Fun in the Sun

Gary and I took off early Thursday morning for Fort Lauderdale. Our flight was at 6:30 AM but we had a connection in Newark (note: I urge all of you to NEVER fly through Newark). We got into Fort Lauderdale at about 1:30 and realized we didn't print off our hotel confirmation. So one of the nice old man at the airport helped us locate the Courtyard Marriott's in the area. Of course there were about 7 of them, but we only had to call 3 of them before we found the one that had our reservations.

Our hotel was right across the street from the beach and within walking distance of many bars and local restaurants. Prime location. Here's the view from our room:

We hit the beach for while Thursday afternoon and then cleaned up for dinner. We went to a restaurant called Rock Bar for burgers and giant margaritas. We were a bit confused why all the restaurants included gratuity on the bills and we found at later that our waitress at Rock Bar decided to give herself and extra $10 tip on Gary's debit card. Needless to say, we did not go back there.

Friday morning we had breakfast right on the beach (what could be better?) and spent the rest of the day by the pool. They had these fun little cabana things which were pretty comfortable!

Good thing Gary had a book to read, otherwise he would have been bored out of his mind with all the time I wanted to spend in the sun!

Friday night we went out for dinner and drinks at Fat Tuesday's. The drinks were really good, but another bit of traveler's advice: Drink at Fat Tuesday's, DON'T eat there. We also went to one of those dueling piano bars called Howl at the Moon. It was a lot of fun but I think we drank a little too much beer.
Saturday we spent the morning by the pool again. We went for lunch to a cafe down the street and boy am I glad they had a canopy over their tables! Not 5 minutes after we sat down, it started pouring! Gotta love that Florida weather where it's gorgeous one minute and then storming the next. Luckily, the rain moved out just as quickly as it had moved in so we were able to enjoy the beach for a while.
Gary tried to get me to go into the water but I have a small fear of the ocean lately. It's not the sharks or anything, it's more the waves and currents and being afraid of drowning. Weird because I've had a fear of watersports before but never really of water itself.

Saturday night (our last night) we decided to eat at a chain restaurant as we hadn't been impressed so with the food so far at all. Sadly, our dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was probably one of the better meals we had all weekend. Of course I had to pose like the tourist I am with the Forrest Gump shoes and bench.

Sunday we got up early and spent maybe an hour in the sun before heading to the airport. Little did we know that although our vacation had been pretty much perfect so far, there was not going to be a happy ending to our trip.

We again were flying through Newark which is a pain in itself but when we got there, the monitors had our flight to Detroit listed but no gate. Since we had two hours until our flight, we thought they just hadn't put it up there yet so we grabbed a bit to eat. Afterwards, we checked the monitors again, still no gate. Come to find out, our flight to Detroit has been CANCELLED due to mechanical problems. And of course, it's that last flight out for the night. Gary and I both NEEDING to be back Sunday night (him because he was flying to Vegas for work on a 7 AM flight Monday, and me because I was starting my new job) we were trying to find any possible way to get back to Detroit. We were finally able to get seats on an American Airlines flight to Chicago and then on another from Chicago to Detroit. The only issue being that the Chicago flight was already running an hour late and there was only a slight chance we could make the Detroit flight in Chicago. We figured we could at least drive from Chicago if we needed to. Luckily, we made the flight in Chicago but our luggage did not. It was on the original flight that Northwest booked us for 6 AM Monday morning. So once we arrived home at 1:30 AM, it was off to Meijers to buy toothbrushes and other essentials (read: MAKEUP). Gary looks really pleased to be at Meijers at 2:30 AM when he has to get up at 4:30 doesn't he?

All said and done, we got about an hour and a half of sleep Sunday night...well, Monday morning technically. What a way to start my new job.