate 15.
We ended up with about an hour and a half to kill before boarding began. Thanks MHT for that recommendation to get there 2 hours early during security construction! We passed the time facebooking and munching on food from Dunkins. Hey, it’s right next to the gate!
Eventually boarding began. I was toward the end of the A group. Nick forgot to buy EBCI, so he was in the B group. Knowing that we only had an hour connection in Baltimore and having booked it through that airport a year ago, and having had to walk the entire length of the airport in July, I picked the very first set of 2 seats that didn’t have someone wearing a mask. I’m pretty sure the lady on the aisle wasn’t pleased to have to move twice, but she just wasn’t a happy camper in general. And she was on vacation! Reason #5072 why I’m never having kids…
The flight boarded surprisingly fast, thanks to MHT’s awesome crew, and we were pushing back a few minutes early. The flight was quick, even by MHT to BWI standards, and we touched down early. Yay! As an added bonus, our next gate was very close to our arriving gate. No long distance hikes or sprints today!
We found seats at our next gate and settled down...to listen to the credit card salesman? Yup, we were at THAT gate. Both of us were quite impressed by how many people he managed to attract (and get to apply) in the half hour or so that we were sitting there.
Eventually boarding began, and once again, I managed to find the unfriendly person to sit by. Oh well. This flight took longer, obviously. I watched the flight tracker, read a bit and took a nap. Yes, you read that right. I slept on an airplane.
Eventually, I noticed the water turning more tropical blue, and I could see the shore line. I silently started wishing Nick would lose enough weight so I could have the window seat while traveling with him instead of the middle, and leaned across him to check out the view.
The landing seemed to take forever, but eventually we were back on the ground and pulling up to the gate. Deplaning was quick, and pretty soon we were walking into the Fort Lauderdale airport. Why Fort Lauderdale when we were staying in and cruising out of Miami? The airlines flying into Miami wanted $500+ roundtrip per person. We had Southwest points and vouchers from when our luggage didn’t make that 13 minute connection with us last year. It was a no-brainer.
We found our way down to baggage claim and quickly knew we weren’t in NH anymore. Signs for parking garages with names like Hibiscus garage? Baggage claims that sounded like ship/fog horns instead of honking? Hey, I think I like this airport.
Bags started arriving on the carousel from our flight before the whole flight had even arrived at baggage claim. Ours were slow to make an appearance, but eventually we saw the big green 603 stickers that we had slapped on our bags working their way around the carousel.
Once the bags were collected, it was time to go get the rental car. We headed to the rental car center, and leap frogged the escalators up to the 4th floor, where we headed straight out to the garage to the Dollar Express counter, where they didn’t seem to have my name on the reservation board. Uh oh.
Turns out the lady in Orlando in February was wrong, and they still haven’t managed to update my credit card information in the system from the previously expired card. The process was quick enough, and pretty soon we were being directed to the full size row, despite our midsize car reservation. Huh?
The midsize row was basically empty. Ohh. But wait, I have to navigate a full size car through MIAMI?! That city that in some of those “worst drivers in America” surveys turns up ahead of Boston?
Nick selected a blue-ish Hyundai Sonata, because he’s decided if he ever chooses to own an “adult” car, it’ll be that, so he wanted an extended test drive. Well, really, test ride, because I was the only driver registered. Damn those extra driver fees and the insurance issues that go along with being not married to each other.
We loaded up the car, and made our way out of the garage to find lunch. Our destination was super far away. You know...like 8 minutes. I’m a big fan of Trip Advisor and Google Maps. Through that combination, I had identified a little ice cream parlor/burger place just a few minutes away, that was very highly rated. We like ice cream, we like burgers, and it was almost 2 pm.
We found Jaxson’s Ice Cream easily. I had seen pictures on TA. Nick’s immediate reaction was “Where are you taking me?”. Umm to the number 1 rated restaurant in Dania Beach?
Once inside, we were seated quickly. We soon found out that in addition to homemade ice cream and some insane burger and hot dog concoctions, they served all homemade sodas, including our favorite, root beer. Nick was starting to question my choice to do lunch here a bit less.
Turns out not only is the soda homemade, it’s HUGE.
The service was excellent (and friendly) and the burgers were great. For dessert, Nick had a hot fudge sundae and I had creme caramel ice cream.
Wow was it good! There’s a reason this restaurant is turning 60 this year. If we ever find ourselves in that area at lunchtime again, or ice cream time, we know where we’re eating.
After lunch, it was time to head for Miami. I had obviously seen lots of descriptions of Miami drivers, but I’ve found that, with the exception of Boston, no city has yet lived up to it’s reputation for bad driving. But, I grew up an hour from Boston. My standards are high!
No sooner had I turned out of the parking lot than I encountered southern Florida drivers. In the couple seconds we sat at the red light looking to see if it was a “no turn on red” light or not, someone drove into the lane to my left and turned right to get around me. Ok, we can turn right on red here. Time to turn on those Massachusetts North driving skills.
The trip to Miami was fairly uneventful. The drivers weren’t half as bad as Boston drivers. We found the hotel, and after a little confusion as to where to park to check in, we were on our way into the lobby to check in.
I’m a Hilton Honors member. I get emails the day before arrival to do online check in and select my room. Remember I had two separate reservations, and I had booked a simple king bed, bayview room. The day before our departure, I’d received my online check in email for Monday. When I looked at it, it was clear that they had upgraded me to a bayview corner “grand suite”. After talking with Nick, we decided to choose a room within that room type, even if it was just for that one night, because, why turn down an upgrade like that? We weren’t sure what was going to happen for the next night’s reservation though.
Upon confirming that it was actually two reservations and our final check out date would be Wednesday, the girl typed a bit on the computer and then handed us keys and told us we were all set for both nights. And from the room number, it was clear that we had received the upgrade for 2 nights. Sweet! Remember, one of these nights is FREE.
We went back outside, grabbed the luggage, and handed the keys over to the valet. Then it was upstairs to check out our room, 651.
Yup, this is cool. Nick and I tend to do a lot of short stays in hotels when we travel, because we tend to move to different locations during a trip. Because of this we’ve had a few really cool upgrades. But this one may have taken the cake (although I’m not complaining about any of the others!). The view!
We spent some time watching cruise ships turn around. Ok, we spent a fair amount of time watching cruise ships turn around. Once they were all headed for the ocean, it was time to think about dinner.
A colleague had told me to go to Bayside Marketplace, so we walked the block or so to the Metromover station, and hopped on Miami’s version of a monorail. This is free. A few stops later, we transferred loops, and then just one stop, and a couple blocks later, we were at Bayside.
He had a shrimp sampler. I had fish and chips. For years, evidence pointed toward me having a shrimp and shellfish allergy, but I was just recently cleared to eat all of that. A year ago, I wouldn’t have dared to set foot in Bubba Gump’s, having reacted in the past when just being around shrimp. Since being cleared, I have tried some of the previously off limits foods, but haven’t liked any of them. So while it was nice to be able to eat somewhere that used to be off limits, I still don’t eat their main seller.
After dinner, we poked around the stores a bit more, and then headed back to the hotel, via the Metromover. For this trip, we did not have to transfer loops, so it was a quick trip, and pretty soon we were back in our room, and soon after that, we were sound asleep.
Loving the report so far Heather!!!
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