Our Adventures

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale is the seventh largest city in the state of Florida, centrally located between Miami and Palm Beach, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which is home to over 5,413,212 people. The Ft. Lauderdale's population is approximately 186,439.

The city is a popular tourist destination, with over 10.35 million visitors annually. Fort Lauderdale is sometimes known as the "Venice of America" because of its expansive and intricate canal system. The city is a major yachting center, with 42,000 resident yachts and 100 marinas and boatyards. The city sits 23 miles north of Miami, Florida. Fort Lauderdale host over 954 restaurants and 132 nightclubs.

Fort Lauderdale is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War. The forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale, who was the commander of the detachment of soldiers who built the first fort. However, development of the city did not begin until 50 years after the forts were abandoned at the end of the conflict. Three forts named "Fort Lauderdale" were constructed; the first was at the fork of the New River, the second at Tarpon Bend, in what is now known as the Sailboat Bend neighborhood, and the third near the site of the Bahia Mar Marina.

More. . .

We spent a week in Ft. Lauderdale for Rob′s family reunion. We flew into Miami and drove to Ft. Lauderdale, forgetting that we were arriving during rush hour, the traffic was brutal. As we got closer we pulled off on a side road and stopped for something to eat and drink. It was so hot! We sat outside for a little while and continued our journey. We passed a placed call "Docker′s Bar–C–F, in route to the hotel. He has a large family. There were people from Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This was my first time meeting his entire family. Yes I was a nervous wreck because we had only been together 9 months and I knew that I was going to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. hehehe.

The reunion was being held at the Holiday Inn on the Beach. Our room had a great view of the ocean and sunrise. I love the beach so when I was out there Rob could see me from our room window. We would get up at 5AM and walk a block to the Seven Eleven for coffee and then go out to beach and watch the sunrise. What a beautiful site. After I spent over an hour on the beach one day and came back to the room a few shades darker, Rob called my mother and told her something was wrong with me and that I was black. She laughed and told him to get use to it. Laying in the sun is one of my favorite past times.

There were several activities planned for the week – dinner banquet, evening outing, picnic and a bus ride to the Seminole Paradise @ the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. At the picnic, I made a new young friend who later found me at the banquet dinner and gave me a big hug. She was the sweetest thing. The night before the banquet we went to what is known as The Gallery at Beach Place which is an all-in-one entertainment complex on Fort Lauderdale beach offering a unique blend of shopping, dining, live musical performances and various events through out the evening. If you just want to hang out at a club, they have a ton of them there as well. While there we also road around to a few malls, site seeing on the strip and back to the casino.

Across from the hotel was the "Playboy Bunny" shop and a place called the "Liquid Addiction Surf Shop". It was a most enjoyable week with the family and meeting everyone. I really had a nice time. We will probably return to Ft. Lauderdale one day to enjoy the beach and the sunrise on a lover′s holiday.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL