Sept 3: A Good Causeway

There are good causes. Lots of them. Sometimes there's even a good causeway. To me, this means some thoroughfare filled with interesting stops along the way. Great views help too. Fort Lauderdale's 17^th Street Causeway offers all of that and more. I have been drawn to this area of the city as long as I've lived in South Florida. After first moving from New England to Plantation, I worked downtown and often found myself going to parties along 17^th Street - or doing dinners and happy hours there. Later, I lived around the corner, only two blocks away on the 15^th Street canal, and so naturally spent even more time eating and drinking and generally partying around the causeway. These days, I'm not far away from this area and continue to go there often for one reason or another.

That's especially been true this week. Later today I'm meeting a friend for a mid-afternoon break at the 17^th Street Starbucks. On both Monday and Tuesday, I spent some long hours at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale where we were shooting a pretty cool original anti-bullying music video to help elementary school kids. Which in that case, I guess, was a good cause on a good causeway.

Anyway, the Art Institute is only one of the unexpected finds on the causeway. You'll come across stores that specialize in provisions for yachts. That's a natural for this Fort Lauderdale road, which passes by Port Everglades, the Intracoastal and the 15^th Street canal. There are restaurants and cafes that sit along the water too. And there's the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward Convention Center as well as some excellent hotels, including one of Fort Lauderdale's new Hiltons, the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, and the venerable Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six Resort & Spa. I've enjoyed two memorable staycations at Pier Sixty-Six, by the way. Great place for that. In addition to the many spots to stay or eat or drink or shoot music videos, the 17^th Street Causeway has at least one other major draw for me. Actually, it's a drawbridge. This tall expanse carries thousands of cars daily over the Intracoastal Waterway, giving really impressive views whether traveling east or west. To the north, you'll see mansions and a floating parade of boats. To the south lies Port Everglades, where you may spot as many as seven or eight huge cruise ships at once during peak months. If you happen to be heading east toward the Fort Lauderdale beach, there's a bonus tossed in for you - the Atlantic Ocean suddenly comes into view at the crest of the bridge. I think you'll find this is one causeway that's not merely a strip of pavement to get you from Point A to Point B. It's one of Fort Lauderdale's most vibrant, buzzing hubs.