.: DAY ONE: FT LAUDERDALE

This trip started off rough...literally rough. My mom and I both flew United Airlines. I flew out of Bloomington and she flew out of Akron Canton and both our flights landed at Chicago O'Hare within minutes of each other. So, we got to sit together on our 3 hour flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Man, was I glad to have her by my side on that plane. It was the worst flight I've ever experienced. They had just come around to give us drinks and within minutes we hit terrible turbulence. Drinks were flying around, people were throwing up...terrible! It settled down a few minutes later and then flight attendants came around and collected all the drinks whether you were done or not. Then, it started back again. It seemed like it went on for an hour or more. We went to a higher altitude and it got worse, so then they dropped us back down again...it was awful. I'll be honest and say that by the end of it, I was crying on my mom's shoulder like a baby. I HATE to fly, but I do it several times a year because it is just convenient. However, I need a BIG break before I fly again. It was horrible!!

Once we got in Ft. Lauderdale, I had to file a claim on my luggage because they broke it. What is it with us and luggage lately?? Anyway, we headed straight over to the port, checked in, went to our stateroom and headed to lunch. Then, we headed up to the pool deck for the sail away party. Mom insisted we do some line dancing and we had a great time. We did our Muster Drill, which is always fun. Our luggage didn't arrive in time for dinner, so it was pretty easy getting ready that night. After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. After that, we headed up to the hot tub for a soak after a long day of traveling and turned in pretty early.

Our Room...Surprisingly enough...I did not miss the balcony.