Day 1 - Ft. Lauderdale

This morning around 7:00 a.m., along with 1,800 other travelers, we pulled into the Port of Los Angeles aboard the ocean liner, Island Princess.

After 15 days at sea, cruising the Caribbean, transiting the Panama Canal and exploring the Mexican Riviera, it was good to be home. But what an amazing adventure it was.

And to make sure we remembered every moment of the once-in-a-lifetime trip, we did 3 things: took around 1,000 photos, shot around 30-minutes of video, and I kept a written journal of the day's activities.

For the next week and a half or so, if you decide to -- you can view, watch and read it all.

Panama Canal Adventure - Day 1 - Ft. Lauderdale

So! First up, we flew from LAX to Ft. Lauderdale aboard Virgin America. It was the only non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale... especially after United wanted to charge us $800 for one, one-way ticket. Neat.

Shortly after we got through LAX security, we had the trip's first celebrity sighting -- John Lithgow -- who was waiting for a flight to JFK.

For those who haven't flown on Virgin, the airline offers a very customized travel experience -- from unique decor, satellite television, cuisine, games, web access, etc.

And it was here that we had the trip's 2nd celebrity sighting -- Suge Knight -- eating outside the airport's Chili's ToGo venue. Except that I made the mistake of thinking it was just a guy who looked like Suge, and proceeded, within earshot, to say "Look Em, it's Suge Knight! Maybe he knows where Biggie is!" And we somehow managed to get out alive.

But compared to Alaska, where the only celebrities were possibly Palin or the cast of "Deadliest Catch," Lithgow and Knight were a bit of a surprise.

In our August trip to Alaska, we fell in love with the walking-friendly city of Vancouver, B.C. In contrast, Ft. Lauderdale isn't. Unless the local Hooters qualifies; and it doesn't. So instead, we had dinner at the Marriott, followed by a candy bar dessert up on the pool terrace.

And that was really nice. A cool breeze off the pool, sitting together on an oversized recliner and looking up at the moon while classical music was piped in through a fake rock nearby.

We wrapped up the night with a hot cup of Cozy Chamomile -- which became a nighttime staple during our Alaska trip -- during a disturbing episode of TLC's "Hoarders." Seriously, I'm not sure how TLC gets away with still leveraging "The Learning Channel" as their name.

Already, the 3-hour time difference is screwing with us a bit -- especially when our luggage needs to be outside our room for transfer to the ship the next morning by 9:00 a.m.

Photos from the Day

Tomorrow: Island Princess