Our third day in Ft. Lauderdale began much the same as yesterday. Breakfast at the nearby café began the morning. Something we had missed yesterday was the sign on the door which stated that due to an egg shortage, each egg would have a 50 cent surcharge. When the supply comes back to normal, the charge will be dropped. Now that's a first.
After breakfast, we crossed the street and made a sweep through Ross, one of the most crowded stores at this time of day. It appeared that some crew members from a ship were on a buying spree. They seem to know the best places to get good deals. One of us found a very nice reversible belt, also a great price. Then it was on to the Dollar Store. You can never have enough thank you cards, and this is the place to find them. Also, we needed a small sewing kit to fix a few things that fell apart since leaving home. One of us has at least 50 of these little kits at home, but not one in any of our bags. It took a lot of searching, but we found one. Good thing, because later in the day as we were packing, one of the zippers broke on our duffel bag. It was fixed with using dental floss, which sure comes in handy for many quick fixes. Luckily, the sewing kit had some big-eye needles.
On our way back to our room, we came across our reps from our travel agency. Their table was set up near one of the convention rooms, just like they always are. It was great catching up with them, and also receiving the gifts they hand out. We were handed two nice travel bags, luggage tags, and the neatest water bottles with a holder that can be worn with a shoulder strap or on a belt. There is room for a camera or anything else small you might need. Instructions were given for bringing down our one suitcase to be delivered in a van straight to the ship tomorrow. This evening there would be a special dinner at the Boatyard, a short walk from the hotel. We needed to meet the group at 5:15pm. Tomorrow we will be driven by buses to the ship around 10:30am. Easy….
We hung out in the room watching the news, then headed back to Duffy's for a light lunch. Sharing a chicken salad was just right, and having the 22 ounce beers was even better. It was far quieter today without all of the football games. There are big screen TV's every square inch in this restaurant…..each one showing something different.
The time for dinner came quickly and we made our way to the lobby to meet with our group. We guess there were about 60 of us, some of whom we know, some we do not. It took 2 minutes to walk to the Boatyard, where we were escorted to the back room facing the canal with the boats. We sat with Ellen and Aart, Ruth and Al, and Lynn, one of the best travel agents, who we have known for many years. Cocktails or wine were served, and as much as we wished.
The menu was four courses starting with a family-style tomato and mozzarella salad with roasted peppers and balsamic dressing. Crisp calamari with zucchini and lemon aioli was also served. The second course was a tasty Caesar salad, followed by mains of either a NY strip, pan roasted salmon, or B&E chicken (we were told it is a brand name). The serving sizes were ample. But there was more. Desserts were a choice of Key lime pie or apple crostada with vanilla ice cream. Coffee was offered, but we were all filled to the brim.
Saying our good byes to some friends that will be going on the Pole To Pole GWV, we left the restaurant around 8:30pm. Thanking our hosts, who will be returning tomorrow morning, we made our way back to our room, and hopefully a restful night. Tomorrow will be a l-o-n-g day, and we all agreed we needed our sleep.
Until then,
Bill & Mary Ann
