11-28-17 to Florida:

We were planning to have Angie take us to the airport, but we managed to give her the colds we had just gotten over.  So I checked into renting a car from near our apartment and driving ourselves to the airport.  I was surprised to find it was only about $35!  No brainer, we rented a car.  Picked it up at 9am---very close to our apartment and very convenient.  Soon we were back at the apartment and loading up the car.

The ride to the airport wasn't bad---for Atlanta.  But having to return the rental car did add an extra 45-60 minutes to our trip by the time we gassed up the car, found the rental car return center (a few miles away from the airport), turned the car in, made our our way to the train to take us to the airport, wait for the train to take us to the airport, ride the train to take us to the airport, then walk hauling all our luggage to the other side of the airport to check 3 bags.  Finally made it to our gate and still had plenty of time before our 2pm flight.

The plane was on time and it was a beautiful day to fly.

Good bye Atlanta, see you in 2 weeks!

I even had a coupon for a free drink, so I used it.  After the hectic day we'd already had , it was a welcomed treat.

Hello cloudy rainy chilly Fort Lauderdale! 

By the time we got our rental car from FLL and got checked into the Ramada, it was time to go in search of dinner.  That wasn't much of a search.  I knew Flanagan's was near our hotel and I wanted one of their plastic glasses for our cruise; not to mention I also wanted some of their food right now!  Along with our appetizer of garlic cheese bread and salad, I had the prime rib special.  It was as excellent as I'd remembered!  This was one of our favorite restaurants when we lived in Coral Springs for a year a couple years ago.

After dinner, we headed back to the Ramada for the evening.  Not the 4 bedroom penthouse I had reserved at the Wyndham Palm Aire, that had been canceled by Wyndham due to Hurricane damage, by any means, but not bad.  Just was annoying to have to spend money on a hotel when we still have so many Wyndham points left for this year.    But I certainly wouldn't have been disappointed if this was our cruise cabin!

Certainly adequate for 1 night pre-cruise.

The bed was even comfortable.

We didn't use the coffee maker, but it was a nice touch.

After dinner, we were ready to wind down and hit the sack a little early---by early I mean about 11 pm.  Travel days are always a pain.  But this went about as smoothly as it could have.