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Vacation Report, Part 1
Feb. 26th, 2024 10:22 amSo it can be revealed – last week I was on vacation, which consisted of visiting my sister in West Palm Beach for a weekend then going on a cruise, specifically Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas. Thoughts, in several bits.
First, I'll start with the end. It's always better to be lucky than good, and here's example number 1455. I was coming back to Darien this past Friday, and when scheduling the flight I had the choice of a direct flight leaving at 11:15 AM or a 3:00 PM with a layover.
I didn't think I could make the 11:15, so I booked the 3:00. Then I got lucky and got to the airport earlier than expected and changed flights. Good thing as my later flight would have had me landing during the height of last night's snowstorm. I doubt the flight would have been canceled, but there would have been a lot of delays and unpleasantness.
West Palm Beach and the Brightline
Because I have some points with Royal Caribbean due to previous cruises, I decided to stick with them for a 4-day cruise. Their terminal is in Fort Lauderdale, which is literally next door to Fort Lauderdale International Airport. In fact, when flying in, we went over the cruise port terminal at about 500 feet while on final approach. Therefore, the logical place to fly back home from was Fort Lauderdale. It’s easier to book a round-trip than to book two one-ways, so both air legs were to Fort Lauderdale.
I was originally going to rent a car and drive to West Palm Beach – about 50 miles or so – but then my research determined that there was a new railway line, the Brightline, which connected those two cities. So I took said railway. I saved money and didn’t have the hassle of returning a car on Monday.
What I didn’t know until I hit town was that there are two passenger railway lines in the Fort Lauderdale area, Brightline and Tri-Rail. The later is an older commuter rail line which connects the three cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. (Hence the name.) Brightline’s claim to fame is that their trains are nicer and continue on to Orlando. The trains and stations are nicer, but the local culture hasn’t quite grasped the idea of assigned seats in a train which led to some confusion on my Saturday northbound run.
A cold front blew in Saturday night, and it rained all day Sunday which is not typical for this time of year. The “cold” was in the mid-60s, so it was still warmer than Darien Illinois. My sister took me out to a very local place, Captain Charlie’s Original Reef Grill. It’s buried in a nondescript strip mall, but when we got there (they don’t take reservations) there was a 30-minute wait. This proved to be a good sign for great food. My sister and I hung out Sunday, buffered by me finding some writing time. Then Monday was Get To The Cruise Day.
First, I'll start with the end. It's always better to be lucky than good, and here's example number 1455. I was coming back to Darien this past Friday, and when scheduling the flight I had the choice of a direct flight leaving at 11:15 AM or a 3:00 PM with a layover.
I didn't think I could make the 11:15, so I booked the 3:00. Then I got lucky and got to the airport earlier than expected and changed flights. Good thing as my later flight would have had me landing during the height of last night's snowstorm. I doubt the flight would have been canceled, but there would have been a lot of delays and unpleasantness.
West Palm Beach and the Brightline
Because I have some points with Royal Caribbean due to previous cruises, I decided to stick with them for a 4-day cruise. Their terminal is in Fort Lauderdale, which is literally next door to Fort Lauderdale International Airport. In fact, when flying in, we went over the cruise port terminal at about 500 feet while on final approach. Therefore, the logical place to fly back home from was Fort Lauderdale. It’s easier to book a round-trip than to book two one-ways, so both air legs were to Fort Lauderdale.
I was originally going to rent a car and drive to West Palm Beach – about 50 miles or so – but then my research determined that there was a new railway line, the Brightline, which connected those two cities. So I took said railway. I saved money and didn’t have the hassle of returning a car on Monday.
What I didn’t know until I hit town was that there are two passenger railway lines in the Fort Lauderdale area, Brightline and Tri-Rail. The later is an older commuter rail line which connects the three cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. (Hence the name.) Brightline’s claim to fame is that their trains are nicer and continue on to Orlando. The trains and stations are nicer, but the local culture hasn’t quite grasped the idea of assigned seats in a train which led to some confusion on my Saturday northbound run.
A cold front blew in Saturday night, and it rained all day Sunday which is not typical for this time of year. The “cold” was in the mid-60s, so it was still warmer than Darien Illinois. My sister took me out to a very local place, Captain Charlie’s Original Reef Grill. It’s buried in a nondescript strip mall, but when we got there (they don’t take reservations) there was a 30-minute wait. This proved to be a good sign for great food. My sister and I hung out Sunday, buffered by me finding some writing time. Then Monday was Get To The Cruise Day.
