We had a 7:00am flight, so we got up at 4:30am. As soon as I got, I checked that our flight was still on time (and not cancelled - like our Hawaii flight). Ya, Janet was was a little crazed about making sure. The flight was showing on time, and so we got ready for our ride to the airport at 5:30. We dropped off our checked luggage and went through security. Because Randy has Elite status, we were able to by-pass (using the 'Fly-Thru', thankfully, cuz I hate waiting in line) the big line-up and get in shorter line. We stopped and bought some books to read, then headed to our gate - which started boarding shortly after. The plane was a little late departing because it had to de-ice. But we made up some time on the way and arrived maybe 15 minutes late. We were on one of the renovated A320's - which has the on-demand entertainment screens in every seat. It doesn't have the staggering selection of movies/TV that Singapore Airlines offered - but it was enough to keep us entertained. We were served a hot breakfast (in business class) shortly after we took off. We both got the omelet (which came with potatoes and sausage) - which was actually pretty tasty. When we got to Toronto, we had to take a shuttle bus from Terminal 1 (currently used for domestic flights) to Terminal 2 (used for U.S. flights). As of January 31st, a new wing of Terminal 1 will be opened that will then handle all the U.S. flights (and Terminal 2 will be closed). Terminal 2 is currently being used only for U.S. flights - so we were walking through this deserted terminal to get to U.S. customs. It was a little eerie - it reminded me of the Stephen King book/movie - the Langoliers. When we got to the baggage carousel to pick up our luggage - it was already there - so we continued to U.S. customs. There was no line-up (unlike times I had to fly through there for work!). We got through customs and security and went directly to the Maple Leaf Lounge. Once in the lounge, we had some beverages and some chicken noodle soup. Randy went to the business centre to get in touch with his work team and to surf the net for a bit. I just relaxed and read a book. Around 3:00pm, we headed to our gate - which had just started boarding. The plane was another renovated A320 - so we had the on-demand entertainment again. We were served another hot meal - I had teriyaki chicken, and Randy had salmon. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale about 20 minutes early. However, our gate wasn't ready because the previous plane had a mechanical problem. So, we sat on the tarmac waiting for more than 20 minutes. Oh well. There seemed to be a general disorderliness to the airport. We finally deplaned and headed to the luggage carousel. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the luggage to come out - and our bag came out right away. We phoned our hotel (Hampton Inn) to get their airport shuttle. They told me where to go wait for the shuttle and said it would be about 10 minutes.
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So, we stood around waiting for the shuttle. It was more
like half an hour before it finally showed up. We checked in,
dropped off our bags - then went across the street to the
Winn-Dixie. 