OK,
we have a parking place but now come more details, how will we get from parking
the car back to the hotel? And then, how do we get from the Hotel to the Pier
to embark on our trip?
Monk
tells me he will do it…….for another $100. I guess he saw I had some money and
he sees me as a cash cow. I tell him I will give him $50 if he takes us to the
ship and if he drops me at the hotel after I drop off the car. He agrees!
Then
I tell him he needs to make sure he has his driver’s license ready when we
enter the port terminal because the Port Authority checks everybody’s ID to
make sure nobody sneaks unto a cruise ship.
Hmm!
I guess this deal with Monk is off!
He
cannot ‘find’ his driver’s license and I cannot walk with 4 suitcases to the
terminal.
Now
what do I do? Well,
let me drop off the Lexus at our parking spot first.
When
we ‘visited’ the parking place I wrote down the address. So no problem finding
it, the GPS will lead us to it. I drop
off the car, make SURE it is locked, write down the mileage on the odometer,
write a note and put it inside the car, just in case it gets broken in to, hang
a towel over the steering wheel to get it cooled off in the hot Florida sun,
take pictures of the car all around and also take pictures of the house on my
camera and take pictures of the neighbors cars. I do what I can to make sure
the car is ‘safe’ and unobtrusive.
 |
| Doug's Car - I Erased the License Plate |
When I drop the car off there is nobody at
the house, but ‘Doug’s’ red car is standing in the street. I take pictures of
his car and license plate too.
So
now, after dropping of the Lexus how to I get back to the motel? I
walk a bit to try to find a taxi, but I cannot find one, it’s a residential
neighborhood. After
some time, I go into an office building pretending I lost my cell phone and ask
the concierge to call a taxi. She obliges and I wait outside the office
building for about 10 minutes and a cab comes and drives me to the motel… Cost
is about $10.
The
story of my trip to Port Everglades for embarkation is next. If you have been
to Fort Lauderdale you know this is a HUGE port. It is a hub for cruise ships.
You can get lost trying to find your cruise ship.
The motel has a sign- up list
for taxis to take you to the port. You need to sign up for the taxi the night
before. You are given a time slot and then you need to be ready at the door for
the taxi to take you to the ship. We were ready at our designated pick up time
for the taxi. I signed up for this because Monk could not empty his car trunk
for us, he had too much stuff in his car trunk and he still could not find his driver’s
license. So the story with Monk ends
here.
 |
| Monk's Cadillac With the License Plate Erased |
Carol, being super cautious, took additional pictures of Monks car and
license plate number and the tag that read S.A, Financial with the Tel. # on
the bottom of it. Carol even took a picture of the bumper sticker ‘Check Twice
for Motorcycles’. I guess she is still a
bit nervous and not trusting my instincts. Any number on the Cadillac such as that
on the right side of the car was photographed. Just in case!
 |
| Long Lines in the Terminal |
Anyhow,
we took the taxi to the ship. Cost was about $40, so Monk would have been paid
a fair price IF he had driven us.
The
embarkation was the typical mayhem, but all went well. There were LONG lines to
check in and get to our assigned stateroom.
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