Day 0: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Flying with a head cold is not a lot of fun so I look for the entertainment factor anywhere I can. It was somewhat amusing seeing the occasional fellow traveler surreptitiously looking out the window whenever Gerry would blow his nose (checking to see if any of those "geese" were anywhere near the engines). Some would give a reassuring touch to their seat cushion making certain the inflatable vest was actually there and wishing they had paid closer attention to the flight attendant's demonstration. Then these same people would glance out the window and realize we were currently over Helena, Montana and there ain't a lot of water in the Rockies for an emergency landing!

While we were completely full leaving Seattle, things did open up once we got to Chicago. Southwest must figure that the people of the Northwest just plain don't get enough warm weather and so to accommodate their passengers they keep the cabin temp at 78 degrees. It's been awhile since I was a microbiology major (for about a month) but I think that's the exact temperature you want to keep a petri dish when trying to cultivate germs. Things improved immensely when we weren't packed quite so tightly - until I "baptized" Gerry with a glass of ice water. Didn't really mean to (and boy was I glad that no one else was sitting in our row!) At first it was a bit shocking, then it actually felt kind of refreshing and finally it felt just plain wet. No worries - with the cabin temp that high, drying out completely did not take long.

And then we were here - Ft. Lauderdale, FL. It actually seems quite beautiful but I'm left wondering how they get those stunningly beautiful exterior shots for CSI: Miami - it's quite hazy. Since our hotel has neither bar nor pool and is almost 3 miles from the beach, we didn't find any students on spring break. We finally ventured out for dinner around 7 pm (local time - which meant we weren't actually all the hungry) hopefully to find some local color. 'Shipwrecked' seemed good - within walking distance of the hotel, 23 beers on tap, $1 beer all day long and lots of fun (sounding anyway) food. Yeah - closed. Then there was a small Cafe (authentic tex-mex they claimed). Yeah - closed. There are lots and lots of pizzerias and the usual fast food places (if Chris were here he'd have made a run for the border right out the door of the hotel). We finally came across an Outback Steakhouse.

Now Gerry & I are quite used to lowering the average age (dramatically) whenever we cruise (particularly anything over 7 days in length), but seriously folks. I was surprised when we got in there that a) the place was overrun by the "silver set" and b) they apparently eat so close to what I'm sure must be their bedtime! I have no doubt that many of them will probably be headed for our ship tomorrow and given that our ears are so plugged from the flight no doubt we will be indistinguishable from the rest of them (huh? what did you say?)

No matter. Those of you who know me know that the anticipation of the trip is nearly as much fun as the actual trip itself. I'm very excited to know that soon I will be embarking on yet another adventure with my most favorite travelling companion seeing new and exotic places. (Of course knowing that there are approximately 1300 crewmembers aboard most of whose job it is to see to my every whim doesn't hurt!)

• Terri's Travel Tip: Before embarking on your cruise, take a moment to repack your carry-on bag. Your luggage will be taken from you at check-in and will be delivered directly to your stateroom but that might take 4+ hours. Anything you had with you for the flight (like those comfy neck pillows) you won't be needing so tuck them into your luggage. But there's only so long you can hang out at the buffet aboard ship before you'll want to be exploring, particularly if you have kids travelling with you. Make sure you put your swimsuit, sunglasses, etc. into your carry-on and you'll be set!

Till tomorrow then!

tw