*Flight Information:
Airline and Flight Number: Delta Air Lines 745
Departure Airport: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Fort Lauderdale, FL
Arrival Airport: Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, UT
Departure Airport Terminal, Gate: Terminal 2, Gate D8
Arrival Airport Terminal, Gate: Concourse A, Gate A31
Aircraft Type, Registration: Airbus A321, N107DN
Class of Service, Seat: First, 2B
Scheduled Departure Time/Actual Departure Time: 7:17AM (EST)/7:19AM (EST)
Scheduled Arrival Time/Actual Arrival Time: 10:25AM (MT)/10:10AM (MT)

*SPECIAL NOTES:
-Second time flying to SLC (The first time I flew to SLC was in November 1998, when I flew from JFK to LAS via SLC with my parents.)
-Second time in Utah (see above)
-First time flying between FLL and SLC
-First time flying First Class in many years (I last flew First Class, also on Delta a very long time ago between NYC and South Florida with my parents and on America West (now defunct due to merging with US Airways and later American) in July 2001 between LAS and JFK due to an operational upgrade as the result of a severely delayed flight.). Usually, I fly Economy or sometimes, an Economy Comfort product so this was a treat!

b) Getting to Airport:
While I did not get that many hours of sleep, as I only went to sleep at 10:30PM the night before, I still felt fairly rested after my iPhone's alarm woke me at 3:00AM. Once I awakened, I then decided to check my flight information again. Thanks to the fact that the incoming aircraft due to operate my flight to Salt Lake City was delayed by many hours from New York-LaGuardia, a new aircraft was due to operate my flight and thankfully, it would be on time, if not about 20-minutes early. The new incoming aircraft would arrive from Salt Lake City as Delta 1564. It left Salt Lake City only 14-minutes behind schedule at 11:28PM the night before and was estimated to arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 5:28AM, 22-minutes ahead of its scheduled 5:50AM arrival time, so I knew our flight would leave on time.

Once I got up, I then unplugged my iPhone and AppleWatch and placed their chargers into my drawstring bag. Sometime after I got up, my Mother then got up shortly after. As she began to get ready, I did the same, cleaning up and getting dressed. By the time all was said and done for me, the time was about 4:15AM or so, leaving me about 45-minutes until our car would pick us up to take us to FLL. With that extra time, I first checked to make sure I had all of my belongings, which did, so I moved my suitcase and backpack there, so they would be ready when we left. As my Mother finished getting ready, I spent time with our dogs embracing them and talking to them, since I would miss them a lot while I was away! Normally, we would give the dogs breakfast, but since they do not eat until a little later in the morning, our pet sitters would come and do their first feeding at 8:00AM. Time went quickly and by 4:50AM, our driver had arrived about 10-minutes early in a black Chevrolet Suburban.


I then met our driver, Juan Carlos, who was another one of the drivers who worked for my friend. My first impressions of him were excellent, as he was warm, polite, and professional. My Mother was moving just a bit slower than expected, so Juan Carlos had no trouble waiting for her. As we waited, he went ahead and loaded my suitcase and backpack into the trunk of his Suburban. Thankfully, all was well and by about 5:05AM, my Mother was ready to go! Before getting underway, Juan Carlos, who also gave my Mother an excellent first impression, loaded her suitcase and other bags. Now ready to go on our trip, we locked up our home and Juan Carlos opened the rear doors of his Suburban, making sure we were easily able to get in. By 5:15AM, we were driven out of our neighborhood, turning right onto El Clair Ranch Road southbound and left onto Atlantic Avenue (FL-806) eastbound towards Interstate 95, Downtown Delray Beach, and local beaches. Once on Atlantic Avenue, we passed various communities and shopping centers in suburban Delray and were making good time. A few minutes after we left the house, we were at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Military Trail.

At my Mother's request, since she wanted quiet, we did not have the music turned on in the car, for which Juan Carlos was happy to oblige. In addition to his courtesy and professionalism, Juan Carlos also proved to be an excellent driver. What's more? His Chevrolet Suburban was super comfortable, thanks to a roomy and supportive rear seat, quiet cabin, and smooth ride! In addition, he also left us a couple of bottle of waters in the back, which was a thoughtful touch! After passing Military Trail, we were getting closer to Interstate 95.


Less than ten minutes after we left our home, we were entering I-95 southbound towards Miami and a few minutes later at 5:26AM ((learned from timestamp of picture on iPhone), we had already passed Exit 51: Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach and Exit 50: Congress Avenue in Boca Raton. According to the highway sign for the next three exits, we were 1.5-miles from Exit 48: Yamato Rd/Spanish River Blvd, 4 miles from Exit 45: Glades Rd, and 5 miles from Palmetto Park Rd, which all happen to be in Boca Raton.

Three minutes later, we had passed Exit 48: Yamato Rd/Spanish River Blvd and traffic was still light.

I then took a selfie, still looking kind of sleepy thanks to not getting as much sleep as I would have liked.

Six minutes later at 5:32AM, we had left Palm Beach County and entered Broward County, as we were approaching Exit 42: FL-810 (Hillsboro Blvd.) in Deerfield Beach.

At this time, traffic had increased, which would mean that we would be a the airport a little closer to 6:00AM, which would likely leave us with a little less time than we would have liked at the airport, since we would only have a little over half an hour until our flight's 6:37AM boarding time, 40-minutes prior to Delta 745's scheduled departure time of 7:17AM. Although traffic began moving slower than at the beginning of our ride, thanks to the fact that Juan Carlos was able to use the paid HOV lane, we still made OK time and by 5:42AM, we had already passed through Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach and were about to enter Oakland Park, a city just north of Fort Lauderdale. According to my phone's geotag as well as watching the road, we were just north of Exit 31: FL-816 (Oakland Park Blvd.).

Despite the fact that traffic had increased significantly, thanks to the fact that Juan Carlos drove in the paid HOV lane, we were already approaching Exit 24: I-595 to Florida's Turnpike/I-75/FL-869-Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 5:45AM.


After leaving I-95 southbound, we found ourselves on I-595 eastbound towards the airport as well as Port Everglades. Six minutes after we left I-95, we were now on the grounds of FLL as we passed the parking garage that houses FLL's Rental Car Center.

However, thanks to the fact that it was early in the morning on a weekday, the airport was crowded, which could not be more evident by the many cars dropping off passengers at Terminal 1.

About 45-minutes later, we had arrived at FLL's Terminal 2, which while less convenient than going to PBI, is not horrible considering it usually takes about 40-45 minutes to get from our home in Delray to FLL. Once we pulled up to the curb, Juan Carlos sprang into action, wasting no time in unloading our bags. We were now ready to go, so we thanked Juan Carlos for a wonderful ride and made our way into Terminal 2, excited to be on our way to Vegas!