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The Greater Fort Lauderdale area offers many ways to spend your money. You can spend money for a relaxing spa treatment followed by a seafood dinner at a chic restaurant and a great performance at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. But I think that this area’s very best feature is free.
The sea. It is always there, always beckoning to tourists and residents alike. And fortunately, I’ve rediscovered it lately because of this blog. You may recall that some weeks ago I wrote about my first solo morning walk along the shore in Fort Lauderdale. Just the ocean and me. It was something of a revelation. Now, morning visits to the ocean have become a regular part of my life and I’m grateful for it.
This past weekend, for example, the sun was trying to break through the clouds when I arrived and the air was warm with a pleasant wind coming off the waves. The windsurfers were out and the usual walkers and runners and roller bladers too. I was early, about 8 a.m., and there was plenty of parking along A1A and lots of open beach where I could find a spot to just be quiet with the sea, alone.
I had carried in my pocket a small plastic bag, which I pulled out to use as a seat, settling down as near the water as possible without getting wet from the rising tide. The surf was heavy and beautiful, wave after wave rolling in and shattering against the sand. A few people wandered past me along the water’s edge but left me alone with my thoughts.
The salt spray slowly fogged my sunglasses and cooled my face with its mist and the scent of the ocean was the only thing I could smell. A sea gull stood 10 feet away from me, looking at the sea just as I was, as if also admiring the sunlight on the foam. I find it a perfect place to clear my head for the day, collecting my thoughts, focusing my energy, letting go of my worries. Morning meditation with nature, just at the edge of a bustling, vibrant city.
After half an hour on the beach, I took a brisk walk and ended up eating a luscious large bowl of fruit for breakfast at St. Bart’s Café, a charming funky spot just south of Las Olas. Tourists were there too, talking excitedly about getting tickets for the Tut exhibit. “People are flying down here for this Tut thing. It’s really a big deal,” one of them said to the others.
Two pretty young ladies asked to share my table, and I was only too glad to agree of course. We had a nice chat, then I drove home, feeling much more tranquil and together than when I’d left.
Somehow, I couldn’t resist putting on Debussy’s La Mer after I got back. I wanted to carry that feeling of the sea with me a while longer. And already, I can’t wait to go back.
The sea. It is always there, always beckoning to tourists and residents alike. And fortunately, I’ve rediscovered it lately because of this blog. You may recall that some weeks ago I wrote about my first solo morning walk along the shore in Fort Lauderdale. Just the ocean and me. It was something of a revelation. Now, morning visits to the ocean have become a regular part of my life and I’m grateful for it.
This past weekend, for example, the sun was trying to break through the clouds when I arrived and the air was warm with a pleasant wind coming off the waves. The windsurfers were out and the usual walkers and runners and roller bladers too. I was early, about 8 a.m., and there was plenty of parking along A1A and lots of open beach where I could find a spot to just be quiet with the sea, alone.
I had carried in my pocket a small plastic bag, which I pulled out to use as a seat, settling down as near the water as possible without getting wet from the rising tide. The surf was heavy and beautiful, wave after wave rolling in and shattering against the sand. A few people wandered past me along the water’s edge but left me alone with my thoughts.
The salt spray slowly fogged my sunglasses and cooled my face with its mist and the scent of the ocean was the only thing I could smell. A sea gull stood 10 feet away from me, looking at the sea just as I was, as if also admiring the sunlight on the foam. I find it a perfect place to clear my head for the day, collecting my thoughts, focusing my energy, letting go of my worries. Morning meditation with nature, just at the edge of a bustling, vibrant city.
After half an hour on the beach, I took a brisk walk and ended up eating a luscious large bowl of fruit for breakfast at St. Bart’s Café, a charming funky spot just south of Las Olas. Tourists were there too, talking excitedly about getting tickets for the Tut exhibit. “People are flying down here for this Tut thing. It’s really a big deal,” one of them said to the others.
Two pretty young ladies asked to share my table, and I was only too glad to agree of course. We had a nice chat, then I drove home, feeling much more tranquil and together than when I’d left.
Somehow, I couldn’t resist putting on Debussy’s La Mer after I got back. I wanted to carry that feeling of the sea with me a while longer. And already, I can’t wait to go back.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 3:42 PM
Great description of the sea I love it as well.I lived in Lauderdale by the sea in the early 80's & loved it & miss it.I reside now in NYC and often get lost in the beachcam looking out over Ft.Laud beach when its below freezing here in NYC.I look forward to your blog and hope to get some of that warm sunshine thru your words.Thanks & keep up the good work.BTW I will be down in april for easter & will take my wife on the gondolla ride THANKS again
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