Fort Lauderdale Adventures!

Here's a recap of our trip to Ft. Lauderdale..

A few hours after arriving, which included checking into the hotel, unpacking, and relaxing, we decided to walk the mile to the beach.  As we were walked, we saw the dark clouds approaching. Since we had not enjoyed lunch, we decided to take cover at the first restaurant we encountered - a marina front bar/restaurant located adjacent to the Day's Inn.  From our seat, we watched the area become engulfed in dark clouds and remained protected from the heavy rain that came with the clouds.

Enjoying the view of the thunderstorm from the protection of a covered seat!

My fish tacos and Colin's fried grouper were easily forgettable.  When we finished our meal, we felt bad taking up seats while waiting for the storm to pass, so we opted for some dessert. I'm so glad we did because the chocolate cake we ordered was surprisingly tasty.  I definitely had lower expectations for a chocolate cake served in a beach bar!

Our delicious chocolate cake

Once the rain storm passed, we enjoyed a quiet evening on the beach - a beach that we had almost exclusively to ourselves because the rain had kept people away.

On Saturday, we decided to take the hotel shuttle to the beach so we could enjoy more time there.  I was impressed by all the free activities available at the beach.  It's rare to find basketball courts, workout stations, playgrounds, bathrooms, and a grilling area all so close to the beach.  In addition, while many of the grills were being used, the beach was not crowded on what I would consider a beautiful beach day.  One of the things I miss the most in North Carolina are the beach pavilions found in Rhode Island and Long Island.  In those pavilions, I could shower at the end of the beach day before going home.

Basketball courts and workout station on the beach

A playground and grills on the beach

Few people on a beautiful beach day

On Saturday, we decided to take a ride down to Miami, where the Miami Heat were playing the Boston Celtics in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship.  We knew tickets would be expensive, so we didn't bother trying to get them. Instead, we went to check out the atmosphere.

In Miami, we decided to get some Cuban food on Calle Ocho in "Little Havana."  There weren't many people around and we didn't make plans ahead of time, so we just walked around until we found a restaurant to try.  From what we heard, 7pm was too early for dinner in Little Havana, so most places were pretty empty.  We did not stick around late enough to check out the "night life."  The first reason was that we wanted to get to a sports bar to watch the game, and the second reason was that we weren't sure if the neighborhood was safe. 

Chickens let you know you are in Little Havana, Miami

A Pitbull caricature on the wall of an "art and research center"
- which looked more like a social club when we walked by

El Cristo Restaurant offered really tasty Cuban food, 

but we were very disappointed that they didn't have Cuban sandwiches!

All around downtown Miami, and especially near the basketball area, we found crowds of Miami Heat fans.  The few Boston fans that mixed among the crowds wore their green, but for the most part, everyone was dressed in white.

The scene at American Airlines arena about 30 minutes before tip-off.

We found a lively spot at a pub with an outdoor projector to watch most of the first half.  Every time the Heat scored, stole the ball, or made a good play, the fans erupted with enthusiasm.  It was difficult to not get caught up in all the excitement.  Even thought the Celtics were winning, Heat fans exhibited lots of confidence that their team would prevail.

  

Watching the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics 

on an outdoor projector at a Miami bar.

After an exciting evening watching the game in Miami, we made our way back to Ft. Lauderdale to rest up for our planned adventures on Sunday.

The first stop on our ambitious itinerary brought us to Shark Valley in the Everglades. We had never been and decided to check out the National Park Service offerings. After renewing our annual America the Beautiful National Park Pass, we opted for the guided tram tour through the park- which was the same price as renting 2 bicycles for 2 hours. With the scorching sun beating down at our noon-time arrival, we figured the shade was necessary for us to enjoy the park.

On our 2 hour trip, we saw 2 alligators, lots of birds, and were able to get a better understanding about the flora and fauna located in the area. Thankfully, we did not see any snakes, though our tour guide showed us a video of his capture of a 20 foot snake on his Ipad. It is actually sad that people have let their snakes go wild in the Everglades. With no natural predators the 10,000+ snakes that now exist in the park have drastically reduced the small mammals native to the area.

View of the Everglades from a tower in the park

After our adventures in the Everglades, we made our way down to the Florida Keys to Key Largo.  We didn't really know much about the area, but assumed we could find some areas with a beach to swim.  Unfortunately, Key Largo is more of a fishing town, with lots of canals and waterways between the streets.  Instead of driving farther into the Keys to find the beach, we decided to have an early dinner at a bar and watch the European Cup game being televised.

We eventually found a beach, which was fairly disappointing. It was in a state park, which charged $4.50 per person and the beach area was very small.  The water, surrounded by mangroves, was very warm (like a bath), and the sand was almost as hard as concrete.

Enjoying the Happy Hour specials at Sharkeys Pub & Galley in Key Largo

With all the excitement and exploration we did Saturday and Sunday, we decided to relax all morning on Monday before our 3pm flight.  It was another beautiful day, so we spent the first few hours at the beach, and the final few hours in Ft. Lauderdale by the beautiful pool.  

Arriving home around 6pm, with enough time to unpack and unwind, I felt like I had experienced the perfect balance of relaxation and exploration.  The trip was just what I needed after a very busy month of May!  As we typically do, we have already started making plans for our next trip to the area.  We are thinking a cruise to the Bahamas might be nice.

Tell me about your most memorable South Florida experiences!

What should we put on our list for the next time we visit?

Exceeding expectations and keeping costs low in Fort Lauderdale

The stars were in perfect alignment to allow Colin and I the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful 4-day weekend in Ft. Lauderdale this past weekend.  Colin's conference was scheduled to end at the same time my flight was scheduled to arrive, which came a day after I submitted a substantial grant application for the state of North Carolina.

As we always do when we travel without Darwin, we bid for a hotel on Priceline a few weeks leading up to our trip.  I knew that my chances of getting a low price were better as we got closer to the day of arrival, so I didn't stress when we hadn't won a bid a week before my scheduled arrival.  Sure enough, 4-5 days before our trip, my $72 bid was accepted by the four star Hyatt Pier 66. While I did select "beach front" properties, the Hyatt is located about a mile from the beach, so I was slightly disappointed that it was not right on the beach.  I also got very nervous when I read some of the most recent negative hotel reviews, even though the hotel was listed as 4 stars.  The only review that came back consistent was that the pool was really nice.

With low expectations, we checked in. The woman at the front desk was very nice and changed our room reservation from 2 double beds to 1 king (Priceline only asks for the number of people and you can't control the room assignment unless you work with the front desk staff).  She also asked of our preference for proximity to the pool.  When we asked for nice, quiet room, she said we would enjoy our room on the intercoastal waterway, which was also very close to the pool.

Our room was not at all disappointing and the hotel far exceeded my expectations (which, as I said, were pretty low).  I didn't take any pictures of the room, because it was pretty standard for most hotels (king size bed with lots of pillows, tv, dresser, refrigerator, closet, large bathroom). There wasn't any extraordinary furniture worth blogging about.  One of the things I enjoyed the most about the hotel was the balcony.  The boats on the intercoastal were so large, we both dreamed of a day when we could own and use one ourselves!

A relaxing breakfast our first morning

The best part of the hotel was, in fact, the pool.  There were technically 3 pools - a small jacuzzi that could easily fit 8-10 people, a large "S" shaped pool ranging from 3-6' deep, and a smaller "t" shaped pool.  We spent most of our time at the largest pool, which had a waterfall near the deeper end.  The hotel was clearly not crowded, so we did relax at the pool more than we usually do on a beach vacation. I couldn't help but be relaxed while laying in the shade and took a rather long snooze after a filling lunch one afternoon.  We didn't use the jacuzzi because the water was too warm for June in Florida.  But, we did enjoy some night swimming to cool ourselves down before bed one evening.

 Relaxing by the pool

There's the waterfall!

Ending the day with a dip in the nicely lit pool

I would say our hotel was a bargain!  Although it wasn't on the beach, they did provide a complimentary shuttle to and from the beach every hour.  There was no complimentary breakfast, be we prefer our healthier options to most continental breakfasts anyway.  Parking was the major hotel expense, since they charged $21/day.  Our first reaction was to find a place to park near the hotel overnight, but that proved too challenging. Thankfully, we got a great deal on our rental car (also on Priceline) for $26 for 2 days.  Adding $21 for 1 night that we parked in the hotel wasn't too bad.

To break down our expenses, we paid $255 for my flight (Colin's was paid for by work, and I missed an opportunity to get a sub $200 fare), $251 for the hotel (using a Priceline bid of $72/nt + taxes), $26 for a rental car for 2 days, and $21 to park 1 night.  The grand total (minus food and adventures - which will be detailed in another post) came out to $553 for a 4 day/3 night vacation. We are pretty good at keeping food costs low by mixing up buying food in a grocery store and going out too eat.  This is when it's helpful to have a car or be within walking distance of a grocery store.  The estimate of our food costs is $150 for the 10 total meals, which included four meals and a dessert in a restaurant and 4 grocery store meals.  Two of our meals included leftovers we kept in the refrigerator and these were the only meals that were duplicated.  The most outrageous food cost we incurred was the $12 for 1 small and 1 large ice cream from Marble Slab and I will be the first to admit it was not even good!!

Other than the ice cream, I'd say we were able to enjoy a wonderful vacation at minimal cost.  Stay tuned for the next post about exploring the area!

How do you save money when you travel?