Fort Lauderdale Hotels - Beaches - Restaurants - Events

There are lots of things I love about the Fort Lauderdale area. One of them is the fun I find in just wandering around with nothing special to do. I mean, there’s a time and place for planning a time and place, setting a date to head out to a fancy dinner or attend that big rock concert or go nightclubbing or whatever it might be. But you don’t always have to spend a lot of money to enjoy a wonderful outing in South Florida. You can just ramble, as I did on Wednesday afternoon. I haven’t yet found time for that full day off I’d promised myself after last weekend’s hoopla, though I’m working on it. Working at not working, as it were. But I did spend the latter half of a gorgeous afternoon doing that wander-about thing. It was lovely.

I had to make a couple of work-related stops on my way to downtown Fort Lauderdale, but then parked at the main library lot and walked over to Starbucks on Las Olas. I’ve really started to like this place with its urban setting and its ebb and flow of office workers. So I bought a nice hot pumpkin spice latte and sat on the wall by the little fountain there, just sipping and watching.

The sun was out full, as it has been for days, and the air was brisk. Well, brisk by South Florida standards. I lingered on the wall a long time, smiling at passersby and admiring the nicely dressed women and generally kicking back for a change. Ahhhhh. When I’d finally finished all that sipping, I thought I might take a pleasant stroll. Which I did, down along the New River from near Jackson’s Steakhouse all the way to the Riverfront area, stopping to sit once more for a time behind Huizenga Plaza. The weather was just right for hanging out in a light jacket and the sunshine felt pleasantly warming. I strolled again now, through the plaza where they were setting up a huge Christmas tree and other seasonal decorations, making my way back to the parking lot. I left my car’s convertible top down as I pulled into the late afternoon rush of traffic, driving over the Andrews Avenue bridge and smiling one more time at the downtown high rises washed in light. Just a couple of hours of doing nothing special for the price of a latte. But somehow it felt special enough to me.

Anytime you can bring together nearly 2,000 of your closest friends in one place – that’s a great day. Throw in absolutely ideal weather. Oh, and an important cause. On Sunday, the Thousand Youth March for Humanity went off without a hitch. This is the big community event conceived and organized by my nonprofit group, The Humanity Project. It was just about perfect. We had 1,300 or more kids, by official police estimate. And some 500 adults. We’d all come together to make a loud, clear statement against school bullying. When we marched, the line was eight or ten people across and stretched for more than a long city block. The first marchers had already rounded Andrews Avenue at Broward Boulevard before the tail end marchers had started walking. Now that’s a turnout.

The event even attracted some folks who just came after the march to check out the entertainment, locals and tourists. We had several wonderful acts performing at Huizenga Plaza, where many festivals take place year round. And as I said, the weather was extraordinary. Highs in the mid 70s, a little cool breeze, completely blue skies and bright sun. The same kind of weather is going to hang around pretty much all week, from the sound of it. This is a wonderful time to be in Fort Lauderdale.

Luckily, I’m going to be able to enjoy it. After all the work on this march, I’m planning on taking a little time off this week. I’ll do some writing and catching up with things. And there are lots of thank you notes to send out and details to conclude following something like this. But I’ll take a day or two of mental health time as well. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to do. Today, I plan to head downtown to sip coffee and just sit around a while, watching the comings and goings of the office workers. I always enjoy that. Later this week, I may head to a waterside café for lunch with a friend or catch a movie or hang out on Las Olas. Or I may wander along the beach or just take a nice drive on A1A with my convertible top down. Whatever it will be, I only know that I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready to kick back and enjoy this city for a while.

I write about the Fort Lauderdale area all the time. About our great year round sun and sand and sea. About our excellent restaurants. About our top flight hotels and famous attractions. And about our fascinating mix of people, both the locals and tourists. But sometimes I get to see other sides of this community as well. One of those times for me is right now. For the past three months, I’ve been working with folks who want to send a positive message to the world this Sunday, November 16. In downtown Fort Lauderdale, from 1 – 3 p.m., more than 1,000 school kids will come together along with parents and teachers and church members and concerned citizens to say we must end school bullying. Not just here, but everywhere. To my knowledge, nothing quite like this has happened anywhere in the United States before.

Called the Thousand Youth March for Humanity, this event is bringing together diverse elements of greater Fort Lauderdale – for a greater cause. You see, bullying in the schools is a problem all over this nation. My nonprofit group, The Humanity Project, conceived and organized our march because we believe bullying must be seen as socially unacceptable behavior. It seems many in the Fort Lauderdale area agree. I’m proud of that.

We have some local church activists who are helping. We have members of other nonprofit groups and arts organizations, community leaders, school officials and even martial arts studios who want to stop bullying. And students. Lots of students who hope to take back their own schools. That says something about Fort Lauderdale, I think. There’s glitz here and there’s glamour here, of course. That’s why people come from all over the world to spend their money, relax, have fun. And bring home that great Florida tan. We have gorgeous bodies, gorgeous weather, gorgeous hotels, gorgeous beaches. Below all that gorgeousness, there’s a heart that includes many residents who genuinely care about others. The Thousand Youth March for Humanity is proof of that. When you visit here for a week this winter, that deeper part of our community may not be entirely obvious to you. But trust me, it’s there.

Sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to the things going on around us. Ok, most of the time we don’t. These often are little things, sights and sounds that help us tune in to our surroundings if we’ll only notice. On Monday morning, I drove home from Lighthouse Point along A1A. My convertible top was down and the early sun was already strong and the sky was a clear, pretty blue. I stopped for coffee and a small bite, sitting for half an hour in a shopping center and just observing. One thing soon caught my attention. A man’s voice behind me, speaking German until he pronounced two words that I recognized. In his own fashion. “Fawht Laow-der-dawl,” he said to a woman as they passed by. He was smiling when he spoke the name of this community, apparently a couple of European tourists chatting about their visit to Fort Lauderdale.

Like I said, a small thing. But it reminded me how many people come to South Florida from other countries and how much they enjoy it and how lucky I am to live here. And how people are coming again this year, no matter what else is going on in their part of the world.

That much was obvious as I looked around the outdoor restaurant. It was packed, busier than I’d seen it in months. Then something else struck me. Wow it’s, like, almost the holidays. This little bit of perspective arrived when I suddenly focused on a sight that had been staring at me for 10 minutes, without my eyes really paying attention. Christmas decorations. They were up in all their green and red tinsel glory around the whole shopping center. Odd as it may sound, this came to me as a surprise. First, because I hadn’t noticed them earlier. Second, because – well, wow, it’s like almost the holidays. Sure, I knew that November had just rolled into double digits. And yes, I seem to remember that Thanksgiving is sometime this month. I even recall that the holiday season gets going as we carve up the turkey. But I’ve been swamped with work lately and somehow never fully realized that the holidays truly are at hand. So there you have it. Little observations, little awakenings during an early morning outing. Nothing too profound, obviously. Except to serve as a reminder about how easy it is sometimes to walk through our days with senses half asleep.

No sooner do we get past the Fort Lauderdale boat show than news comes about other water craft in this area. Big ones. Very big ones. Cruise ships, to be more specific. As any good sailor knows, the right term for these massive vessels is “ships” not “boats.” Once you see a modern cruise ship close up, much less sail on one, you quickly realize that there is indeed a significant difference. Anyhow, I’ve been reading news reports about the cruise industry’s maiden ships for this season. It seems that five of the eight newest ships will dock right here in Port Everglades. I’ll look forward to that. This is the third busiest cruise port on the planet so the ships come and go regularly from now through about April.

I find this port quite beautiful. One of my favorite views in all of South Florida is from the 17th Street Causeway bridge, where I can look out at the ships. At various times, I’ve counted at least eight or nine cruise ships there at the same time. More impressive, perhaps, is that I did this while driving. Not the smartest idea, I grant you – but I managed to count without doing harm to people or property. And the numbers just reinforced for me the stature of Fort Lauderdale as a cruise destination for both departures and arrivals.

This year, Port Everglades will welcome ships such as the Ruby Princess, a Princess Cruises ship with more than 3,000 passengers, an adults-only pool and a huge poolside movie screen. And Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, carrying more than 3,600 passengers. Etc., etc. If these things get much bigger, they’re going to need their own zip codes. Next year, actually, the largest ship in the industry will be unveiled: the $1 billion Oasis of the Seas. Naturally, it will make port here in Fort Lauderdale. I always think that’s a wonderful thing for passengers, who often work a landside vacation into their cruise itinerary. In this town, folks can find some top hotels near the port, hang out along the ocean and on Las Olas, maybe rent a car and swing over to the Everglades or Hard Rock. And they can relax into several days at sea as part of the same trip. Not a bad way to spend a holiday. A break like that sounds really good to me about now. But since I can’t go anywhere for a while yet, I at least can look out at those beautiful ships in the port. And for a moment dream about where they each will be sailing from here.

As I write this blog Wednesday morning, the big Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show has just wrapped up. Under absolutely lovely skies. After a weekend of weather that just about approached perfection. I can’t imagine that anyone could complain about the temperature or humidity or anything else. That’s the wonderful thing about South Florida this time of year. There is not much need to add the words “weather permitting” to event advertising. Except in the most unusual circumstances, the weather will permit. And so we head into the dry winter season now, already November with Halloween just behind and Thanksgiving just ahead and the clocks fallen back an hour. Wow. We’ll be into the holidays before we know it. For me anyway, this year has raced past.

I’m already seeing signs of the annual migration of snowbirds back into town. I stopped for coffee along A1A on Saturday morning in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. As I sipped, I noticed cars motoring through the parking lot with plates from Ohio, New York and other states. And I’ve seen more and more out-of-staters on the highways too.

At my condo complex on Halloween, they held the first Happy Hour of the autumn. This is the kind of little party these folks only put together from October through about April, when the seasonal residents come back south from their cold northern homes. Just another sign of the changeover we see in Fort Lauderdale around the time of the boat show. After a hot summer, we all feel ready to throw open the windows, turn off the AC and put away the umbrellas. You spot more people out just walking in the morning and evening, standing around talking to neighbors, breathing in the fresh sea breezes. There is almost a sense of relief among the locals, even as we welcome back the tourists and part-timers. Sure, the restaurants get more crowded and it may take longer to snag a drink at our favorite bar. But the hot, wet season is behind us again and the cool, dry season is just starting. Like all those pleasant ocean breezes, change seems something in the air -- arriving not a moment too soon.

The Fort Lauderdale International Airport experience happens every time I travel, whether in line at security, waiting for coffee, or boarding the plane. It might be my headwrap or brightly-colored outfit that strikes the person’s fancy, or maybe just the fact that the colors actually match. In any case, a fellow traveler or flight attendant will smile and lean in closely like a co-conspirator trying not to get caught in the act. “You really know how to travel,” she will say - it’s usually a woman, but not always. “People just don't dress anymore,” someone else might remark. Sometimes it’s difficult to determine whether they are moved by appreciation or curiosity when they shake their heads and point me out to others, as if I am on display.

Once upon a time, long ago, back in the ‘80's, the Fort Lauderdale I love was an evening gown and tuxedo town for opening nights at plays, nightclubs, and the opera. High-priced restaurants expected men to enter wearing jackets and ties. The formal look is long gone now, of course, and many say good riddance. The motto for visitors and residents alike is pretty much “come-and-go-as-you-comfortably-are.”

But, just because overcoats, wool scarves, and boots don't have to be lugged around in sunny South Florida, that doesn't mean the multicultural traveler has to leave style behind. A great deal of territory resides beyond beach chic casual, and people here like to roam it, proudly showing off.

I've noticed, for instance, the resurgence of hats as a statement, especially wide brims for men. I still recall them with fondness from my growing up years with my grandfather, who never considered himself dressed without one. And, a woman strolling along Las Olas Boulevard is as likely these days to be in full makeup and high heels as she is to carry an accompanying designer handbag.

Perhaps that is why shopping continues to be a big attraction in Greater Fort Lauderdale for the “clothes-minded” who can have fun piecing together their own unique version of South Florida style. Stores throughout the area offer unusual Caribbean, Brazilian, and African-inspired clothing, and fashion accessories to complete the look, as well as gifts, Latin music, and ethnic art. The Multicultural Guide lists businesses from Miramar north to Coral Springs, some of them off the beaten path, where treasures can be discovered.

Also, during the month of November, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is offering some special deals and discounts for upscale shopping at apparel shops, restaurants, the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, and other retailers in the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale, and at Neiman Marcus Last Call at the Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass Mall.

I'm keeping an eye out for a narrow-brimmed, gold-colored, felt-and-feathered fedora, one that I can tilt sideways with a suggestive jaunt. As I saunter through the airport, past security, and board the plane, coffee in hand, that will really give them something to talk about.

-By Kitty Oliver

LauderBlog

Nov 24: Wandering About

Nov 24: Wandering About

Nov 17: A Great Day

Nov 13: Thousand Youth March for Humanity

Nov 10: Looking and Listening

Nov 7: From Boats to Ships

Nov 5: Weather Permitting

Nov 3: Hats Off to South Florida Style