Today we headed down to Miami to spend the night before setting out on our cruise. We (the Tuckers, Albini-Basileo’s, Steve and I) decided to put aside our disappointment that we wouldn’t be visiting Cuba, and continue on with our
plans to cruise the West Caribbean.
The Tuckers booked an early flight to Miami while the rest of us left Rhode Island in the afternoon. Marisa, Michael, Steve and I spent our 2 hours and 49 minutes of flight freezing our butts off. I
swear Jet Blue turned up the air so that they could sell blankets. When we left the confines of the airport and got outside to find our pre-booked shuttle, our bodies were so cold that we didn’t even feel the sweltering heat and humidity.
We
did eventually thaw out during our transport to the hotel, but couldn‘t really notice because we were frozen with fear. What should have been a 33 minute drive took us only half the time because our driver had a heavy foot. Soon after
we got onto the highway, and after Steve remarked that Michael was the only one with a seat belt on, Marisa, Steve, and I scrambled to put ours on as well. There was a collective holding of breath and a lot of silence as our driver hit speeds of 80 -
85 miles per hour In traffic. We did reach our hotel, the Eurostar Langford, all in one piece and were happy with the accommodations.
The Tuckees were at the Bayfront Marketplace so Marisa, Michael, Steve and I, quickly freshened up and headed
out to join them. After a few wrong turns (typical of our travels), being In the crosshairs of lunatic scooter riders, and walking through a dark park (a supposed no- no for tourists), we found Diana and Jim who had come looking fo us. We all made
it to the waterside bar/ restaurant for drinks and conversation. It was a great first night of vacation.