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For the past three weeks, I’ve been writing about my recent vacation trip – a trip that meant going from my Fort Lauderdale home to a Fort Lauderdale hotel, about 15 minutes north. I’ve done this sort of thing before. But somehow on this most recent trip, I looked at Fort Lauderdale a bit differently. I saw it through the eyes of a tourist for the first time in a long time. Really could feel the sheer pleasure of swaying palm trees as an outsider might feel them. Truly looked out at the ocean with that strange sense of marvel that is different in some way from the inspiration I draw from the sea during my regular meditation sessions. Watched the passing parade of couples and singles, vacationers and locals, along A1A as the charming curiosity it is rather than as the normal and familiar old scene. And all this gave me one strong feeling at the end of my vacation – the Fort Lauderdale area is one heck of a place to come for a getaway. Even if you’re only getting away a few miles.
I rediscovered the Bonnet House and the Water Bus and Bahia Cabana. I “discovered” places like Jimmy’s Cabaret, Franco & Vinny’s restaurant and The Deck, a fabulous spot for an oceanside breakfast – worth a blog all its own sometime later on. I walked through the hot afternoon, holding my girlfriend’s hand, and stopped in small shops for ice cream, then went back to the hotel for a dip in the hot tub. It was all fun and relaxing – and a great way to forget about work for a while. All of us can use that sort of escape these days, I’m sure.
It didn’t matter that we took our at-home vacation in the summertime warmth. The season was a plus, as far as we were concerned. Fewer crowds, better prices. And the sea breeze feels especially delicious on sultry summer nights in South Florida. There’s also that thing I’ve written about before, the “off-season” friendliness that accompanies the more languid weather here.
My tourist eyes are slowly becoming refocused to see things once more as a resident. I appreciate and love this part of the world. But it’s hard to look at Broward County with quite that same fresh, admiring view that visitors bring with them. That’s ok. It’s one of the reasons I write this blog – to force me to seek out things I might miss otherwise. And I know that, one way or another, I’ll do the local-out-of-towner thing at a Broward hotel again before long. Even when you live here, it’s always delightful to play the tourist in South Florida.
I rediscovered the Bonnet House and the Water Bus and Bahia Cabana. I “discovered” places like Jimmy’s Cabaret, Franco & Vinny’s restaurant and The Deck, a fabulous spot for an oceanside breakfast – worth a blog all its own sometime later on. I walked through the hot afternoon, holding my girlfriend’s hand, and stopped in small shops for ice cream, then went back to the hotel for a dip in the hot tub. It was all fun and relaxing – and a great way to forget about work for a while. All of us can use that sort of escape these days, I’m sure.
It didn’t matter that we took our at-home vacation in the summertime warmth. The season was a plus, as far as we were concerned. Fewer crowds, better prices. And the sea breeze feels especially delicious on sultry summer nights in South Florida. There’s also that thing I’ve written about before, the “off-season” friendliness that accompanies the more languid weather here.
My tourist eyes are slowly becoming refocused to see things once more as a resident. I appreciate and love this part of the world. But it’s hard to look at Broward County with quite that same fresh, admiring view that visitors bring with them. That’s ok. It’s one of the reasons I write this blog – to force me to seek out things I might miss otherwise. And I know that, one way or another, I’ll do the local-out-of-towner thing at a Broward hotel again before long. Even when you live here, it’s always delightful to play the tourist in South Florida.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 1:57 PM
That's for writing about all the local activities.
My family has visited the Ft Lauderdale area for the last 3years. We will be returning to visit the last two weeks in July. This blog has given us ideas where to eat and where to visit.
Thanks again.
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