LauderBlog

One of life's pleasures is meeting for coffee in the morning with a friend. Or maybe meeting a friend for coffee in the afternoon. That works for me too. But somehow starting the day with a quality cup of strong coffee along with a nice pastry and some wonderful conversation - that's a good morning by my standards. I was thinking about that over the weekend because I joined my pal Heather on Friday for a light breakfast at CroissanTime. I've blogged recently about this pleasant Fort Lauderdale café so I won't go into details again now. Except to say that it does indeed serve quality strong coffee and excellent homemade French pastries. I scarfed down a raspberry beignet on Friday. Yum.

The conversation was wonderful as well. The whole experience just emphasized for me the importance of getting out, breaking our daily routine, connecting with people. The Fort Lauderdale area is filled with lovely little spots that are perfect for these coffee chats. Whether CroissanTime or Starbucks, Lola's CupCakery or Two Street Coffee Garage, they offer a way to share part of our day with someone we enjoy in an environment conducive to good conversation.

The other thing that strikes me about such café sessions is that they're affordable for nearly anyone. Even during times when we may feel a little money-challenged. Arguably, those are among the moments when we most need this kind of brief getaway, and this kind of human connection. There's nothing worse than sitting around alone and worrying about our problems, is there? But once we make ourselves roll out of bed and head off to meet a friend, we soon find those problems don't seem quite so daunting. Friday was a good example of this. I've had lots on my mind lately, much of it good but also challenging in one way or another. Heather is a delightful woman, a psychologist who has traveled a hefty chunk of the world. She has a charming sense of humor and an engaged, open mind and I look forward to our chats. I was tired when I arrived at the café on Friday morning - but Heather quickly perked me up. We talked about nearly everything, from our families to religion to life on Guam. How's that for an eclectic mix of topics? When I left, I felt recharged and ready for the rest of my day. I suspect Heather also took something good away from our one-and-a-half-hour get together. That seems a pretty decent return on the investment of a little effort on our part and maybe $10 for two breakfasts. It's easy to get bogged down in those daily routines I mentioned or to sit around worrying alone or to let our money challenges isolate us, I think. Friday was a reminder that coping with these things sometimes can be fairly simple too.

What day exactly did the word "tweet" enter our language? Outside Saturday morning cartoons and birdwatchers, that is. And the phrase, "status updates?" There's another good one. Now everyone's obsessed - for the moment anyway, until the next-big-thing comes along. But I have to admit that Twitter and Facebook and MySpace and the others are fun and part of a fascinating social phenomenon. To some extent, they have changed our lives, arguably not always for the better. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, though, they're not going away anytime soon. So I was pleased that the folks who run this website where I blog also are embracing the cutting-edge new media with active Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is getting an interesting dialogue going about all things South Florida. You can join in by going to this link http://www.facebook.com/visitlauderdale and adding the page to your Facebook account. You'll even find my blogs posted there.

On Twitter, just head over to this link and click to follow "visitlauderdale":  http://www.twitter.com/visitlauderdale. Their tweets are clever and useful, including this recent one:  "Pho Real: Basilic Vietnamese Grill in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea" with a link to a review of a new Vietnamese restaurant. I've eaten pho in Vietnam and love it, so I hope to head over to Basilic Vietnamese Grill soon. (BTW, pho is pronounced "fah," not "foe" - and in Vietnam, there's a strong rising inflection when you say the word. But don't worry too much about it. The folks at our new local restaurant will know what you're talking about.) Anyway, Twitter can give you little tips about deals and news in the Fort Lauderdale area. Facebook can offer this as well, along with the chance to engage in a real dialogue. Do you like this blog? Then say so there. Think I'm screwy? Post it on Facebook! Or comment about any of the other helpful info that's on this interesting FB page. It's easy and, just as easily, you can see what others think about your comments. These new social media can't offer the more sophisticated insights into South Florida that you'll find in books, magazine articles - or good blogs, for that matter. I sure hope people never start doing all their thinking in 140-character snippets. That's a scary notion. Just as magazines didn't replace books and blogs didn't replace magazines, so tweets and status updates can't replace any of those things either. But they do have a place. An exciting place in the dialogue, right here and right now. And now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go update my status.

I needed my drive along A1A this morning. It gave me a Monday morning lift. And it reminded me about the staycation I have planned for the middle of next month on the Fort Lauderdale beach. The oceanside drive also reminded me why I badly need that break from work, even though money is tight for me just now. But I'm getting ahead of my story here. You see, I didn't sleep very solidly last night. I only got a couple hours of zzzzzz time, something that's relatively rare for me, thankfully. I won't bore you with most of the details, except to say my disrupted night involved money worries. I'm sure many of you know the feeling, especially these days.

I can tell you this much. This year is not a great period to be working most of your time for free, as I do for my nonprofit group. But that's my choice and I believe in what we're doing. Anyway, I laid awake much of the night thinking about this stuff, then dragged myself from bed and headed out along the ocean.

On my drive, I stopped at a doughnut shop in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for a medium coffee, black, and a plain doughnut. As I sat outside the shop eating and sipping, I could feel the ocean breeze cooling my face and arms. I wished I could take the whole day off but I had lots to do. So I hopped back in my car, heading south toward home until I spotted a parking space on A1A. I pulled in and sat watching the Atlantic for 10 minutes or so. The sea was calm and beautiful and it helped calm me. I think that's when I started really fantasizing about the coming staycation. My girlfriend and I have booked a room in a nice hotel smack in the middle of the beach action in Fort Lauderdale. In three weeks, I'll be sipping a mojito by 4pm on days when I otherwise would be writing and phoning and emailing and probably worrying. One thing I've learned over the years is not to put off vacations or travels until I can afford them. Somehow I find a way to pay for these, even during tight times for me. Somehow I never regret spending the money. In the end, I guess, we're each responsible to ourselves and those around us for our own sanity, aren't we? So the way I look at it is this: I might not be able to really afford my September week away from work. But I really can't afford to cancel it either.

 
I went to the sea early on a very recent morning. The Fort Lauderdale beach wakes up slowly most days and this was no exception. It takes a while before the tourists rouse themselves and the shopkeepers unlock the doors and the breakfast-seekers find that first cup of coffee at one of the A1A cafes. This means the beach is relatively quiet for a time and I like that a lot. I enjoyed a nice brisk walk until a patch of sand near The Ritz-Carlton looked tempting. Then I sat by the edge of the water, just watching it all for maybe an hour. The clouds circled the sky, over the sea in front, over the land behind - great arcs of feathered wisps high overhead along with compressed small clumps just above the horizon. Columns of tall gray cloudbanks mushroomed upwards as I looked north.

The ocean was calm in three distinct currents of color, a pale spring green in the shallows, brightening to a rich jade a bit farther out until the Atlantic dropped into deeper waters of cobalt blue. A sandpiper landed nearby, running briefly along the beach before flying off.

Sometimes I'm amazed by how far away from everything I can feel in this place. Fort Lauderdale's beach is known internationally, crowded with many thousands of tourists and locals throughout the year. But early in the morning, I can find a sense of solitude. A few eager swimmers already were splashing about in the waves. Several beachwalkers plodded past in their bare feet. But not so many swimmers or walkers that they detracted from my time alone with the sea. The air was warm on my skin but pleasant, cooled by a persistent wind coming from the southeast, almost as if I were sitting in a comfortable bath with a fan blowing on me. That's how it felt. And when I finally left the ocean, I left reluctantly. Very reluctantly. On the way back, I stopped at a sidewalk café for cappuccino and thought about how the street was coming alive at last. The tourists had roused themselves and the shopkeepers were unlocking the doors and the breakfast-seekers had started to find that first cup of coffee. A1A was getting back to normal for the day, with its busy beach promising more fun for the sunscreened crowds of tourists and locals. But for a little while before all that began, the beach had been mine.

It snowed in Dania Beach Monday morning. Well, it sure looked like snow anyway. And no, I haven't finally flipped my lid. Well, I don't think I have anyway. All right, all right. Yes, I'm kidding you of course - but only a little. Because I saw something just now that I had never seen during my 20 years in South Florida. Rain that really did resemble falling snow. Naturally enough, this got my attention. Over the weekend, I had noticed just the slightest change in our weather, the first suggestion that the most intense summer humidity was starting to slowly fade. This subtle shift in our climate seems to come earlier and earlier each year and I'm not sure why. I recall noticing much the same thing last August, though perhaps a week or so later than now.

In any case, I had enjoyed sitting on my patio this weekend and feeling a breeze that hinted at the autumn to come. Sure, it was still hot. Just not quite as hot, not quite as humid. But I must say, I hadn't considered the idea that it was cool enough to snow. Until Monday morning.

I took my coffee on to the patio to wake up and look at the pretty lake for a while. Regular readers of this blog may remember that I've seen some strange things from time to time in, on and near this lake. These included one memorable morning when three turtles were chasing a floating coconut around in circles, apparently trying to mate with it. Honest, I swear this is all true. So ok, I'm sitting there and I see these flakes bobbing about, dancing just as snowflakes do up north. I'm talking about those ultra-light flakes that get caught in the wind, swirling in small chaotic flurries. What I saw appeared to be the same kind of thing - except it was 80+ degrees outdoors in the middle of a South Florida August. I actually wondered if this was some weird release of plant pollen or other flora stuff, sort of like dried dandelions maybe? But no, it was raining. The droplets were catching the breeze to float and twirl through the air like snowflakes. My only explanation is that the raindrops' density must have been unusually light for some reason, coupled with a strange motion of wind currents around my condo building. Either that, or it was snowing. I prefer to believe the former. To make things even stranger, the sun emerged brightly within a couple minutes of the August blizzard. And then, no joking, one turtle swam over to my side of the lake, sticking his little green head out of the water as a reminder of the surreal things I've witnessed here. Let's just say that I was thankful there weren't any floating coconuts at the time.

Live from Fort Lauderdale, it's Saturday night! Sorry, couldn't resist. Though really I should say, "Alive from Fort Lauderdale ..." For the past two Saturdays and for the next two Saturdays as well, there's a major party going on at the famous beach. Through August 22, live performers spread out for a mile along Fort Lauderdale's A1A on Saturday nights from 7-11pm. Some 20 acts ramp up the usual Saturday night entertainment mix, adding sidewalk DJs and mariachi bands and salsa groups. You also are likely to discover a dash of whimsy blended in as well, with puppeteers and magicians doing their thing. And some dude wanders the crowd on stilts. Ha. I love it.

You'll find this mega-block party stretching from Bahia Cabana to the south all the way north to Café Bluefish - from Harbor Drive up to Sunrise Boulevard. The entertainment is all free too. And if you want something to eat or drink, naturally you'll run across lots of options. There are 30 restaurants and cafes along the way, plus many oceanfront patios where you can grab an icy margarita to go with your mariachi band. Or whatever.

There's another attraction to Saturday Night Alive. You may or may not know about all the high-end hotels that have popped up on this same section of the beach in the past couple of years. The list is impressive these days, including The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach, Westin Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale and The Atlantic Hotel. And of course the newest, hippest addition - the W Fort Lauderdale. I'm told that these hotels are doing a sort of open house during Saturday Night Alive, welcoming curious folks inside for a glance around. Kinda cool. The Atlantic Hotel even has a promotional dinner deal through August 28 so you can eat well after checking out the music. A $39 three-course dinner and glass of wine are waiting for you at Trina, the lovely hotel restaurant, if you go to this link and print out the page: http://www.thenewfortlauderdalebeach.com/promo-atlantic.html. Just take this web page with you and show it to your server. You'll see plenty of parking near the beach, of course, and there's a free trolley you can hop on and off as often as you like to get around Saturday Night Alive. It all sounds like a very good time to me. Nothing like a good party on a Saturday night - just you and several thousand of your closest friends.

The National Urban League will celebrate its 100^th anniversary as one of the most influential community action organizations in the U.S. by hosting two leadership conferences in 2010 in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area. 

The group will mark a century of history addressing the political, educational, and social concerns of the Black community. During the past 100 years Greater Fort Lauderdale has also evolved historically, from a trading stop along the route of waterways leading out to the Atlantic Ocean to a world-class resort destination that cultivates continuing relationships with multicultural business travelers.

The National Urban League Association of Executives (AOE), which includes presidents and CEO's of branches of the organization, will meet in the area in January 2010, for the third time in the past four years.  The association focuses on workshops, programs, and policies that provide personal and professional development and leadership training for members. The Urban League's Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP), which will convene in Greater Fort Lauderdale in June 2010, highlights leadership development and education through partnerships with more than 1000 corporations, government agencies, non- profits, and professional organizations.  BEEP is one of the longest running programs of the Urban League.  The conference will be hosted at the Harbor Beach Marriott for the next three years.

The Urban League joins a growing list of national and international African American organizations of prominence that are creating strong ties with Greater Fort Lauderdale. In 2009 alone, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses and the National Bowling Association have planned meetings. In August, 100 Black Men of America announced its upcoming 24^th annual conference in partnership with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.   

According to Albert Tucker, Vice President of Multicultural Business Development for the CVB, groups are drawn by the convenience and accessibility of location, the wide array of facilities, and the sun and fun activities for attendees and their families. "We have a lot of value to offer and the word continues to spread that Fort Lauderdale is the place to be," Tucker says. 

-Kitty Oliver, Ph.D.
 Oral Historian

I think it's the most charming street in Fort Lauderdale. And I almost hesitate to write about it. I've thought of this little waterside road as my personal find since 1994, when I discovered it on a walk around my neighborhood in the Harbordale/Rio Vista area of the city. I don't live near there anymore. But I still go back to this street. Was there on Friday, as a matter of fact. Between business appointments, I grabbed a hamburger and drove to my secluded spot to park in the shade for 15 minutes, eat my burger and soak up the surroundings. Hmmm, ok, I haven't told you where I'm talking about yet, have I? Can you tell that I'm stalling, as if I don't want to reveal my secret? I really am going to name the street. Really. After all, the whole purpose of this blog is to write from an insider's perspective about some of the best things Greater Fort Lauderdale offers. So here goes.

To me, the most charming street in all of Fort Lauderdale is SE 12^th Way. You can find it by taking Cordova Road north off SE 17^th Street and following Cordova to SE 14^th Street on the left. Turn there and go straight for a block or so until you bump into SE 12^th Way.

You'll know it when you find it. There's a pretty, lazy canal running the length of the short street, with lovely but mostly modest homes on the other side. Very nice folks live here, based on my many experiences with them over the years - so if you do go, please be considerate. What's so special about SE 12^th Way? It feels as if it exists in another time. A less hurried, less techno-wired time. The canal looks like some swimming hole in an old movie about the South and, until fairly recently, kids did routinely swing off a rope tied to a low tree branch that extended over the water. Just as in those films I have in mind, youngsters grabbed the rope and dropped into the water to cool off on hot summer days. But the canal also is teeming with turtles and ducks and moorhens, with ibis and cranes often seen along its banks. Large old ficus trees stand on the water's edge at both ends of the canal, giving the road a stately, shaded beauty. Maybe it will just look like any other residential street to you. I'm not sure. But to me, SE 12^th Way is some place special. Not a typical tourist attraction by any means, but rather a slow, delightful piece of the past.

That's kind of the way I feel about this. Like, "No! Really??" Followed almost immediately by thinking to myself, "Wow!" Because Friday, August 7 is a big anniversary for me - one that's almost hard for me to believe. On this day, I will have lived in South Florida for 20 years exactly. I arrived in my new white Honda Civic on August 7, 1989 to work as investigative consumer reporter for the Sun Sentinel. I moved on to other assignments there eventually but that's what brought me to Florida. Before arriving, I had visited the state just three times: once as a teenager when I drove down to snorkel with a buddy, once with my first wife when I worked in TV news, and once for my interview at the newspaper. I had no idea I would settle here as I'd never settled anywhere else.

That's what accounts for my "No! Really??" reaction. You see, I've moved around in my life. A lot. As a kid, I was in three schools in three different states in third grade. (Coincidentally enough ... ) I've lived in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California and Vermont. And briefly, Switzerland too. I was getting around there for a while, to say the least.

So I'm genuinely amazed that I find myself so happily ensconced in South Florida. So happily that I can write a very honest blog about my enjoyment of the Fort Lauderdale area. I hope my deep affection for this place comes through. It's why I can get so enthused about a morning walk on the beach or the sight of an iguana in a palm tree. This is exotic stuff to someone who still feels in some ways like a kid from Detroit. I love it here. Even after 20 years, I'm still a bit shocked when I step outside into perfect 75 degree sunshine in January. There is a tropical romance to this place, a sexiness to it that helps keep me here too. Along with a remarkable mix of cultures - music and foods and clothing and of course people from all around the world. No place is perfect and South Florida isn't either. I hope I don't make it sound like nirvana in my blogs. But it is a region that feels like home to me now, an exciting environment that bubbles with passion and life. And for my money, you sure can't beat the weather. So, yes, I guess I'll be staying for a while longer. Twenty years and counting. As a writer, I could do my work anywhere in the world. I choose to keep doing it here and, after two decades, I guess that should say something.

We live in times that call for a little pampering now and then. Next month, you'll get the chance to treat yourself  - for a bargain price. How does a break at a spa sound to you right about now? The way I see it is this: we're all up to our ears just making a living in a challenging economy along with managing our other daily responsibilities. Not to mention cellphoning and texting and status updating and now, good grief, even tweeting. What next? I figure it's only a matter of time before some whiz kid invents a social networking website that allows 25 characters to inform friends what we're carrying around in our pockets or something. Call it "PocketTwit." I dunno. But I do know that most of us could use a nice break from the hectic thrum of our plugged-in lifestyle.

Enter Lauderdale Spa Chic. Doesn't just the word "spa" kind of make you relax a bit? Ahhhh. Here's the deal. From September 1 - 30, you'll be able to trundle off to some of the best spas in South Florida for a $99 treatment. I'm told that's as much as half off the normal prices.

The really nice thing about this fall promotion is the variety available, the range of choices and locations. The list of participating spas includes places all up and down Broward County's coastline, from Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach to Hollywood and Hallandale Beach. You can relax at such hot spots as Bliss inside the new W Fort Lauderdale, a trendy hotel that's attracting lots of attention. For your $99, you'll get something they call a "Rapid Rub Massage" that works on specific problem areas for a half hour along with their "Oxygen Blast" that will treat you to another special massage and a "quick fruit acid wash" and a "five minute oxygen spray." Whoa. Or you can go a bit more traditional at, say, the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, where you'll savor the 50-minute signature Ritz massage. I've had this treatment and let me just say again, Ahhhhh. Most of the participating spas are at hotels, actually, and these hotels are offering "Spa Chic Stays" that give you a spa treatment and a discounted nightly room rate too. All I know is that I could really use a lovely spa session sometime soon. I'm hoping I'll get the chance to enjoy one of these Lauderdale Spa Chic bargains next month. Because I really am a big believer in relaxing massages - and hey, I'd better do something to chill out before I've got to cope with my new PocketTwit page.