Monday, January 4, 2016

Day 2 - FIRST FULL DAY IN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

Last evening before dinner we went to the Ritz Carlton Club Room for some wine and appetizers.  The room was quite busy and we ended up talking with a very nice family from the Northeast.  Always interesting what you learn.

The family has been at the hotel for close to three weeks.  Long story but the wife's Mother had gone to Cuba and developed Meningitis.  She has Leukemia but never told her family so her immune systems was weak.  The wife had to travel to Cuba which was not an easy task to help have her Mom get evacuated and they took her to Florida.  The Mother sounded like a very strong and determined woman.  

From the club floor, we  had dinner at the restaurant in the Hotel.  It was a wise decision because about 30 minutes into dinner it was pouring down rain outside and we were very glad when that happened we were not in the middle of a walk to one of three restaurants that had been recommended to Keith by the concierge.  The restaurant was quite busy, and seemed to be a lot of people not staying at the Hotel we dining there.  All good for that restaurant.

After dinner, since the rain had stopped we took a walk.  It was very dark outside as you can tell from the photo.  The beach and ocean are in the photo but you wouldn't know that on your own.  There are still various holiday lights on display.




Back at the hotel, we finished unpacking and caught up on reading and writing.  

We both slept well.  It was very quiet both inside the hotel and outside as we do not face the street and have a nice view from our room.

We enjoyed breakfast at the Club Room and then we got ready to explore the area.  There are several stations for breakfast including this one with a chef that made cooked to order items. 




We prefer to have a healthier breakfast of cereal and fruit.





Some views of Fort Lauderdale from the Club Room.

When Keith returned from taking the photos from the outdoor balcony, he realized that shorts would not be wise today as it was chilly outside.  

View of the beach area and ocean.





These are views from our room.








Unlike our stays in Miami we didn't make any formal plans and that included reservations at hotels, or to go to events such as the theatre or sporting events.  While in Miami, we normally attend one or two Miami Heat games depending on their schedule.  Likewise, we have not made reservations for ports of call on this itinerary.  For us this is a get away trip and we will just figure things out each day.  We enjoying taking walks and that is what we will mainly do during our stay in Fort Lauderdale enjoying the landscape including views of the beach and the ocean along with temperature that is quite a bit warmer than our own at home this time of the year and just enjoying conversation between the two of us and others we meet.  Sometimes, you have to just take the time to enjoy the roses. We have some other trips planned for this year that will include many activities including a land trip to London, a couple of family get-aways, a few cruises including a cruise of the Northwest Passage.  

Before leaving the hotel we checked the weather again from the balcony of our room and it was still overcast and windy.




We expected rain on our walk as for a couple of hours they were calling for 70% rain.  As it turned out, we just had some rain drops, and that passed in time.

We walked up A1A and up to Las Olas Blvd and then made our way over the intracoastal waterway and then walked for quite awhile. 




On our return, we waited for a few minutes while the draw bridge was open for one boat.






We then made our way over to A1A and walked a couple of miles North on A1A.  We walked on the beach side for a portion of the walk.  Unlike yesterday when the beach was quite active with lots of people, for most of the walk no one was on the beach.






A slow morning for the on-duty life guard.







In time, we started to see many more people out and about with several walkers and others jogging.  



Maybe a future Spin (indoor cycling) bike for Keith.  NOT.  LOL.  



A portion of the area reminded us of all of the construction in Miami.  While not as widespread, similar to Miami small buildings are being removed to make way for much larger buildings including condominiums and hotels.





This includes a new Four Seasons that will be home to not only a hotel but to residences similar to the one in Miami and other Four Season locations.  



Over the course of our walk we checked out some restaurants which were recommended by the concierge and have identified a couple of places for dinner and lunches including a couple of get togethers with friends.

The good news is that the sun came out and we no longer needed our jackets.  

We did pick up some take-out salads for our lunch for today.

Afterwards, we went back out and walked for a couple of additional hours.  We found one of the Water Taxi Stops and we walked for quite a long time South on A1A.  Some people were out on the beach with the sunnier and warmer weather.





When we came to this area along the beach, Keith remarked, "I wish I had brought my basketball with me."  




This evening we will go have dinner at one of the restaurants we checked out during our morning walk.

Keith & Anne Marie

No comments:

Post a Comment