FL
TN_10 Hop 1 and CV2 embarkation
193 miles via FL 864. FL 80, FL 29, FL 78, US 27, FL 70, I-95 and FL 528. Auto miles: 203 (10 extra miles doing errands). Cumulative route miles: 193. Cumulative auto miles: 203. This was an easy hop, terminating at the cruise parking lot. We then took a shuttle to the port and … Continue reading
CV1 Day 19: Hop 6, Coral Springs FL to Ft Myers FL
150 miles via I-75, US 27, FL 80, FL 78 and US 41. Cumulative route miles: 1775. Cumulative auto miles: 1934. No lunch stop, no refueling stop, no bio break. The fishhook at the end, to stop at Doubloon Drive in North Ft Myers, was to retrieve Becky, Marlene’s pup. The extra auto mile in … Continue reading
CV1 Days 15-18: Coral Springs FL
These were four fairly quiet days with family (Marlene’s brother). The first 2 days we were alone in his house and watered his plants, did some laundry, watched TV, read and took care of his dog. We met a friend for dinner on Day 15 and socialized a bit. Her brother arrived at his house … Continue reading
CV1 Day 14: Hop 5, Orlando FL to Coral Springs FL
227 miles via I-5, FL 50, I-95 and local roads. Cumulative route miles: 1625. Cumulative auto miles: 1679. We did not use the car in Orlando. The weather was good but traffic was heavy, both leaving Orlando and approaching Ft Lauderdale. Memorial Day weekend. We made a brief stop at Plato’s Closet where Marlene found … Continue reading
CV1 Day 13: Hop 4, Acworth GA to Orlando FL
476 miles via GA 82 and then mostly via I-75 but with two major diversions, courtesy of the GPS that were too complicated to recall exactly. One was down US 41 and back to I-75 via Jackson Road, to avoid an accident. The other was through Apopka, diverting east of I-75 and entering Orlando from … Continue reading
CV1 Day 7: Hop 2, Tampa FL to Charleston SC
The disembarkation process was more difficult than it should have been, but not as bad as it was on the Vista. We gathered in the theater, without luggage, and waited about 30 minutes before being allowed to leave the ship. But the exit, rather than being on that level or the level below, was 5 … Continue reading
CV1 Day 1: Hop 1, Lehigh Acres FL to Tampa FL
We had to drive to Tampa to get on the Carnival Paradise for the first 6 days of this short vacation. We had to be on board by 3pm and we had to park the car and take a shuttle to the ship. But we couldn’t drive there directly from Lehigh Acres FL; we had … Continue reading
Four nights in Kissimmee
In case you don’t know Kissimmee is a town very close to Orlando. You might consider it a suburb of Orlando. And it is very close to Disney World and Universal Studios. We spent four nights there. Why? Because we got a “free” stay in a timeshare resort. Yes, we had to sit through a … Continue reading
Three festivals
There are two big annual festivals in south central Florida: the Swamp Cabbage Festival in Labelle in February and the Sugar Festival in Clewiston in March. They are similar in that they have a lot of food trucks and vendors of a variety of goods and trinkets and they both have some really fine live … Continue reading
Carnival Conquest Day 15 – Disembarkation in Miami
Getting off the Conquest was considerably easier than getting off the Vista. We rose at 6am, packed and took our luggage up to the Lido Deck to grab a bite. It was a very light breakfast as neither of us was very hungry. Marlene’s brother met us when we got off and we were on … Continue reading