Fort Lauderdale

Traveling is always an adventure and even though we have traveled quite a bit, we always seem to see something that surprises us. This trip was no exception. We flew out of Yakima to Seattle to catch a red-eye flight to Miami. While we were waiting for our flight, a guy came running up to a nearby gate, swearing loudly because he had obviously missed his flight. The customer service agents were not at the desk and the plane was gone. Instead of walking down to the next staffed gate, or customer service desk, this guy opened the door to the jet way setting off all the alarms. Yep, the plane was still gone. Everyone in that end of the terminal is watching this guy and assuming that he would quit throwing his temper tantrum and go ask for help. Boy, were we wrong. This guy opened the jet way door multiple times until a service agent appeared to ask him what was wrong. Considering the fact that the alarm went off every time he opened the door, it took a long time for someone to check out the situation. Not only did we have to listed to the alarms, but he continued to swear the entire time. Some people should not travel.

The only non-stop flight we could get on Alaska landed in Miami. We arrived early in the morning and used a shuttle service to get to Fort Lauderdale. We stayed at the Best Western Oceanside Inn. When we made the reservations, they told us the hotel was on the beach and that there was a drug store across the street if we needed anything. Well, the hotel was not on the beach and the drug store, while indeed across the street, was 1.5 miles away. After relaxing for awhile we decide to go out and look for the beach. Not only did we find the beach, but we found the hotel where we wished we were staying.

This Marriott had beautiful grounds and a private beach.

We might not have been guests, but that did not stop us from eating dinner at the Sea Level Restaurant & Bar. This place was so fancy that the menu lit up when you opened it. We joked around about how funny it would be if the bill jacket did that. It did!

I loved this chess board and hammock.

We only had one full day in Fort Lauderdale before the start of the cruise, so the next day we bought all day tickets for the water taxi. With an all day pass, you can board the taxi as many times as you want. It stops 14 times on the Intercoastal Waterway and New River. The captain or the first officer would point out places of interest, or yachts and it was interesting to hear the facts change depending on what taxi you were on.

We got off the taxi at the stop downtown so we could walk along the shops on Las Olas Blvd.

We really were not in much of a shopping mood, but we did eat lunch at La Bonne Crepe. It was fun trying something new.

We saw many mansions and yachts while riding on the taxi. We saw homes owned at one time by Farrah Fawcett & Lee Majors, Lucille Ball, Sonny & Cher, and Chris Evert, just to name a few. We also walked down the main road in front of the public beach, where we saw just about everything from a guy with a giant cobra around his neck to another guy wearing practically nothing at all. His totally bare butt was just hanging out. I can't image what this place looks like during spring break!