RSS
On Sunday afternoon, I drove to the Fort Lauderdale beach from my house. Two unusual things impressed me along the way. First, the huge number of cruise ships waiting for passengers in Port Everglades. It was one of those days when at least seven or eight mammoth ships all sat docked at once. The second thing was obvious as soon as I got to the beach. Kitesurfers. Lots of them. Oddly, about the same number as there were cruise ships in port – eight people whipping over the waves on small surfboards at fairly high speeds, pulled as their kites caught the winds. See what I mean? Unusual. And impressive.
The cruise ships were beautiful as seen from the 17th Street bridge, each sparkling and grand in the sunshine, each making Fort Lauderdale their home port this time of year. By late afternoon, they would be filled with eager passengers, most of these folks no doubt escaping to the subtropics from snowy northern places. The kitesurfers were beautiful too. Shaped like colored wings, the kites that pulled the surfers rose into the air maybe 30 feet or so. The kites seemed difficult to control, especially on such a windy day. But every one of the surfers clearly were experienced, skillfully blasting in toward shore and then back out, sometimes far out, hopping among the small whitecaps. It looked like an exhilarating way to spend an afternoon.
And that was when it occurred to me: the cruisers and the surfers had something in common. And so did all the people on the crowded beachfront. Fort Lauderdale had provided every one of them with just the thing they wanted most to do on this Sunday, whether that was a voyage to exotic islands or an adventure with the wind or a lazy day on the sand. This community seemed a vast playground to me at that moment, offering a spectrum of activities for many different types of visitors with many different interests. People come here from all over for their own brand of getaway, some briefly before a cruise, some for a week of water sports. Still others come as snowbirds for months at a time. It was enough to make one local resident smile on a sunny Sunday.
The cruise ships were beautiful as seen from the 17th Street bridge, each sparkling and grand in the sunshine, each making Fort Lauderdale their home port this time of year. By late afternoon, they would be filled with eager passengers, most of these folks no doubt escaping to the subtropics from snowy northern places. The kitesurfers were beautiful too. Shaped like colored wings, the kites that pulled the surfers rose into the air maybe 30 feet or so. The kites seemed difficult to control, especially on such a windy day. But every one of the surfers clearly were experienced, skillfully blasting in toward shore and then back out, sometimes far out, hopping among the small whitecaps. It looked like an exhilarating way to spend an afternoon.
And that was when it occurred to me: the cruisers and the surfers had something in common. And so did all the people on the crowded beachfront. Fort Lauderdale had provided every one of them with just the thing they wanted most to do on this Sunday, whether that was a voyage to exotic islands or an adventure with the wind or a lazy day on the sand. This community seemed a vast playground to me at that moment, offering a spectrum of activities for many different types of visitors with many different interests. People come here from all over for their own brand of getaway, some briefly before a cruise, some for a week of water sports. Still others come as snowbirds for months at a time. It was enough to make one local resident smile on a sunny Sunday.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 10:22 AM
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