LauderBlog

The clouds stretched out below me, all silver-blue. Above, the sky was clear and the 737 rumbled down the Atlantic coast of Florida, maybe five miles or so offshore. I was coming home from North Carolina, returning after several days away. And I was ready. I watched out my window as the jet began to bank now. I could feel it in my body, a sharp turn by commercial aircraft standards, and then we were descending into all that silver and into that blue. For a moment, I could see nothing except the pale color in a haze immediately outside the window until the haze opened up abruptly into a dreamscape. There was no horizon, nothing beneath or overhead and nothing distinct either, only a swirl of majestic shape floating out beside me in variations of the very same silvery blue.

The clouds had blended into the sky in a way I'd rarely seen before. If I hadn't known I was flying, I easily could have imagined I was underwater somewhere, within the sea among a sifting fog of sunlight and white sand maybe. It was surreal, like being in a film. And it was beautiful, very beautiful.

It broke apart as abruptly as it had appeared when we dropped below the clouds and I could see clearly the dark blue ocean under me now. It was calm, not a single wave or whitecap visible, undulating gently. The water's surface was textured in a way that resembled the weave in a tightly knit fabric. As the jet approached the runway from the east, we passed almost directly over a ship that was trailing a broad wake - a large commercial fishing boat, as best I could tell. Then I noticed what seemed to be both charter boats and private boats crisscrossing a mile or two from land. The high-rise hotels and condos that line the shore north from Fort Lauderdale felt welcoming to me somehow. I watched them grow larger as the plane steadily neared the coast, losing altitude so that the ocean came closer and then I saw a tanker ship gliding into the channel toward Port Everglades. A thin tan strip of beach rolled away from me, outlining the lovely coast as far as I could see. We passed low over John U. Lloyd State Park, over the palmettos and mangroves, and then over the Intracoastal and the runway was in sight at last and the airport was spread around me and then one hard bump and we were down. I was home.

So we were talking about iguanas. Those strangely appealing, oddly lovable lizards that have made South Florida their new home in recent years. In the previous blog, I was explaining something about my fascination with them. They're prehistoric looking, docile around humans, ultra fast on their feet, remarkable swimmers. Now I want to get into where you are likely to find them if you're visiting Fort Lauderdale. You'll see the little gecko and other smaller lizards without any effort. They're everywhere - on sidewalks, around outdoor bars, in parking lots. Everywhere. But the grand iguana may require a bit of looking, especially if you want to make sure you have your camera ready to snap away when you discover one of these creatures. If you're a tourist here, you really should bring home an iguana photo to prove what an exotic place you've just explored.

For starters, look for iguanas around fresh water. I don't recall seeing these lizards near the ocean in Fort Lauderdale now that I think about it. But I'll often stumble across one or two beside our many rivers or canals. You'll also find iguanas sunning themselves in some field or on a lawn. They're just like any other cold-blooded animal - they need the sun for heat.

More specifically, I have a few suggestions about where to go iguana-watching. If you happen to be on a boat motoring through the Intracoastal Waterway, keep an eye out when you go under the Sunrise Boulevard drawbridge on a sunny day. Normally, you'll float by several of them at this spot. I've often seen iguanas in Colee Hammock Park too, my favorite small park in South Florida. I stop by this place often to watch the boats and clear my head. When I'm there in the afternoon, I frequently see one or two sizable iguanas strolling the sea wall. Just turn south off Las Olas on to SE 15^th Avenue and go straight until the street ends at the park. But to my knowledge, the most reliable iguana location is Birch State Park, which is on the north side of Sunrise Boulevard near A1A. I've found them in large numbers during the hot afternoons, sometimes crowds of iguanas sitting not far inside the park entrance. Taking a Segway tour there is one way to increase your odds of running into iguanas. But you can drive or walk or bike or skate, whatever. If you get around Birch very much, you're almost certain to bump into some iguanas. And so there you have it - two blogs offering a Fort Lauderdale iguana primer. These lizards are only one part of the fauna and flora that help make South Florida so special for visitors. Of course, that's the opinion of someone who just called iguanas "lovable." Take it for what it's worth.

I love iguanas. Not that I would ever own one, of course. Around South Florida, you don't need to own one anyway. They're all over, though for some reason these prehistoric-looking lizards seem to favor particular locations over others for group meetups. Not sure why exactly, unless there's some two-for-one special on hibiscus flowers at their hotspots or something. (Iguanas love to munch on flowers and hibiscus is among their favorites.) So I'm devoting this week's blogs to these odd creatures, explaining why you'll enjoy them if you visit the Fort Lauderdale area and where to find them if you'd like to show the family. Tourists are especially fascinated, understandably enough. Riding the Water Taxi or in some park, I'll often watch visitors race for their cameras whenever they see an iguana lazily sunning itself. Iguanas are one of the many natural attractions around here.  Not native. Distinctly unloved by some residents, especially those with hibiscus! But fairly amazing animals, honestly, if you take a little time to observe them.

Perhaps their personal appeal for me has something to do with my past. When I was a kid, maybe 12-years-old, I learned to do a pretty darned good lizard impression. Give me a martini some day and I'll show you. Heck, I'll show you without the martini. Then like so many kids, I also was completely absorbed by dinosaurs for a while.

Iguanas really do look like they stepped out of Jurassic Park. Stubby legs, long claws, a spiky crown on their head. Weird, frankly. They're among the largest lizards found in South, Central or North America and also are native to such far-flung shores as Fiji in the South Pacific and Madagascar off the African coast. Now they've found a very comfortable home in South Florida, where the subtropical climate and abundant plant life have allowed abandoned pets to breed wildly. You can tell younger iguanas from older ones pretty easily: young ones tend to be bright green and a lot smaller; older iguanas often turn dark green and can grow very large. Very. They like to sit in the midday sun to soak up the rays or just hang somewhere around water - they're gifted swimmers. And man, can they run. When they want to, iguanas raise up on their legs and hit the gas, crossing a field or street so fast they should leave a vapor trail. Right up there with alligators, wild parrots and pelicans these days, iguanas have become one of the must-see Fort Lauderdale critters. Later this week, I'll tell you about a few places to take your camera and grab some lizard snaps for the friends back home. Once you know where to go and when, all you'll need is a fully charged camera battery and a decent zoom for those closeups. These guys are kinda ugly, for sure - but in a very photogenic way.

This seems like a heck of a good deal. And there really is still time to get in on it. I've learned that 17 major Greater Fort Lauderdale museums and attractions are working together this month on a special promotion - something that will save you money and just might enrich your life a bit. How about this for a bargain? You buy a single membership at one of these participating spots and receive a membership to all 16 others for nothing. It's called Broward Attractions and Museums Month and the theme is, "Join One, Experience Them All." I don't know about you, but I sure could stand some relatively inexpensive entertainment among the mix of things to do this summer. We're all looking for a little extra value along with our fun. A 17-for-the-price-of-one promo sounds fairly "extra value" to me.

That's especially true when you look at the list of museums and attractions that are part of it. These include some of my personal faves such as the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. And the historic Stranahan House along the New River. And Flamingo Gardens in west Broward. All three of these are places I've blogged about and all three are definitely worth a trip.

Another of the collaborating museums and attractions is the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame, which may sound peculiar to you if you're not a fisherman or fisherwoman. Actually, though, you'll probably have a good time here whether you're seriously into fishing or not - just try out the interactive exhibits for starters. I don't want to turn this blog into a list of everywhere that's taking part in this special offer. Suffice it to say participants also include such highly regarded places as the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, the Seminole Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum and the African-American Research Library. For a full list, click here. There are links to the various museum and attraction websites as well as to additional info about the promotion. Broward Attractions and Museums Month has been going on throughout June but, as I said, there's still plenty of time to snap up this deal. As I write this, summer hasn't even officially started. The kids are just out of school, looking for something to do and perhaps not yet totally driving you batty. Maybe day trips to 17 local hot spots will help you make sure that, this summer for a change, they never quite push you over the edge.

Butterflies and piano keys don't seem to go together somehow. In the Fort Lauderdale area, they do. I learned this over the weekend when I returned to Butterfly World for another visit. It's been a while since my last trip to this fairyland attraction, a place where some of the most fragile and beautiful creatures on the planet float around you as if in a lovely dream. I found myself using the word "magical" as Gwendolyn and I wandered through the centerpiece of Butterfly World - the Paradise Adventure Aviary. This is the home for thousands of butterflies of all colors and sizes, from all over the world.  There's also a new feature since I was here last: hummingbirds now live in this same aviary, flitting and darting right along with the butterflies.

But it was on our way into Paradise Adventure Aviary that I found out about the piano keys. At the entrance, a worker was emptying small containers, each holding a single butterfly that had emerged that day from a chrysalis. There must have been 30 of the plastic jars, which the man opened and shook to release the butterfly.

These were small butterflies in a variety of colors but each with a row of distinct white markings along its wings. Markings that looked like, yep, piano keys. "They're called ‘piano key butterflies,'" the worker explained. "The owner bred them here. This is the only place on earth where you'll find piano key butterflies." Fascinating. We watched as these newborn butterflies emerged into their world for the first time. Think about it. At first, they were only caterpillars chomping on leaves inside a Butterfly World lab. Then each turned itself into a chrysalis and, after a few weeks, climbed out of this safe shell into ... a plastic jar. To them, I suppose, this must have seemed like the entire universe for a few hours. I could imagine them feeling something like, "Well, sure, my new place is small. But I can make it work." And then the next thing they knew - freedom. A protected freedom, with more than enough space and more than enough food and lots and lots of playmates. Not a bad life for a butterfly, I should think. For them, it's a moist, leafy, plentiful world to live out their days. For us, it's something else. "Magical" really is the best word for it.

Fort Lauderdale offers an increasingly hip vibe. Case in point: The brand new uber-cool W Fort Lauderdale Hotel/restaurant/lounge complex. So I imagine that some families might wonder whether this Florida vacation mecca is good for families too these days. It is. I've long believed that Broward County is a wonderful place to bring the kids. Hey, I even write a kids blog right on this website - a weekly fictional series about all the fun things for teens to do around here. Click here to check it out. How can your kids not enjoy a place with an attraction like Butterfly World? Just one example. This is a spot that feels almost surreal in some ways, with thousands of butterflies from all over the world flitting gently around as you walk a garden path among the waters. Believe me, that kind of tranquility can't do the parents any harm either.

But there's a lot more here for the whole family than just Butterfly World. You really have to bring everyone for an airboat ride in the Everglades, a float along the New River on the Water Taxi or Jungle Queen, a Segway trip through Birch State Park. And that's just for starters.

If I were a tourist with children, I'd want to take a leisurely stroll down Las Olas with a stop for ice cream at Kilwin's, arguably the best in town. And I'd also want to go for a nice affordable meal at one of the many family-friendly restaurants along the Hollywood Broadwalk. It's a lovely pedestrian path directly beside the ocean, lined on the non-seaview side with all kinds of places to eat and shop. Other ideas high on my list for visitors? A trip to the Bonnet House, where you'll find one of the wackiest historic homes in South Florida - and wild monkeys in the trees. (Make sure to ask where they are if you don't find these little critters on your own. They're small, adorable ... and very good at hiding.) I'd also introduce the kids to some of our imported cuisines such as Brazilian rodizio at Chima, with waiters serving an endless array of fine meats from skewers. You would need weeks here to catch just the highlights available for families. As it happens, http://www.sunny.org/ has some excellent 2-for-1 summer specials through the end of September, obviously a big help for the wallet during any summertime vacation to Greater Fort Lauderdale. You'll find those deals through a link on this website's home page, including specials for many of the places I mentioned in this blog. So, yes, I most definitely would pack up the bags, bring the kids and head to our part of Florida, whether in the summer or any other time of year. Sure, Fort Lauderdale does "ultra hip" now. But it does "plain fun" just as well.

It had been too long. Those morning seaside strolls in Fort Lauderdale, the sunbright meditations sitting beside the waves. Yes, I'd waited too long to return to them. When I had moved from Fort Lauderdale to Dania Beach, I had begun to find other times to visit this stretch of ocean and other Broward beaches to enjoy too, especially those in Hollywood and Dania. Nothing wrong with any of that. Except I genuinely love the Fort Lauderdale beach, especially in the morning. Something about all the runners and walkers, all the tourists out looking for breakfast, the strip of restaurants and shops and hotels just coming to life. I've rediscovered it now, thanks to a business meeting I had arranged for a recent early morning.

A colleague from the nonprofit community and I were to meet at St. Barts Coffee Co., which is on the ocean road directly east of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. It's a nice comfortable place with good coffee and smoothies. This was a frequent morning hangout for me after those meditations I mentioned.

On the day of my meeting, I arrived at the South Beach parking lot early and watched reflections of the low sun off the water. The sky was streaked with swaths of dimpled, high white clouds. The whole morning scene looked as beautiful to me as ever. People were exercising at the free outdoor gym area here and others already were swimming in the sea or lathering up for a morning on the sand. I took a slow walk north toward St. Barts, offering a flirty hello to an attractive woman who was stretching after her workout and getting an equally flirty hello back. I kept walking and found I was still a little early for my appointment so I ducked into a patch of shade to wait. I ended up chatting a few minutes with a very pregnant young tourist from Thailand, discussing her hometown of Bangkok and her visit to South Florida. Eventually my colleague showed up and I sipped one of those smoothies as we exchanged ideas and plans for an hour - it was a useful meeting, as things turned out. But when it ended, I could feel that I didn't want to go back to my car for the return trip home. I had missed those regular morning visits to the Fort Lauderdale beach, missed them more than I'd realized. Missed them enough, I now understood, that I would have to find ways to make them happen more regularly again.  

I've been hearing about this place forever. Casa D'Angelo Ristorante in Fort Lauderdale is that kind of spot - one of those restaurants you hear about from friends. "You've got to try their food!" Or, "They have a wonderful wine selection!" That sort of thing. I won't bore you with the reasons I've never been here before, mostly just involving lack of money at those times when I otherwise might have gone. All that to say I finally experienced this restaurant on Tuesday night. And everyone was right - it's excellent. I was lucky enough to have been invited by some generous friends who sponsored a table at a big charity event held annually at Casa D'Angelo. The service, the wine and especially the food were standouts, I thought.

Chef Angelo and his staff created a luscious four-course meal with some lovely wines as accompaniment, including a massive appetizer of Tuscan vegetables, cold cuts and buffalo caprese. I'm not kidding you, the pieces of buffalo mozzarella were the size of baseballs with one whole chunk of this special cheese for each guest.

Second course: In Italian it was, "Paccheri Al Ragout Di Vitello Bianco." To those of us who only eat Italian it was, "large semolina rigatoni in a white veal ragout sauce served with baby string beans garnished with black pepper pecorino from Sardinia." Is that really the translation? Anyway, the taste needed no interpreter. The rigatoni was perfectly cooked and the sauce was subtly flavorful with excellent slivers of the pecorino cheese shaved on top. Mmmmmm! I actually had assumed this was our main course and was all ready for dessert when something else arrived. The main course! This was a filet mignon in a porcini mushroom Barolo glaze served over soft rosemary polenta topped with crispy truffle leeks. And it was mouthwatering, my favorite cut of meat prepared superbly. Dessert was an unusual, and unusually tasty, tiramisu - Angelo's homemade version. I could add more "M"s here, but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say that Casa D'Angelo lived up to all those raves. And that I can't wait to go back.

When someone hears that I travel internationally for vacation - alone - the first thing they want to know is why.  However, anyone who has fled the claustrophobic claws of a tiresome or unadventurous companion, if just for a couple of hours, knows the answer.  Some rare private time can be a vacation within itself and often the most memorable discoveries during a trip are  made while solo wandering. 

Then the curious will ask how I manage to traipse through countries armed with only a  few words of the language and unprotected by a sidekick to commiserate with about the journey.  I tell them that it has more to do with attitude than strategy:  You start out determined to enjoy yourself, and things tend to work out that way.  If they don't, at least you can be consoled by remembering that you'll be heading back home soon.   Then you plan activities and excursions knowing that you can usually count on finding a ticket or a seat for one, even at the popular events.

The downside however, is that single supplement charge you have to pay for rooms, and the 2-for1 bargains that will never come your way.   So though I am normally an independent traveler, when exploring Greater Fort Lauderdale this summer I am going to be sure to bring along a friend.

This summer is bargain time in Greater Fort Lauderdale for traveling companions, whether visitors on vacation or residents on a getaway close to home.  The destination has a variety of deals through September 30 where two can get pampered at spas in resorts with an ocean view, charter catamarans, meander through museums, enjoy professional theater, visit attractions such as the Bonnet House, or scoot along A1A on a rented battery-powered segway from M Cruz Rentals - all for the price of one. Click here for more information or go to www.sunny.org/summer.

As for the single traveler - half-price, anyone?

-Kitty Oliver, Ph.D.
 Oral Historian

Ahhh, the beauty of falling leaves. Uh, fronds. Yes, folks, it's that time again. Fall in South Florida. And no, I didn't flip my calendar ahead three months by accident on June 1. It's fall down here all right, but a different kind of fall, a more literal kind of fall. As in, "Don't sit under that royal palm" kind of fall. Ok, let me explain what the heck I'm talking about. In the subtropics, of course, we're on a fairly different seasonal schedule than the rest of North America. As I've mentioned before in these blogs, there also are many subtle changes that happen in the South Florida environment throughout each twelve month cycle.

We're seeing one of those now. And that's the reason I'm referring to this time, tongue firmly in cheek, as our "fall." It's the season when lots of very large palm trees begin to drop their very large fronds to the ground. Actually, maybe it's not so subtle now that I think about it. But it does give a whole new meaning to raking leaves.

On Saturday, I was sitting on my patio reading the newspaper when suddenly: "Craaack .... whoosh ... plunk!" A six-foot brown palm frond broke loose from a tall royal palm and slammed to the ground. This happened on the other side of my lake, maybe 150 yards away, but it got my attention. Fronds have been falling from the coconut palm directly in front of my condo too. And on a drive this morning, I noticed that nearly every royal palm at an intersection by the airport had a dried frond or two ready to drop. There must be 20 or more of these trees planted at that spot. For some reason, none of the fronds ever seem to land on anyone or anything other than the ground - probably because wise folks know better than to put themselves or their stuff under the palms just now. No, we're not talking about danger in any way. We're just talking about one of those intriguing seasonal changes that I've never witnessed anywhere but South Florida. The truth is that palm fronds drop off trees at other times of the year as well but this is one of those periods when it seems more common. "Fall," Fort Lauderdale style. You won't need a jacket for our version, but you will want a very big rake.