Fortunately, the rest of my journey was uneventful. However, I did notice that the weather did not get warmer as we made our way southward. When I got off the train in Fort Lauderdale, it was cold, pouring rain and hailing. Welcome to Florida! 
As with past trips, I booked a room at the nearby Motel 6. It was in a good location (close to the railway, close to the airport and close to the Port Everglades dock). After checking in, I went to the airport to pick up a rental car. Since I had a couple of days to kill before my ship, the ms Prinsendam departed, I decided to explore as much of the city as I could.
Unfortunately, a long cold snap had enveloped the region and record low temperatures and snow were reported. This put a damper on my plans and I was left to explore the indoor sites of Fort Lauderdale. Sawgrass Mills is a huge shopping complex that makes Yorkdale Mall's parking problems look like a joke. Because of the weather, half the city was at the mall and parking was a nightmare.
The next day I drove down to the beach to look at all the people walking on the sand in their winter coats. Then I boarded the Jungle Queen boat for a cruise through Fort Lauderdale's rich and famous waterways. I got to see multi-million dollar mansions and their equally expensive yachts. Part of the trip stopped off at a small zoo where we got to see some real life alligator wrestling (although it was more like a guy pestering his pet alligator).
Later that night, I made a generous donation to the Hard Rock resort and casino, which was strategically located less than 10 minutes from my motel.
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