NCL Getaway 10/10/2015

[Nhcris]

Saturday came and it was time for our final breakfast club meeting, and the sad task of saying our goodbyes. The Michiganders had early flights, so they did easy walk off, meaning they kept their luggage and walked it off the ship. They made their flights with time to spare. Frank and I were staying in Fort Lauderdale because the one flight back t Worcester leaves at 9am and there is no way to make that on disembarkation day. Carol & Scott were flying out of FLL in the afternoon.

We had priority tags, so we put our luggage outside the stateroom Friday night and just had carryons to carry off. When we decided it was time to go, we just called the concierge and she met us and walked us off. It was a piece of cake. We had our luggage and got through customs in about 15 minutes. We took the Alamo shuttle to the Cra Rental facility at Miami airport and picked up the rental. We were bringing Carol & Lammie to the airport, so it looked like a tight squeeze until they brought over a Ford Escape. Everything fit perfectly and we were off. We took the scenic route to FLL and stopped at the Flashback Diner right across from Gulfstream racetrack. I was really bummed that the ponies weren't running, so we just had a long leisurely lunch before we dropped them off at their terminals. Then we found our hotel and checked in.

I had gotten a decent rate at the Hyatt House near the FLL airport after almost being scared off by the crazy prices everywhere! It turned out to be ideal. It had a small full kitchen, a living area and bedroom. It was clean and comfortable and we promptly fell asleep - HHH! When we woke from our stupors, we debated whether or not to hit up the Hard Rock, but I was fairly satisfied with the way things went on the ship, and with Coushatta right around the corner I decided to leave well enough alone. So we took a ride and found a beachfront bar along the boardwalk in Hollywood Beach. he food was mediocre (or worse) but the beer was cold and the people watching was most excellent.

From there we drove up to John U Lloyd Beach State Park and walked around for awhile. It was a lovely peaceful spot.




Then it was back to the hotel for a movie and a good night's sleep.

[DK528]

Lovely TR, Chris! I get too seasick to go on a cruise so you are making me very jealous.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nhcris]

We were up and out of the hotel by 7 and got the car dropped off with ease and made it through security in a flash other than me getting felt up thoroughly. We were amused by a group of middle aged wannabe douche bags involved in a serious one upsmanship contest. I kept hearing the song "My dog's better than your dog, my dog's better than yours..." in my mind. God, Massholes can be annoying! But we boarded on time and settled into our extra legroom seats. I love JetBlue's Embrauers as they have the 2 & 2 configuration and good television options. Other than some major jolts on departure the flight was routine. Or so I thought.........

We were descending through the bumps into Worcester, when I watched us climb from 2500 feet up to 4000 feet. I watch the flight channel like a hawk and caught this immediately. I knew something was up, but thought maybe they were doing a runway change due to the winds or had to go around for a general aviation aircraft. But then we just circle a couple of times. Hmmmm.....

After about 15 minutes of wandering aimlessly through the air, the pilot came on and informed us that our flaps were stuck and they were working on figuring out what to do. A couple people prompt puked and now there was a very strange atmosphere onboard as we could hear mumbling (prayers?) and other bizarre sounds. I tried to remember everything I know about no flaps landings, and how long the runway at Worcester was and I didn't really like the answers. So we flew around for awhile longer and the pilot came on and said we were diverting to Boston.

Okay, good plan. I know they have a nice long runway and better facilities. I was still pretty tense. So after a very, very long downwind leg the pilot came on one more time and told us tat we would hear a lot of noise and we would be met by firetrucks because we had to keep our speed much higher than normal (stalling would be BAD!) and our brakes would get very, very hot... Yep, damn lady up front puked again. You know how they say you life sometimes flashes before your eyes? All I could see was my nightstand drawer and how much I didn't want my kids to see it - HHH!

Landing in Boston is an adventure on a good day because you come down right over the water and have to clear the seawall before touching down. I knew that on this day, we needed to touch down as quickly as possible. My face was glued to the window as we hurtled toward the runway. We touched down perfectly and then the plane screamed and groaned and shook and kept speeding down the runway. Then we stopped!! After a moment of silence the passengers burst into applause! I was still tense, because I knew those brakes had to be hot as a mother fucker or worse & I contemplated pulling open the nearby exit and sliding my fat ass right off that plane. Just then the firetrucks pulled up and gave us the all clear. NOW I COULD BREATHE!

[sassycat]

What a wonderful trip!!! You did such a great job too!
I love how you live each trip to the fullest!! Good thing you have a couple of weeks to recover before Coushatta!

Thanks again!

PS - now I understand about the puking on the plane comment you made on another thread.
SCARY!!! Glad you are safe!

[Nhcris]

SO, now we are in Boston and our car is in Worcester. They briefly considering flying us to Worcester. Um, no thank you. Not in the mood - HHH. Then said maybe a bus. But in the end, they gave us taxi vouchers. SO Frank took a cab to Worcester and I took a cab home with a crazy bastard who must have been an Eastern European race car driver in his previous life. But I made it, and I was shocked to see that it was only about 2 hours later than we would have been had things gone normally. SO I zipped over to Chewies and picked up the pups. That will bring you back to earth in a hurry.

[chrissyDee]

This is what Frank found when he made it back from Worcester.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gypsy]

OMG I can't stop laughing, you had to throw in the nightstand comment at the height of the plane story? You really do have a great writing style, so loved your TR, thanks for sharing. So happy you guys were safe. Can't wait to see you in Coushatta!

[zeus]

Bravo!!!! You did one helluva job on this TR! I so thoroughly enjoyed every single bit of it, but the flight and landing had me in tears from laughing. Thanks for taking the time to share with us. Can't wait for the next one!

[seemoreroyals]

Great Job @Nhcris. You have got me wanting to take another cruise. With the winter coming up a trip to the Carribean sounds like a great idea. If I can talk my DW into it. You made us all feel that we were on the cruise ship with you.

[SlotMommy]

I remember hearing about your horrific experience on the flight home but I had no idea just how scary it was until I read all the gory details about it here. Just one of the many reasons why I hate flying.

Gotta agree with Gypsy...leave it to you to throw in a very funny comment about not wanting your kids to see your nightstand drawer! Hardy har fucking Har...you are one funny bitch!!!

So glad you are safe and we will have more comic relief from you in the future!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk