12/10/2009 Thursday. Took Amtrak to Boston. Train came about 10 minutes late but arrived in Boston about 30 minutes early. Joe Jr picked us up and we met up with Jessica at Hana Sushi (Cambridge) for dinner. Will be spending two evenings at his place.
12/11/2009 Friday. Stayed at Joe Jr’s apartment most of the day while Anne went to help with the Science Fair. Lunch at Qdoba, a Mexican fast food restaurant serving up good-sized burritos. Dinner was what we managed to scrounge up in the refrigerator.
12/12/2009 Saturday. Short taxi-ride to Logan to catch the 9 am flight to Newark. Got there early enough to try to get seats on an earlier flight. CO now charges $25 for this change, and we would probably end up with middle seats (instead of aisle exit row), so we passed. I guess this new policy is worth the risk of flying with empty seats. Flight was packed, a bit bumpy but overall not eventful. I haven’t flown into FLL for a while and was surprised at how large the airport is.
Checked out rental car (Hertz via Hotwire.com) and drove by Port Everglades and saw five or six huge cruise ships. There was going to be a boat parade in Fort Lauderdale. We tried half-heartedly to find a parking space by the waterway. We didn’t succeed, our resolve undoubtedly dampened by the pouring rain. Dinner at Antonio’s restaurant suggested by mpdining website.
We are staying the next three evenings at Dania Springhill Suites. Free with Marriott points.
12/13/2009 Sunday. Took the 9:30 am Jungle Queen Cruise which is a narrated tour of the New River. About an hour each way with a 45 minute break at the “jungle” where we saw birds, monkeys, iguanas (just running on the ground), pigeons, ducks, and a peahen. During the boat ride we saw quite a few houses owned (or previously owned) by celebrities and famous people such as Sonny & Cher, Demi Moore & Bruce Willis, David Stern (actually don’t know who he is), Merv Griffin, Barbara Mandrell, several Huizengas, Wendy Thomas, etc. There was also an alligator wrestling demonstration which may be risky for the handler but just so-so to watch. Felt bad about the crew and bought some postcards and the “cruise” photos. Walked along the beach a bit and then had lunch at the café in Bahia Mar. So-so.
After a short (20 minute) nap at the hotel, we drove to the Riverwalk and strolled along the riverfront for a bit. Between museums, concert halls, and restaurants, there seems to be a lot to do in the area. We then headed to Pompano Beach and found a parking space in a boat launch area on NE 14th St. Walked 15 minutes or so to find a restaurant to no avail. Saw about 15 or so boats and decided it wasn’t worth it to wait for more. Dinner at a Thai/Sushi restaurant. Okay but not excellent food.
12/14/2009 Monday. Drove along the coast from Fort Lauderdale to Stuart, mostly along A1A. There are some very impressive mansions along the way, much more impressive than what we see along the Navesink River. Lighthouse Point has a nice looking lighthouse but we decided not to visit. Some towns have houses that are perfectly manicured with the trees and hedges trimmed neatly. Oftentimes you see slum areas just a few blocks away from these huge mansions. The drive of about 80 miles took most of the day.
Tried to eat dinner at a restaurant listed at Mileage Plus Dining. It was in a terrible neighborhood which we later found had houses on sales for $30,000 (many of which are foreclosed). Couldn’t get out of there fast enough. We went to Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor instead. We had Carnegie-Deli-like sandwiches which were quite good.
12/15/2009 Tuesday. Flight home CO800 was again packed.
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