Another restful night was just what we both needed. We were awake before 7am and ready for the walk to Joe's Café by 8am. It was far less crowded this morning compared to yesterday, even though there were 6 cruise ships here. Breakfast was good again with generous-sized omelets, country potatoes, and toast. Plenty of fuel to last us for the rest of the day.
Back at the hotel, we ran into more cruise buddies, as well as our excellent travel agents and the owner of the travel agency. This year our most treasured agent is here with her adult daughter, who will help with the chores of the day. We had a nice, but brief reunion before we picked up our gifts of a navy-blue vest and small shoulder bag for each of us. If we needed them, there were keycard lanyards and luggage tags to take. To sweeten things up, they even thought to put out a bowl of small- wrapped candy bars. Plainly written instructions for tomorrow's transfer to the ship and luggage pick-up times were handed to all of us. As it got busier for the agents, we said goodbye and we would see them later at dinner.
We stashed our gifts in the room, then worked on yesterday's reports – posting and emailing. The internet is very slow here, so it takes a lot of patience to get stuff received and sent.
Around 12:30pm, we decided to take the hike up the bridge again. To be more specific, the proper name for this bridge is a double leaf double bascule bridge. Knowing the inner workings of this structure, one of us appreciates the mechanics that makes it go up and down and almost silently. Going back down the other side, we walked to the newly rebuilt Pier Sixty-Six Hotel. Our travel agency's owner Tom suggested we go see what had been done here over the last 5 or 6 years. We entered the massive lobby which was spacious and elegantly beautiful. A whole lot of money has gone into this remodel. And it costs a lot more to stay here too.
We made our way to the pool area, where there was a café and bar. Looking at their menu, we found nothing that appealed to us. And we knew dinner was early tonight, so lunch wasn't in the plan. Besides the hotel being re-done, there are other structures that have been built. They call them resort condos and are currently on the market for sale. This whole area has been transformed into a ten-star property if there is such a thing.
Time was slipping by, so we walked back on the opposite side to take pictures of the cruise ships in Port Everglades. It is amazing to us how many ships can have turn-over days here….day after day. This industry has to be the lifeblood of the city. Ships in port today were the Star and Majestic Princess, the Nieuw Statendam and Koningsdam, RCI Allure of the Seas, and Celebrity Eclipse. Then for the final time, we watched the traffic stopped and the bridge rise. We hustled back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and our group meeting at 5:15pm. That would give us time to prop our feet up and relax before dinnertime.
Our entire group was down in the lobby well before 5pm. Ready and raring to go, we followed our leader Tom to the nearby Boatyard, a popular fish and steak restaurant. The thirty of us were seated in a private room towards the back, where we took seats with one of the agency's hosts. Since we were about the last ones to enter, we took a table with Martha and Bob way by the back entrance. Pat, one of our hosts that will be traveling with us, was our guest. Drink orders were taken, but took quite a long time to arrive. Bob and Martha had arrived earlier, and were already on their second drinks. Two platters arrived – one with tomato chunks and peppers drizzled with an aged balsamic vinaigrette with sliced focaccia bread. The other plate had fried calamari with a dipping sauce. Bill had my share – too fishy for me. Caesar salads were brought, which were so good, they could have made our meal complete. This restaurant makes a light type of cinnamon bread, and a loaf of that brought for us to share. Once again there was a long wait for the entrees. More cocktails were offered, which kept the folks busy chatting. Eventually our steaks and mahi-mahi were served, each place filled with fingerling potatoes, carrot slices, and green beans. The sirloin strip steaks were HUGE. Cooked medium rare, they were tender and tasty. We did our best to finish them, but it was difficult to come close to that. We had to save a little bit of room for dessert, which the apple dumpling and ice cream was the suggested one. Key lime pie was the other choice. Stuffed to the gills, we were only 15 minutes late watching the football game between the Seahawks and the SF 49ers. We were outnumbered with the Hawk's fans this time since our travel agency originated in Seattle. Those who had cell phones were checking the score and watching the plays.
By the time we got back to the room, it was 8:30pm, and we did catch most of the game to the bitter end. Exhaustion took over, and we were out for the count. Tomorrow would be one of those LONG days with checking out of the hotel and heading for the ship. But that's another story for tomorrow. Sweet dreams….
Bill & Mary Ann
