"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #4 Day Three in Ft. Lauderdale January 3, 2017 Tuesday Cloudy, rainy, and 80 degrees 39 pictures

Today began much like yesterday, with an early breakfast at the local friendly café. No holiday, the place was half full. Nice….there was no waiting for our food and hot coffee.

We had remembered that last year we had stopped at Staples to buy a few things. Looking for a small accordion-type folder, we knew we would find it there. However, it was gone. The next best bet was to try Publix, and that turned out perfect. They had coupon organizers, which will be perfect for keeping all the receipts we collect. So that is our tip of the day. Not a big deal, but a continuing effort to keep everything in order.

The lobby of the hotel was bustling with cruise folks. Some were going to the Prinsendam, while some were coming in from the Prinsendam's last cruise. Then all of us world cruisers were either picking up their bags, vests, and tour tickets, or simply visiting. We ran into more people we recognized from previous trips. Even though we may not know their names, we seem to recognize each other anyway. Sometimes it takes about 4 cruises for these folks to break the ice and talk to you. This lasted for an hour, when one of the staff from our agency asked if she could interview us. Sure, we are always open to share info for future articles in their quarterly magazine.

Our reports and photo sorting were falling behind, so we needed to spend some time in our room to catch up. For some unexplained reason, we began running into problems with the computer stalling. It began late last night and continued this morning. We were not alone, as we would find out later in the day. Instead of getting frustrated, we decided to go for our walk before it rained.

Well, we timed that almost right. Got to the walking bridge right when the raincloud decided to downpour. Lucky we could take cover at a little building with an overhang. The heavier the rain got, it began stirring the wildlife. We watched as a large lizard stood up on its hind legs, and ran across the parking lot. Boy, those things can move fast. In about 10 minutes, the worst of the cloudburst was over, and we continued on towards Westfield Mall again.

There was a complimentary shuttle running from the Renaissance from 1 to 3pm, and back from the mall between 1:30 and 3:30pm. Figured we would walk one way, and ride back. So we walked around inside the mall, not intending to buy anything, but did at a department store we do not have back at home. Most everything is half off, and a sequined jacket caught our eye. Be good for a Gala night, or whatever they choose to call them these days. It's Formal for us, and we refuse to change. On last year's world cruise, most all the guests stayed "formal". Will be interesting to see if anything changes this year, as the mood is leaning to more casual.

Of course, we went for another lunch at Red Robin, but they were having computer problems, and we had to wait for our check. Because of the delay, we missed the shuttle. Not wanting to wait another hour, we ended up walking back……..slowly. It took about ½ hour….not bad. And the rain held off. Our waiter said this is typical January weather with passing showers all day. He said if you wait five minutes, the rain stops.

On the way back, we walked across the lake and saw something we knew could be here, but never saw. A huge snake was coiled on a rock near the shoreline of the lake. Thinking it wasn't real, we crept a bit closer, so see it was in fact very real. Got some good photos, but did not linger too long. The word "poisonous" keeps coming into our minds. Not sure what kind of snake this was, but it was at least 4 - 5 feet long and the size of a man's wrist. The ducks and egrets stayed clear of it, so we followed their lead.

Back at the hotel, we did more computer work, and got ready for the cocktail party at 6:15pm. Seems that the problems we had earlier had cleared up by itself. Hope it doesn't happen again. Anyway, the party was well under way when we got there on time. No one follows directions. We did see many friends, some of whom we did not know were on this voyage. Think it is going to be a good trip. Forty-five minutes flew by. It was time for dinner at 7pm. The bars shut down immediately, and were escorted into the ballroom. We were assigned to table # 2, hosted by Gerald. The meal consisted of a rich, creamy mushroom soup with sourdough rolls….no salad this time. The entrée was a butterflied chicken breast with scalloped potatoes, asparagus, and broccoli. We had choices of white and red wine, which was served only once. Very little topping-off. Dessert was a mousse of some kind, covered with berries and a strawberry glaze. Very rich and extremely sweet. Coffee was offered, but most declined. Seemed that everyone was tired, and ready to call it a night.

The usual speeches were delivered by Holly, Annie, Gerald, the Mariner Society Director, and Orlando, the President of HAL. Holly reminded us that our tagged luggage had to be placed by the door of our rooms by 8:30am for pick-up. And she followed up with another reminder not to place the hand-carrys anywhere near the luggage, as they would also disappear. By 9pm, the room cleared, and everyone said their good-byes until tomorrow. It is going to be a very busy day tomorrow.

Bill & Mary Ann

Clouds threatened rain throughout the day