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January 14, 2013 - 12:14 a.m.
"the cruise is over, go home"

Hey Journal!

Today was the long trip home! We got up at 7am on the beautiful Carnival Breeze cruise ship! We went to breakfast in the Marketplace and then came back to our cabin to finish packing.

We gathered our stuff, made sure we didn't forget anything, and then said goodbye to our stately stateroom! The last day of vacation is hard, and especially on a cruise ship, but today was just so so sad. I miss the ship already!

We met in the theater for our tour and then got off the boat shortly after. We were in Debarkation group 4. I was happy that we were taking a tour, but I was a little disappointed that we had to get off so early. If we hadn't taken the tour, we would have been able to stay on the ship till just after 10! I would have been able to sleep late, and spend more time on the Breeze!

Anyway, we got off and I looked back to say goodbye to the ship! This was the newest ship I had ever been on, just under 8 months old! I really have to say that I did like the new design. The layout was nice, and Fun Ship 2.0 is pretty cool. I loved the itinerary of this cruise, and I had such a fun time!

We got on a bus and headed to our everglades tour. We had done this one before so we thought we knew what to expect, but this one turned out to be a little different. It was at a different place, and the air boats were a little bigger. I thought the smaller ones were better because everyone got to be a little closer to the action. I sat on the edge, which was good, but still a little weird. The boat was so loud because it was so much bigger and we all had to wear earplugs!

Cruising around on the air boat was fun, but the only problem was we didn't see any alligators! Last time we saw so many and they came so close to the boat! I can't believe through brought us back to the dock without seeing alligators! Meanwhile, the guy asked for a tip at the end... I told Dan, I have a tip for him... "Show fucking alligators on your fucking alligator tour!"

When we were done, we saw a little presentation and a man coaxed one alligator out of the water and on to the stage where he played with it a little and then we walked around and looked at crocodiles in cages.

They took a picture of us before we got on the boat and when we got off, they had it for sale. It was actually pretty cool. It had a 3D background and everyone looked really good in it! My mom got it, Pete got it, and so did Brian and Jessica! The picture did come out nice, but I have nowhere to put it, so we didn't get one.

Our tour had the option of dropping us off at Miami Airport or taking us back to the cruise port. We originally wanted to go back to the port because we had made reservations with the car company that had dropped us off. Unfortunately ,when they called us, they told us they couldn't pick us up because of the timing and that they weren't permitted to pick up passengers in a different county (Miami-Dade County vs. Broward County.)

That ride would have been $13 per person. We looked into some shuttle options, but they were literally between $150 and $200 total, which would have been up to $28 per person! Anyway, just as we arrived at the Miami airport, I got the idea to look at Kayak for car rentals! We found a great deal on a Van rental, so we got off and decided to do that! I booked it on my phone and we went through the airport to get to the car desk.

There was no line at all which was perfect. The only bad thing was the fan held 7 people but would NOT have had enough room for all the bags we had. We decided to get one van and one car. $40 + $26! It was PERFECT!

We got the cars and headed down. Loaded up the luggage, and off we went!

We drove from MIA to FLL! It was perfect... and the best part about doing it ourselves was that we got to stop for LUNCH! We were all hungry, so we found a Wendy's right around the corner from the Ft. Lauderdale airport and got some food.

Then we went to get gas, and after all was said and done, the total came to $13.50 per person! Good idea to do that instead!

So, we pulled into the airport and dropped off the car. We had it for less than 2 hours! haha

We checked in at the Southwest area and there was NO LINE at all! So great!

Then we went through security. Security wasn't too bad, short line, but it moved quickly. My mom got selected for a random screening! She had to wait for someone to come and inspect her luggage and test her shoes. It was a weird test, and they told her it was random, but I think it may have been because she kept looking in her bag on the line and perhaps acting suspiciously to them.

The woman who went through before me had a ton of liquids in her baggage. It was so stupid... they said a million times not to have anything, and then she kept arguing with the woman that there was NO liquid inside. The woman was like "I see it right here on my screen!" Eventually they took her off to the side!

We had a little time to kill before the flight and I charged my phone which had just died. I was able to go online and check up on stuff I hadn't been in touch with for a week! It was so weird.

Then we got on the plane and got nice seats behind the wing. The plane left a few minutes late, but not too bad. It was just about an hour to Tampa and so they served drinks and pretzels quickly before we landed. The landing was smooth and the sky was so wild looking!

When we landed, I figured I would use the bathroom before the new people started getting on board. I looked back and the bathroom was in use at first, and then a few minutes later it was vacant. I went back, and Dan's mom came behind me.

I opened the bathroom door and much to my dismay, there was a woman sitting on the toilet bowl!! She looked up, horrified, and grabbed the door and closed it!! I turned bright red, and the flight attendants who were in the back were laughing hysterically... so was I, and so was Dan;s mom! It was so weird! Luckily, I had been looking to the side because the back door of the plane was open and I wanted to see what was out there. If I hadn't been doing that, I would have gotten a much better look at what was behind door number 1, and I'm thankful I didn't!! The flight attendant said, "that's why they teach you to lock the bathroom door in Kindergarten!"

When she left, I went in and made sure to lock.

For the last leg of the flight they served the Ritz Chips and I looooove them! They taste soo good! I am going to go to Target and look for them!

I slept for a while and then woke up just before we landed. It was another foggy night so I was having a flashback to the last time when we had to abort our first landing! I was hoping it wouldn't happen again... not so much because I was scared of it, but just because I was ready to be home!

We landed at about 8:45 and Re picked us up! There wasn't enough room in her car so she brought me and my mom home and Dan waited at the airport for me to come back with his car to get him. It didn't take me too long.

I picked him up and then we headed home. Unfortunately, we had left Dan's house keys in my mom's bedroom for the trip and I forgot to take them home with me when I dropped her off, so we had to go back and pick them up!

We stopped to get bagels and got home around 10:30.

We did some very little unpacking, watched some TV, and I took a shower. Now it's time for bed, and work is going to be terrible tomorrow... I just know it! Not only will there be a ton of stuff to catch up on but I will be exhausted!!

Until tomorrow...

Goodnight. :)