Greater Ft Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau

Monday, May 05, 2008

May 6: Sparkling Water

I don’t think we’ve had a drop of anything other than sunshine for weeks. No rain, not even a serious sprinkle I can recall. So I decided to wash my car yesterday. You know, a real hand wash, with a hose and rags and Windex and paper towels and everything. These days I’m driving that nice PT Cruiser convertible, as you might remember. A sweet cobalt blue with a black top. I even have Sirius satellite radio. I love it. So there I was, down crawling around the wheels on a bright Sunday afternoon. My car wasn’t all that dirty, mind you, but a good buff and polish seemed just the thing to make it sparkle. And that got me thinking about how our great weather here tends to keep our cars a lot prettier than automobiles up north. My car is a 2006 and it looks pretty much brand new. When I lived in places like Vermont and Michigan, a two year-old car already was starting to looked a tad – well, weathered.

True, our air is seasoned with sea salt down here and if you live near the ocean, as I do, the briny breeze can have some corrosive effects. But that’s nothing compared to four months of road salt each year, combined with slush and mud and sleet and generally cruddy weather much of the time. Anyone who’s ever lived both up there and down here will tell you the same thing: cars down here look a lot better.

When I was a teenager growing up in Michigan, I used to hear stories about local folks who would fly down to the Sunshine State for a used car. Everyone called these automobiles simply, “Florida cars.” And everyone understood this meant used cars that looked like new cars. For all I know northerners still may come down here for used cars. We have our share of old clunkers on the South Florida roads, of course, just like anywhere else in the country. I was driving one myself not that long ago, partly because it lasted so long in our endless summer. But when you look around on I-95 or somewhere, you usually see a whole lot of nice-looking, non-rusty cars. Lots of very pricey cars too, like Ferraris and Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. It’s all just part of the experience of living or visiting here. So yes, my PT is one of those sharp-looking vehicles right now. I put a good hour into washing my car on Sunday afternoon and proudly drove it all over the place. Then Sunday night I caught the local weatherman’s forecast: “Tomorrow we may have just a very brief shower, but then it will be beautiful the whole rest of the week!” Of course. If it rains at all, I'm sure it will rain directly over Dania Beach where I live. Just enough to spot up the windows and leave little smudges on the paint. If you get caught in this little storm, all I can say is I’m sorry.

Friday, May 02, 2008

May 2: All Ashore

If you haven’t been down around the Fort Lauderdale beach this week, you should go. The fleet is very definitely in town. The Navy fleet, that is. Along with a fair number of sailors, Marines and Coast Guard personnel. Some 2,500 men and women in uniform are wandering around A1A for a little rest and relaxation during Fleet Week. No doubt their r&r is well-deserved. The military can be a stressful place these days to say the least. We all appreciate their efforts. So it’s nice to see so many clean, well-pressed white uniforms trickling through the crowds along the beach. I was there last night and noticed several Marines, but mostly lots of sailors in groups of twos and threes and fives. From what I saw, they seemed on their best behavior – just on the town for a good meal, some drinks and a little fun. I had the sense that the non-military locals and tourists enjoyed having the military folks around.

I’ve read in the newspaper that a lot of our guests in the armed services are doing more than just kicking back and relaxing while in Fort Lauderdale. Some of them are visiting Broward County schools and hospitals. Others are helping to build houses for low income people through Habitat for Humanity. There’s also a friendly competition to see which unit can donate the most blood.

I don’t know about you, but I’m proud of anyone who wants to give something back to the community. When you see the military using their time and skills to help their fellow human beings rather than destroy them – well, those are people I can admire. Plus, their ships are really cool. I’m still a kid at heart in a lot of ways and so part of me looks at these high-tech vessels in port and just kinda goes, “Wow.” Looking from the 17th Street bridge, you can spot them tied up in Port Everglades to the south. I’ve toured a number of Navy ships in the past and always found this an impressive experience. Though for the life of me I can’t imagine living underwater for weeks at a time in one of those subs, like the USS Pittsburgh that’s here now. Anyway, the Pittsburgh’s crew is topside this week, enjoying our incredibly beautiful South Florida weather. I hope they have a great time, along with all their brothers and sisters in uniform. They sure deserve it.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Apr 29: Wine and Dine

I’ve always loved eating in restaurants. As long as I can remember, dining out has been one of life’s pleasures for me. And yes, ok – I love drinking in restaurants and bars too. There’s just something about the experience of savoring food or alcohol in the company of others, friends and strangers alike, along with enjoying the ambience, service and cooking style of a place. If I could afford it, I would eat out at least once a day and sometimes all three meals. I never get tired of the experience because it’s different each time I go, even when I return to a favorite restaurant or bar over and over. So I was interested to see that the Las Olas Wine and Food Festival is happening this Thursday. It really sounds like fun.

The city’s most charming street will be closed from 7 to 9:30 that evening. More than 60 restaurants from this area will take part, offering samples of their finest fare. The list of participating establishments is impressive – from Trina to Timpano, from Chima to Coco’s, from Johnny V to Mancini’s to Rino’s. There will be no shortage of food to try.

But they call it the Wine and Food Festival for a reason, of course. Some 30 wines, spirits and microbrew beers will be available to guests. And at the festival’s Bombay Sapphire Music and Mixology Lounge, the cocktails will change with the music. Maybe a mojito for that cha-cha, or a martini to accompany that swing piece. You get the idea. For those who buy VIP tickets, a special reception starts at 5:30 and includes a gift bag with wine and a breathable Fisch wine glass to take home. Even a regular ticket snags you a wine glass and butler tray as keepsakes. As you might expect, tickets aren’t cheap to this thing. VIP tickets are $200 per person, regular tickets go for $75 each. And they’re only available in advance, not at the event. It should be a great time. And come on now, how often can you dance the cha-cha while sipping a mojito in the middle of Las Olas?