2012 Cruise In The beginning......

Our new adventure takes us on a repositioning cruise from Ft. Lauderedale to points east. We will touch The Azores, England twice, Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway (not in that order). As with all trips going east we always arrive a few days early to start acclimating ourselves to the time change. So on April 23 we flew to Ft. Lauderdale. While there we took time to sightsee a little of the area. On the 24th we took a ride north to visit the Butterfly World in Coconut Beach. This park contains hundreds of species of butterflies from all over the world and are contained in an open aviary so that you can walk among them and try not to step on the ones on the walkway (a little hard to manage). There are also hummingbirds,parrots and lorekeets. Plus bugs and insects of all kinds. After spending a few hours there we traveled down Route A1A which follows the beach. But like most ocean cities this was covered by hotels, condos and houses. But as we entered Ft. Lauderdale proper, what a surprise! There is an actual beach that isn't obscured by buildings. We parked for a few minutes and watched some unsuccessful paddle boarders. That night, as we were discussing what to do the next day, I discovered that Karl had never been to the Everglades or taken an airboat ride. I know, hard to believe. So.... On the 25th we drove south to Miami and visited Everglades Park where crocs and alligators were up close and personal. The one hour airboat ride took us back into the park where we were greeted by birds, turtles, and of course the crocodiles. On the 26th we boarded our ship at noon and now are on the high seas for 5 days steaming to the Azores Islands. What a life!!!