Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

 

12 February 2014

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

We met Russ’ cousins from Minnesota for lunch at the Seminole Inn in Indiantown. The inn is a restored historic home which is also a restaurant.  The builder, S. Davies Warfield, was the father of Wallis Simpson, the woman who caused such a big scandal in the 1930s and who eventually married the Duke of Windsor. The inn is a very pleasant and comfortable place surrounded by some nice gardens in an area of citrus groves and farms. The town is a railroad town that never really prospered because of the onset of the Great Depression.

We always enjoy visiting with Karen and Jim, sharing funny stories and catching up on family news. We laughed that we had to come all the way from California and Minnesota to meet for lunch in Florida. Jim and Karen have been wintering in Florida for several years, staying near Lake Okeechobee where Jim enjoys fishing. 

We then headed about 90 miles southeast to Ft. Lauderdale, our final destination for the road trip portion of our adventure. I had reservations for Thursday and Friday and thought that we might be able to just extend that stay at the same hotel by a day. Unfortunately, the hotel was sold out, so we had to go find another nearby hotel to stay at. I feel sorry for Russ having to lug our entire set of luggage in and out of the hotels.  We don’t leave anything in the car overnight – we benefited from that habit many, many years ago in New Zealand when our rental was broken into overnight, but nothing was stolen because we had taken everything into our room.

Just as we started to move the luggage from our car into the hotel, it started pouring rain.  The clouds had been building all afternoon and the weather reports had been warning of strong thunderstorms. The rain came with lots of thunder and lightning.  There were some strong winds, but by then we were in our hotel and safe and dry. I liked the timing – we got all the way across the country and didn’t encounter any serious weather until we reached our final driving destination. Thanks to all those that sent safe travel prayers our way.

Thursday, we took a ride to Miami and just wandered around the town in the car, passing a really large boat show with tons of huge yachts, admiring the large mansions and tall condo towers, and meandering through some county parks out near Key Biscayne. We are definitely coming back to this area when we come down next year with the trailer. Not to drive through Miami with a travel trailer, mind you, that would be a total disaster, but to spend some time checking out the shops, restaurants, architectures and the beaches.

The day was beautiful with temps in the low 70s, breezy and clear skies. It seemed like everyone in Miami was out on the road even though it was a workday. Traffic is worse than it is in Los Angeles, I swear.

The rest of our time in Ft. Lauderdale was spent running a few errands before our cruise. Russ received his replacement hearing aid on Friday morning – I LOVE LOGISTICS!  We did some laundry and turned in the car in the late afternoon on Friday. We walked over to a seafood restaurant for our Valentine’s dinner. A nice way to end our road trip.  Tomorrow we board our ship, the Crown Princess and start our South America adventure.

There are some beautiful hotels and condos along Highway 1A.  I think this is the highway that goes down the east coast of Florida all the way to the Keys. Definitely a different style of living than what I am accustomed to.

This is one of the smallest boats at the boat show we passed.  It looks to be a one person airboat – could be fun.

There were several of these 3 and 4 level yachts.  Have no idea what they cost – likely in the millions so it is out of my budget.

You would definitely need a staff to operate one of these behemoths – a pilot, a cabin steward, a deck attendant and a cook as a minimum.  Or lots of friends who are willing to work for a boating vacation.

A mama and her little ones.

This sculpture was just outside the Fishing Hall of Fame which was right next door to our hotel.

We had beautiful weather while in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Russ’ worst nightmare!

The fish reminded me of Charlie Tuna – that really dates me, doesn’t it?

I don’t know if this is a type of duck who is having a bad hair day or a diseased one. There was a whole gaggle of them lurking near the hotel entrance.

There are some beautiful beaches on the drive out to Key Biscayne.

A view of Miami from the causeway to Key Biscayne.

One of the cruise ships in Miami's cruise port.