Greater Ft Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Sept 2: Happy Our

I’ve always been a big fan of happy hours. Not to get falling down, stupid drunk. But to lighten up and savor life a bit at the end of a good day’s work. It seems a time to reward ourselves, and to connect with folks whose company we enjoy. It’s really not so much about getting tipsy just for me, as it is about tippling a bit for us. Happy hours can build friendships, solidify working relationships, allow people to bond outside the usual place and time. And, hey, they’re just fun. At least that’s way I see it. Viewed like this, it really is “our” time to get “happy” together. Happy Our. Ha!

I’m going into all of this for a reason. Because I don’t go to happy hours anymore the way I used to. When I worked in newsrooms for 11 years, Friday night happy hours were the norm. Sometimes we’d all meet on weeknights too. Now that I write alone at home, these have become fairly rare events for me. I usually seem to hook up with friends for dinner rather than cocktails, mostly due to scheduling issues.

On Friday, though, a buddy asked me to join him and a couple other friends after work. Andrew suggested the 15th Street Fisheries, a spot I know well from having lived near there for several years. When we arrived, a decent enough little band was banging out some oldies and the outside deck overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway was packed. We ordered a couple of beers and chatted and ran into some other folks we knew and just did the usual happy hour kind of thing. Although it was a warm night, the breeze wavered in from the water often. Andrew and I shared some calamari, then had dinner and another beer while waiting for his friends to show. The tunes of Neil Young and Bob Dylan and the other usual Boomers were flowing from one side of us and the seabreezes were flowing from the other and when Susana and Jessica showed up, they added their own fresh energy and enthusiasm to the mix. We didn’t leave until nearly 10:30 but I relished every minute of it. This was doing a happy hour the way I always did them in those newsroom years. To top it all off, Andrew insisted on picking up everyone’s tab. Next time, it’s on me – and you know what? I can’t wait.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Aug 29: Riding a Classic

For someone who claims to genuinely love Fort Lauderdale, I should be a bit red-faced about this one. And, well, I am. I’ve lived here for more than 19 years, I’ve enjoyed many “staycations” on the beach, I’ve tried to get around a lot and really do this area – and I keep trying as the new replaces the old. But there is one Fort Lauderdale classic that I had never experienced in all my time here. Until recently. The Jungle Queen has been sliding up and down the New River for a long, long while. Like, some 65 years or so. Everyone I know who rides this boat tells me they have a wonderful time. I was always skeptical. But you know what? I gave it a go during my most recent beach vacation a couple weeks ago and I did indeed have a wonderful time. So did my girlfriend, who has lived here just as long as I have.

If you haven’t taken the Jungle Queen, you really should. Yep, it’s old and creaky. That’s part of its charm. We hopped on in the middle of a scorching afternoon but the breeze on the covered second deck soon was drying some of that perspiration. This was in the dead of August, remember, and the boat still was filling up with a decent crowd. I was pleasantly surprised.

Both Gwendolyn and I had been on water taxis and other boats many times along the New River. But we’d never gone as far on the river as we did this day. For us, that was the best part. We discovered entire neighborhoods full of very Florida-style houses with outside tiki bars all over the place. The Jungle Queen winds its way so far that you actually pass under I-95 before landing at the Jungle Queen Indian Village, as it’s called. Quite a hoot, this place. There’s some alligator wrestling, which was better than any I’d seen in the past. There were animals and birds and plants. There was a pleasant little picnic area with a food stand. We didn’t go for their dinner cruise, obviously, but many do and seem to enjoy the meal and show. Ours was the daytime three-hour cruise and for us this was just right. We got back smiling about the whole thing, both saying we were glad to have done the Jungle Queen at last. All those friends who’d taken this boat were right, as it turned out. Who knew?

Monday, August 25, 2008

Aug 25: Moments of Quiet and Rejuvenation

Greater Fort Lauderdale has two faces, much like the masks of comedy and drama. They offer contrasting but equally pleasurable expressions.

For example, people who stop over for a few days before or after a cruise, who come down for a family reunion or business, or who book a change-of-pace vacation often turn into frenzied jugglers as they get caught up in the flurry of activities. The mission is fun.

The ideas bounce around something like this: How many hours at the beach can we slip in between conference sessions? Why not try para-sailing and jet skiing? Scuba lessons – sure, but what about one of those historic or nature tours, too? We also have golf in the morning and shopping, which can take all day. And then there are those new restaurants we heard about. And, we have to make time for that concert or nightclub, even if it ends up keeping us out most of the night.

The area has another pleasure as well, however, where the face of calm offers respite from the hectic pace.

Moments of quiet and rejuvenation overlooking the ocean can be as welcome as the breeze after an afternoon rain. A leisurely hour or two at one of the many spas in resorts that dot the county can make the schedules pause, and time stand still for awhile, for the traveler who needs some recharging before setting out again.

Throughout the month of September, pampering will be a priority as the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau kicks off the first annual Lauderdale Spa Chic program, presented by American Express. With savings of up to 50% on spa treatments and one-night deluxe accommodations, visitors can choose to refresh and renew in a dozen participating area resorts, including the world-class Ritz Carlton Fort Lauderdale, as well as the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa and the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and Spa.

The mission of Spa Chic is relaxation, in dramatic luxury, but that facet of Greater Fort Lauderdale can be fun, too.

By Kitty Oliver