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International Jaunts 2020
  • Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun

International Jaunts 2020

From the US to Turkey and back ... trips that were realized ... trips that had to be shortened ... trips that were canceled. All during a year that saw the world dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 27, 2020
    International Jaunts 2020
    Our itinerary for the European Quest cruise.

    European Quest Booked

    July 17, 2019, Barentsz Sea ⋅ 🌧 43 °F

    We're cruising the Barents Sea. Having called on Arkhangelsk, Russia yesterday, we're enjoying a day at sea aboard Oceania's Nautica on our way back to Norway. We did something today that impacts our 2020 travels, so I thought I'd write up a quick footprint to give our 2020 overseas travel journal a kick-start.

    Our plan was to keep 2020 fairly simple travel-wise. An Eastbound TransAtlantic at some point in the spring to take mom back home ... time in Turkey. That was it. Then we'd fly back to the US to spend the summer and fall months at home in order to explore our new home state ... perhaps with a new motorhome. Honest ... that was it.

    Today those plans jiggled when we booked a short 10-day cruise on Oceania's Marina. Roundtrip out of Southampton means no complicated logistics. Mostly new-to-us ports ... all but one of them in France. Sounds good to me.

    The itinerary is so port-intensive that we opted for an oceanview cabin ... the Cat C on Marina have floor-to-ceiling glass and are quite nice we've been told. This category was only available as a guarantee, so we might end up elsewhere on the ship. We'll have to wait and see.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Norwegian Air is Norway's largest airline and the ninth largest low-cost carrier in the world.

    Air to US ✔︎

    September 12, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    There are no westbound Transatlantic cruises from Europe to the US in June. Well, there might be on Cunard, but we're not interested in that cruise line. So, the only way to get back home after our European Quest cruise (R/T out of Southampton) is to fly back from the UK.

    We debated using miles to get award tickets on Delta or United. Then we remembered Sonia mentioning that Norwegian Air's premium cabin is pretty decent — especially for a long-haul low-cost airline. When our research unearthed a route from London Gatwick to Denver — non-stop no less — we were sold. Two bags each ... meal service ... extra legroom even if the seat doesn't lay flat ... pre-reserved seats (1A/C). Sounds good to us.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Allure of the Seas ... Courtesy of the RCI website.

    Eastbound T/A ... Westbound Air

    December 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    Busy day here in Colorado Springs ... finalizing some 2020 travel logistics.

    Taking advantage of Cyber Monday sales, yesterday I booked two cabins on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. Full payment made today.

    This Oasis-class ship is a true behemoth that can carry 6,700+ passengers when booked at full capacity. I am hoping that our 1 March crossing to Europe will be closer to 5,000+🤞🏻. The ship will easily be the biggest one we've ever set sail on. Not sure how I feel about it, but the price was good ... and the date worked with our plans to get to Europe before the end of March. As well, our Elite+ standing with Celebrity's Captain's Club will be reciprocated as Diamond in RCI’s Crown & Anchor Club ... a few perks never hurt.

    Frankly, I was surprised at how late the eastbound T/As sail from the US. None of our preferred cruise lines leave until April. Oh well. One good thing about the Allure OTS ... there should be plenty to keep us busy on the nine-day crossing. Yup, nine days instead of the usual 6-7 days ... all because there is only one port of call in Málaga, Spain before we disembark in Barcelona on 13 March ... good thing we are not superstitious about that number!

    While I was in travel agent mode, I decided to take care of some airfare needs as well. First up ... I booked us on Southwest Airlines from Denver to Ft Lauderdale to embark Allure OTS on 1 March. We decided to add a few days in Florida pre-embarkation, so the date of the flight is set for 27 February. We'll Uber up to Denver to catch our Southwest flight.

    Then I booked us on THY from Barcelona to İzmir after we disembark Allure OTS. Too bad it's not a direct flight. We'll have to go through İstanbul ... sigh.

    Next, I turned my attention to the flight Mui and I need to get us to the UK to embark Oceania's Marina in Southampton on May 25. Here I lucked out with a Sun Express flight direct from İzmir to London Luton Airport (LTN) ... at a very good price. The only problem? This low-cost carrier operates only on select days ... in this case on May 22. What to do? Add a few pre-cruise days and do some sightseeing in the UK of course.

    A few logistics details remain ... booking accommodations for our three nights in Florida; getting from Luton to wherever we want to spend time before our European Quest cruise and figuring out where to stay; getting from Southampton to Gatwick after the cruise. I'll deal with all that another day.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020

    Getting from Southampton to Gatwick

    December 4, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    Having been to Southampton a couple of times now, finding a way to get us to the airport after we disembark Oceania's Marina on 4 June was easy peasy. It certainly pays to have prior experience of a port!

    I clicked open the National Express website to purchase bus tickets. Good thing I called Mui over to verify the dates and times ... I almost bought tickets to Heathrow since that is our usual airport in London. Not this time, though ... Norwegian Air operates out of Gatwick.

    The 9:10a departure will get us to Gatwick at 11:50a ... plenty of time to spare before our 4:00p flight departure. I opted to pay extra to reserve seats — 1C/D — so we won't have to worry about queuing up with the masses to get a decent seat. Another logistics detail ✔︎.

    P.S. An Uber or a cab from the taxi stand at the cruise terminal will easily get us to the Southampton coach station on Harbour Parade. That means I have two logistics details taken care of today 😊    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Our deck 7 cabins should look something like this.

    Switched Cabins

    December 6, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 43 °F

    After booking the TransAtlantic, I started worrying about the fact that our cabin connected to another one. We find the noise that can filter through a connecting door especially bothersome. So why did I accept the cabin to begin with? I wanted to be adjacent to mom's cabin. Available cabins that met that requirement were few.

    Fingers crossed, I called RCI today. As luck would have it, 7316 had opened up. A few quick keyboard strokes and we were no longer in 7312.

    P.S. If you read between the lines, you'll figure out that mom will be in 7314 😉    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020

    FLL 2020 Logistics Cont'd

    December 9, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 37 °F

    After being out and about with mom and Aylin for several days in a row, I took advantage of a cold day here in Colorado Springs (high of 36F / low of 19F) to stay home and deal with a few more details for our pre-T/A days in Ft Lauderdale.

    First up, Mui rented a car from Alamo to get us around. They claim to still operate a shuttle from FLL to Port Everglades, but I've read conflicting reports. I guess we'll see what happens when we go to turn in the car on 1 March. Worse case ... Uber or a taxi will get us to the port.

    While Mui was taking care of wheels for us, I was researching accommodations. It didn't take long to determine that booking two hotel rooms would be pricey ... especially since we'd also have to pay to eat out three times a day. So, I turned my attention to VRBO and the like for an apartment or bungalow or condo ... anything that would sleep three in two separate rooms.

    I found what I was looking for on Booking.com — Alani Bay Luxury Condos. A family-owned property ... with free parking, which is a big deal in Ft Lauderdale. We'll plan on having breakfast and one other meal at home ... maybe dinner ... if, that is, we don't meet up with friends who live in the area.

    We have until a month prior to our arrival to cancel if something else pops up ... not that I will be actively looking.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    A calendar on the RCI website shows activities I've already signed up for.

    Checked in for the T/A

    December 30, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °F

    We have 62 days to go before we embark Allure of the Seas for the TransAtlantic crossing from Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona.

    Unlike airlines, which allow passengers to check-in for a flight 24 hours ahead of the scheduled departure time, I was able to check-in for our cruise earlier this week. No need to print out anything ... the SetSail passes are available in the app on my smartphone.

    There will be plenty of entertainment opportunities during the cruise ... most just walk-in. However, reservations are highly recommended for a few of the featured shows (no charge) ... such as Mamma Mia, Ocean Aria, Ice Games, and Blue Planet. This is new to me ... we've never had to pre-book shows before. I guess I can understand the need to do so, however — we'll be sailing on a behemoth after all.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Final docs and luggage tags ... always good to get them.

    T/A Docs Ready

    January 14, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    Forty-six days to go before we embark Allure of the Seas in Ft Lauderdale, FL.

    Final documents issued ... ✔️

    Luggage tags printed ... ✔️

    Boarding passes issued (and available on the Royal Caribbean app) ... ✔️

    Port plans ... ✔️ We have only one port of call on this 12-day TransAtlantic crossing. It’s a port we’ve been to before so I’ve not had to do a whole lot of research ... just a matter of picking one or two of the many sightseeing options in the city. Even lunch is a no-brainer ... assuming, that is, the weather cooperates for us to dine al fresco. If not ... well, I’m sure we’ll find an alternative restaurant that serves a tapas lunch.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    A suite with a garden view awaits us at Ivy Cottage in Tenterden (photo courtesy of Booking.com).

    UK Logistics ✔︎

    January 18, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 28 °F

    Back in early December, I booked a flight on Sun Express to get us from Turkey to the UK for our European Quest cruise roundtrip out of Southampton. The reason I picked Sun Express was that we can fly non-stop out of Izmir ... any flight that avoids connecting in Istanbul is a good thing IMHO.

    The downside — well, not really since it gives us extra sightseeing time — is that Sun Express operates this flight on specific days. In this case, on 22 May. Our cruise departs on 25 May. Thus, our plan to fly in only a day before embarkation was replaced with a multi-day stay prior to the cruise.

    The question then became — where to focus our limited time. My first instinct was to use Southampton as a base as that would work out well to visit Highclere Castle ... of Downton Abbey fame. Turns out that the castle is open to the public only on specific days, and the one that worked for us had an event scheduled. No can do ... don't want to deal with extra crowds. So, I shifted gears.

    After consulting my Lonely Planet guidebook, I proposed to Mui that we visit the southeast corner of England, including Rye, which is described as "one of England's prettiest towns." It certainly seems like there is plenty of things to keep us occupied for more than two days, but we'll at least get a taste of what the region has to offer.

    Today, Mui rented us a car ... at what I think is a reasonable rate considering we'll be picking up at Luton Airport and dropping off at Southampton port.

    I wasn't idle either. I booked us into a B&B in Tenterden, which a TripAdvisor forum member suggested as a central location and described as "... a nice little town in the heart of some lovely countryside." Works for us. Ivy Cottage is highly rated by those who have stayed there and the property owners have already been in touch with us ... very welcoming.

    Now to come up with some "fluid" sightseeing plans that we can adjust based on weather and other considerations once we arrive in England.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020

    European Quest Saving Money

    January 23, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 39 °F

    Oceania Cruises has two pricing points. Well, three really. OLife, which includes airfare and one other amenity, such as a certain number of excursions, drinks, or onboard credit (OBC). OLife, without the included air, for which passengers get credit for not taking the airfare but can still get one amenity. CruiseOnly is the third option ... self-explanatory.

    When we booked our European Quest cruise, we opted for OLife with OBC and took the credit for the included air. We’re usually coming from or going to a cruise from somewhere other than the US, so arranging our own air makes sense to us.

    For the European Quest cruise, we have OBC — OBN really since it is non-refundable use-it-or-lose-it money — from two sources. One is the OLife perk mentioned above. The other is for having reached platinum level in the Oceania Club. Together they add up to a nice chunk of money. We don’t drink much, we seldom shop in the onboard boutiques, we don’t typically do ship-sponsored excursions, and our gratuities are prepaid by O as a platinum perk. So the funny money is usually spent on massage treatments. That is great when you have plenty of relaxing days at sea. On our upcoming 10-day cruise we have nine ports of call. Or putting it another way, we only have one day at sea. Not much time for a bunch of massages. What to do?

    We can’t do anything about the platinum perk OBC ... it’s just there ... no way to remove it. But we can do something about the OLife OBC by converting our booking to cruise-only since we have yet to make the final payment. So that’s what we did today. Our cruisefare dropped by an amount commensurate with the O Life OBC we canceled. Sure felt good to save some money. Especially since we still have the platinum OBC, which combined with the spa voucher we get for being platinum, will still buy us a couple of massages. All’s good.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020

    NTTP: Admit Two

    February 5, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °F

    A beautiful sunny day at home … but a frigidly cold day. Have plenty to do so no complaints. Tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer. And then we have another snow event in the forecast.

    As I was planning our pre-cruise stay in England, I came across a National Trust Touring Pass that is available to non-residents. It is sold at considerable savings over what I anticipate we’ll be spending to visit some of the places on our list. What makes this pass such a good deal is that it admits two people for £58. It’s a seven-day pass, but luckily it should pay for itself in the two days we will have for sightseeing before we embark Nautica.

    Anyway, I ordered the pass this afternoon and received an immediate confirmation of the purchase. We will present the confirmation at one of the two places on the itinerary for our first day of touring — May 23. The staff will exchange it for the actual pass and then we'll be good to go.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Planning takes time, but it's worth it in the end.

    European Quest Port Plans ✔︎

    February 17, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 34 °F

    Cold ... snow ... and some frozen fog as well. That's what most of February has been like. Most people probably would not care for weather like this. I don't mind much as such conditions allow me to focus on things I need to take care of indoors. In this case — making plans for shore activities for our cruise in May.

    Our 10-day cruise is port-intensive ... only one day at sea. All but two of the ports are new to us. Quite a bit of research needed. The good news ... I now have a fluid plan for sightseeing. What that means is that I have a list of places and things that interest us. We'll pick and choose from that list based on weather and other considerations when we arrive in port. The only locked-in plan is for the Guggenheim in Bilbao. I purchased skip-the-line tickets for that venue today ... at a surprisingly reasonable €10pp.

    Mostly we’ll be exploring the ports of call on foot ... with the help of public transportation as necessary. One exception is Brest ... we’ve rented a car to head out and explore the coast. We’ll be paying for the car on arrival, so we’re not locked into that plan and can change our minds later.

    I enjoy researching and organizing trips. That said, it always feels like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders when I am able to put a check-mark next to this travel tasker.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020

    DEN-FLL Boarding Passes ✔︎

    February 26, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 41 °F

    Bags are mostly packed ... last-minute items are all that remain ... they will be placed in our luggage before we zip them up.

    Pre-trip to-dos are mostly checked off our lists ... the few remaining items have to wait until we are ready to lock the door.

    Travel notes and other important documents have been pdf'd and transferred to iDevices for easy reference ... so much better than carrying a lot of paper.

    The last thing I needed to do this afternoon was to get boarding passes for our Southwest Airlines flight ... with early-bird check-in, it was easy to download them to the airline's app.

    Now I can relax until we get on the road bright and early tomorrow morning.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Looks like we'll have a nice place to chill in FLL between sightseeing outings.

    Bungalow Stay in FLL ✔︎

    February 26, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 36 °F

    Instead of booking a couple of hotel rooms for our pre-cruise stay in Ft Lauderdale, Florida we booked a two-bedroom bungalow through Booking.com.

    Today I received an email from the property owner re-confirming the booking. Included in the information provided ... the exact address, the code to unlock the door, the wi-fi password. All very efficient.

    So, not only are we set with boarding passes for our flight, but we are also set with our accommodations. Let the trip begin ... tomorrow.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020

    Leavin' Home for DEN

    February 27, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F

    With apologies to John Denver ... I'm plagiarizing some of the lyrics from "Leaving on a Jet Plane” ...

    All our bags are packed
    We're ready to go
    We're standin' here outside the door ...

    It's early morn
    The Uber's waitin'
    She's blowin' her horn ...

    'Cause we're leavin' on a jet plane
    We'll be back again in June ...

    8:30a ... we’re on schedule. Uber just picked us up for the ride to Denver International (DEN) ... about 1.5 hours away ... worth it for the inexpensive Southwest Airlines tickets we snagged to get us to Ft Lauderdale. Sunny day ... a bit nippy with a light breeze adding a chill factor. We’re driving up Route 83N ... scenic and none of the I-25N mess to deal with. A perfect start to our travel day.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    1Our chariot being serviced — Denver International Airport, Denver, CO.

    Tummies Sated @ DEN

    February 27, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F

    Arrived at the DEN East Terminal at 10:00a ... as expected, a 1.5-hour drive up from Colorado Springs. Curbside check-in of bags. Then through security ... easy peasy (for the most part).

    After finding our departure gate — C35 — we headed off to get a bite to eat. After all, it was already 1:00p in Florida. We opted for Smashburger for lunch ... always good.

    Now we’re settled in at our gate. Our aircraft just arrived. If all goes well, 30 minutes from now we will be on the plane.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020

    Aboard Southwest 5444

    February 27, 2020, Gulf of Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    The 737-800 that is taking us to FLL pushed back at 1:00p ... 10 minutes late. But once we started rolling, there was no stopping us. Within minutes we were wheels up and winging our way east.

    Southwest flyers know that there are no seat assignments on this budget airline. Our early bird check-in had netted us boarding spots 46-48 in the A group ... first to be called after passengers that qualify for pre-boarding. So we expected that we’d get aisle seats. We did better.

    Because we had requested a wheelchair to get mom through the hub-bub of the airport to the gate, we were moved into the pre-boarding group. Hey, we’ll take it.

    Several people went down the jetway ahead of us. So, imagine my surprise when we found the starboard bulkhead seats still open. These are premium seats with excellent legroom. Yeah, the seats are on the narrow side ... but then so are all the other seats on the aircraft. Hey, we’ll take them.

    Our flight has been pleasant. I passed the time with a bit of journaling and a bit of reading. Southwest provides free wi-fi, so I was able to check in with family in Turkey to let them know that we’re on our way to Florida. And now I am going to wrap up this quickie “footprint” and prepare to stow my electronics in preparation for landing.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    1All our bags made it ... FLL — Ft Lauderdale, FL.

    Arrived in Ft Lauderdale, Florida

    February 27, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 61 °F

    Smooth flight ... early landing at FLL ... by 20 minutes despite the 10-minute delay departing DEN. Just picked up our bags at the luggage carousel.

    Next up ... pick up the rental car from Alamo and drive to the condo we rented for our 3-night stay prior to embarking the ship on 1 March.Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Welcome to Alani Bay Condos — Ft Lauderdale, FL.
    Clean and bright ... will meet our needs for our short stay — Ft Lauderdale, FL.

    Settled into Alani Bay Condos

    February 27, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 59 °F

    It's not like we traveled a great distance today — just a 3+ hour flight from Colorado to Florida. But our day did start early ... we're all feeling drained. Time to relax a bit before calling it a night ... even if it is only 8:30p back at home.

    We picked up our Alamo rental from the on-airport site and headed north to the condo we rented for our stay. The drive was a short one ... would have been shorter had we not mistakenly taken a "locals only" road. Oh well, a little backtracking got us where we needed to go. We did much better getting back to the condo a little later after a quick bit of shopping at the nearby Publix.

    The condo is a small, two-bedroom bungalow. Quite typical of the older Florida residences ... in a quiet residential neighborhood. Clean with all the amenities we need, though I have yet to find the washer and dryer mentioned in the description on the Booking website. Even without the W/D amenity, the place will serve us well for our short stay in Ft Lauderdale.

    We have a relaxing morning and some errands planned tomorrow. Then we will be off to meet friends and have some fun. If the wildlife at Wakodahatchee cooperate, I should have some photos to share tomorrow night.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Backyard of the bungalow — Ft Lauderdale, FL.
    Found the washer and dryer at the bungalow — Ft Lauderdale, FL.1A look at the bungalow in daylight — Ft Lauderdale, FL.

    Mystery Solved!

    February 28, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    Found the washer & dryer! Turns out there is a shed in the backyard that has both appliances ... shared with the two other units. Works for us. We’ll do a quick load before we check out to go to the ship.

    Beautiful day here in Ft Lauderdale! Lots of sunshine ... a light breeze. The temp is quite comfortable ... 55F currently ... high of 66F expected. No humidity to speak of at the moment. In other words, a great day to go check out some birds after we have lunch with friends in Delray Beach.

    More later.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    1Happy Reunion with Brenda & Barry — Delray Beach, FL.

    Reunion in Delray Beach

    February 28, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    In December 2014, we embarked Celebrity Infinity for a cruise that took us from Ft Lauderdale, through the Panama Canal, down the west coast of South America, around Cape Horn, and back up the east coast of South America to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was on the first part of that cruise that we met Brenda and Barry.

    The friendship that developed on the ship continued on Facebook. In 2017, we had an unexpected chance to meet up with Barry again as he happened to be in Belfast, Northern Ireland when we stopped there on our world cruise. Alas, Brenda wasn’t there ... but we made sure we toasted her with a cup of coffee as we chatted with Barry at the Titanic Museum.

    Fast forward to 2020. When I started planning our few days in Ft Lauderdale, I knew it would present us with an opportunity for a reunion with Brenda and Barry. A few texts via Messenger and we had a plan to meet in Delray Beach for lunch.

    Delray Beach is about ½-hour from FLL ... provided you drive up via I-95N ... and provided, of course, that the traffic cooperates. We opted for an alternate route via A1A ... twice as long of a drive, but definitely more interesting. We had a great day for our drive up — blue skies, sunshine, and temps in the low 60F range ... perfect.

    Over lunch at Ruven’s, we had a wonderful opportunity to renew our friendship with Brenda and Barry in person ... and get caught up with happenings in everyone’s lives. Not a moment of lull in the conversation ... plenty of laughter and camaraderie. A great reunion that we hope to repeat again ... though hopefully we won’t have to wait as long to get together again next time.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    5Roseate Spoonbill ... a highlight at Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.
    2Great Blue Heron and chick ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.3Great Blue Heron chick ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.2Anhinga ... the blue eye ring = it is in breeding plumage ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach.Glossy Ibis (juvenile) ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.1Feeding time in the cormorant household ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.Glossy Ibis ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.3Tricolored Heron ... in breeding plumage ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.3Wood Storks preparing their nest ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.3Green Iguana ... Wakodahatchee Wetlands — Delray Beach, FL.

    The Wakodahatchee Wetlands

    February 28, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    After bidding Brenda and Barry good-bye (our reunion story is in the previous footprint), we headed over to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands to see some feathered friends.

    We came upon these wetlands purely by accident when we were in Ft Lauderdale for a pre-cruise stay in December 2007. From what I recall, we decided to take a drive up Route A1A and somehow found ourselves making a stop in Delray Beach ... maybe for a bite to eat. How we got from there to the wetlands is totally fuzzy, but I remember enjoying all the birdlife a great deal.

    So, when I was planning our current pre-cruise stay, it was a no-brainer to include the wetlands as part of our plans ... especially since Delray Beach made for a good half-way point for a meet-up with Brenda and Barry.

    Opened in 1996, the wetlands are constructed on wastewater utility property ... open to the public at no charge. There is a ¾-mile boardwalk that crosses between ponds and islands and shrubs and snags. Each day the local water reclamation facility pumps about 2 million gallons of highly treated wastewater into the wetlands, which act as a percolation pond, returning the fresh water back into the water table.

    The website says that 178 species of birds have been identified at the wetlands, which are part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. I don’t know about that number, but I do know that we saw a whole bunch of different birds here this time than we did in 2007. Also here are alligators and turtles and a bunch of other animals. We saw the alligators and turtles last time ... today I saw iguanas instead, though mom and Mui managed to get a peek at a baby alligator they later told me.

    (Photos from our 2007 visit are at this link: https://eenusa.smugmug.com/Cruises/Panama-Canal…)

    Our visit to the wetlands was a terrific way to end the day ... even though it was a heck of a lot more crowded today. In fact, cars were backed up at the entrance waiting to be allowed into the parking lot. WOW! So different from 13 years ago.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Mom deciding where she wants to go in the world ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.
    Whiskey Creek ... our view from BG Whiskey Creek Hideout ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.Waiting on our order @ BG Whiskey Creek Hideout ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.Nothing like an al fresco lunch overlooking Whiskey Creek ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.A great day ... a great meal ... a great view ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.Pelicans @ Whiskey Creek ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.1"What do you mean this is your place?" ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.1Mother-in-Law — Son-in-Law time ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.1Plenty of trees to provide shade on hot summer days ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.3R&R on the beach ... MJSP — Dania Beach, FL.

    Mizell-Johnson SP ... Dania Beach

    February 29, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    The forecast called for full sunshine. That’s not what we got. Clouds moved in and the sun played hide-and-seek ... mostly seeking. But we had comfy temps with a high ranging up to 70F. A nice winter day by our standards.

    With no set plans for today, we took it easy this morning, leaving the house around 11:00a. First up — a drive on Florida State Road A1A ... aka Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. At that hour the beach was mostly empty ... a situation that would be changing by the time we made our way back three hours later. Plenty of sun-seekers ... no one swimming as the purple flag was out indicating stingers in the water. We headed south as far as we could before cutting inland to Route 1.

    Our meandering drive eventually took us to the Dr Von D Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park [MJSP in the photo captions]. It’s situated on a barrier island with the Strahan River on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. We went all the way to the tip of the island, hoping to see the ship channel through which our ship will depart tomorrow. Alas, the area is restricted use, so our hopes were dashed.

    On the way back, we detoured into one of the many lots, parked the car, and went for a walk. The trail led us to a casual eatery overlooking Whiskey Creek. Perfect ... al fresco dining with a view. And good food, too.

    After we sated our tummies, we headed off on another trail to an overlook from which we checked for manatees in the creek. None to be found ... not surprising as it was rather cool, so I imagine they were in warmer waters. Continuing on, we found a spot that was being frequented by a bunch of pelicans. Turns out there was a fish-cleaning station nearby and the pelicans were hoping for a handout. They were out of luck. No anglers ... and the birds were not interested in the lobster remains a couple of divers were throwing in the water.

    We wrapped up our visit to the state park with a short stroll along the beach. Then, back to the car. Retracing our route, we headed to Las Olas Boulevard in FLL to get ourselves some ice cream from Hoffman’s Chocolates ... highly recommended on TripAdvisor. Parking the car, we walked to the shop ... only to find it closed. The good news — the place had moved just a couple of blocks away and the sign on the door told us where to find it.

    After enjoying our sweet treats, we called it quits on our sightseeing and headed home. A load of laundry ... some chill time in front of the TV for mom and Mui ... some photo processing and writing for me ... a light dinner.

    Thus our time in Ft Lauderdale is coming to a close. One more sleep and then we’re off to embark Allure of the Seas.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    3

    Embarked Allure @ Port Everglades

    March 1, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Up and at ‘em early this morning. Quick breakfast ... quick re-packing of our Florida bags ... we were ready to leave the bungalow by 10:00a as planned.

    After we returned the car to the port rental office, Alamo shuttled us to Port Everglades. Embarkation was easy peasy thanks to the SetSail passes I had on my phone ... the Royal Caribbean app is easy to use.

    The only stop we made on our way to the waiting area was to have our photos taken for our ship’s cards. Had I uploaded photos into the app even that would not have been necessary.

    The ship is sailing full so there was quite a crowd waiting in the terminal to embark the ship. RC had things under control ... designated seating areas by loyalty club level ... we’re considered Diamond thanks to our club standing with Celebrity. Our wait was short and by 11:30a we were onboard and heading to the Park Café for lunch.

    Cabins were available promptly at 1:00p. We’ll get settled in once our bags are delivered. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the veranda and watching the goings on as vessels of all sizes come and go through the ship’s channel that will be our gateway to the Atlantic in a couple of hours.

    Bon voyage to us ... and smooth sailing we hope 🤞🏻    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    2

    Goodbye USA

    March 1, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    And we are off ... at 6:00p instead of 4:30p. Better late than never.

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