Ft. Lauderdale Florida!!!!!!

First, I must say that Ft. Lauderdale was one of the most diverse citites I have been to next to maybe Las Angeles, and Las Vegas, of course. It was very beautiful in most areas. Especially where we were........all the touristy spots. But, it wasn't unusual to see someone homeless sleeping on a bench just a mile or so from what they call Millionare Row. There was so much culture around us down there. Lots of different ethnic groups everywhere. It was pretty cool just to sit back and watch everything going on around us for awhile.

Jenny and I met up very easily at the airport. My flight arrived about an hour before Jen's, so I just sat at the baggage claim and waited for her to get there. It had been a long day for me already, and it was only about noon. I had to get up super early and leave our house at about 4:30 AM to make it to the airport in time. My flight left at 7:00 AM. UUUGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!





Plus, Ryan and I had just gotten home Sunday afternoon from Sandusky, Ohio. We went to Cedar Point to celebrate my birthday, and had a blast. Needless to say, I was exhausted, my back was aching, and all I wanted was a good nap. That three hours of sleep I got before heading to the airport was not the nap I had hoped for.





Jen and I headed into town after we checked into the hotel so we could find some food. We were both starving by that time!!! We found a nice little restaurant called Mangos where we ate some lunch. Just outside the window I noticed a sign that said Water Taxi. Jen and I were curious, so we walked that way after we finished our lunch. It turned out to be a great little tour. The Water Taxi took us through "The Venice of America" along the Intercostal Waterway in Ft. Lauderdale. The area where we toured is also known as Millionare Row. When we saw the homes and yachts, we understood why. It was unreal!!Jen and I really enjoyed that little part of our trip. We definitely got to see a lot of things we wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. Some of these homes were actually on little man-made islands. Almost everyone who lived there had a yacht. Some of the yachts were bigger than the homes. I could have fit my home in some of those yachts. One of them was over 3,500 square feet. That's three of my homes..............WOW!!!I don't specifically remember who lived in a lot of the homes. One of them used to belong to Nick Nolte. Most of them were big business owners such as the founder of HBO, Sunglass Hut etc.....
I thought it was really cool to see this house because this is where the movie "Cape Fear" was filmed. Not the old original, but the remake with Robert De Niro from the early 1990's.

It was absolutely amazing to be out in the middle of all that wealth. This is looking into downtown Ft.Lauderdale from the intercoastal waterway. The tour was about an hour. It was really nice. The water Taxi was really cool because there are several stops where you can get on and off the boat, and your pass is good for the whole day when you get one. The boats run up until midnight.

It seemed like it would be a great way for the old Florida snowbirds to get around after starting their days off with a stiff drink. Jen and I rode along with one guy who had definitely been drinking already, and all he wanted was to get to the next happy hour someplace. It was funny.

We all took turns taking pictures on the balcony. It didn't overlook the pool or anything, but it was beautiful in the morning with the sun shining down on the balcony. I think I got most of my tan from just standing out there so much.

John and I went out to playa round of disc golf while Jen was in trainging the first day. It was fun. Hot, but fun. Most of the holes weren't extremely difficult, but it's totally different when you lose a disc in Florida............there are a lot of places I wouldn't feel safe going after a lost disc. Like..............the water, where I lost my very first disc I ever bought. It was a Valkyrie, and I loved it like a part of me. I was bummed out, but it was my own fault for throwing that disc on that hole. I knew I was throwing near water, and I knew my disc would curve around to the right.......it always does. I had even brought a back up disc for exactly that reason. I thought maybe I would need it for a tough hole near some water, and I knew I didn't want to chance losing the Valkyrie. But did I think of that when I stepped up on the platform to throw?.............NO WAY!!! I just threw my favorite disc right smack dab in the middle of the water. Just like that. Damn. But hey, I had fun anyway. John gave me a bright pink disc to throw the rest of the game.................thanks Cuz!!!!

This is Jen acting goofy with her crab legs. She was a mess by the time she was done eating those things. Kind of like a one year old with their first birthday cake.....he he he!!!

This was taken at a really nice restaurant called The Rustic Inn that Jenny had found online. There was a whole page of the names of celebritites who have eaten there in the past. I had fun looking at that and wondering where they sat and what they ate. We sat outside by the water and watched some boats go by while we were eating. I'm not a big fan of crab meat or lobster, so I stuck to shrimp. I got some coconut shrimp that was to die for!!!!!After dinner at The Rustic Inn, we headed into Hollywood where the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino is located. The little shopping area outside of the Casino was really cool. Everything was really fancy, and much too expensive for my taste, but it was still cool to look around.

We were all a little disappointed with the Casino. John wanted to play roulette and I wanted to play craps. They didn't have any tables though. They had black jack and poker tables and lots of slots, but even in the slots, I couldn't find the one I wanted to play. So, we just walked around and looked at all the music memorabelia. That part was pretty cool.They had a whole display case of Peter Frampton's stuff. They even has the voice box he used on Frampton Comes Alive. It was super cool to see that!!!!After we got back to the hotel that night, we started watching Youtube on Jen's computer. She made it through an hour or so of the entertainment before she passed out. John and I stayed up cracking up laughing until Jen rolled over and said "it's 2:30, so you think you'll be wrapping things up by 3:00?" It was hilarious!!! Sorry Jen...................
The next day, I got up and headed down to the pool for a few hours. It was awesome. I had the whole pool to myself the entire time I was down there. I laid out in the sun for a long time and jumped in the pool every once in awhile to cool down. I finished reading Slaughterhouse Five and started reading a sweet book called Marley and Me about a crazy Golden Retriever. It was so relaxing.That afternoon when Jen got done with her training, we headed over to Ft. Lauderdale Beach. The beach was gorgeous!!! The water was not as clear as I would have liked it to be, but it felt really good. It wasn't dirty exactly, it was just full of seaweed and stuff like that. So, we never managed to get too far out in the water. I get nervous in saltwater when I can't see my feet. I'm scared of all those crazy ocean creatures!!!!The strip along the beach is called Breezeway Blvd. It was a pretty cool area. It was a lot more happening at night when all the bars started filling up. There were lots of little gift shops along there, but Jen and I got there a little late to shop around in most of them. They all seemed to close really early. We did stop in a surf shop where Jen got some cute new flip flops and I talked tattoos with some cutie with long curly hair and lots of bright tattoos. We hit it off right off the bat. I loved him!!!!! ;-)
Jen grabbed my camera while I was playing in the water and snapped some shots when I wasn't looking. I like this picture of us laying in the sand together. It would have been nice to have been able to spend more time on the beach, but time wasn't really on our side. Jen had training all day the two full days we were there, but it was nice while we were there.Funny how I hate feet, but I always want to take a picture of my feet when I'm on a beach somewhere..........................
We decided that Breezeway Blvd is where we needed to go for our last night out on the town, so when Jen and I got done at the beach, we went back to the hotel to pick up John so we could all go out one last time. We all walked around looking for someplace good to eat and listening to all the live music coming from the nightclubs. Some of it was really loud and overwhelming when you were trying to talk to eachother, but it was still cool to walk around and hear everything that was going on.

We walked past an alley that had a bunch of pirate statues lining the walkway and a sign that said "pirate bar is open." So, we decided to check out the pirate bar. It was pretty fun. The bartender, Jenny, was really good at playing the pirate girl role. She talked really loud and said "AARRRGGHHH" a lot. When the clock struck 9:00, she yelled "nine o'clock and all is well!!!" She was fun.There were white walls troughout the bar that all the tourists have signed, so we had to make our mark too. Some guy named Jesse bought hats for all the girls in the bar that had rinestone skulls and crossbones on them. They're actually pretty cute. Jen and I wore ours together for a few minutes until Jen couldn't take it anymore. It was already obvious we were tourists. I mean, we took pictures of our food for crying out loud....but wearing matching hats, well, that was just a little too much. I love my hat though!!!!We had Jenny the bartender take this picture for us. I think it's almost frame worthy......LOVE IT!!!!

By the time we got back to the room that night, we were all pretty beat. I sat up and read some more of my book while Jen and John drifted off to sleep.

Jen and I woke up the next morning and decided to get another hour of sun out by the pool. It was kind of overcast when we first went out, but it cleared up and we had a little sun to enjoy before we had to leave.

I was originally supposed to fly home on a seperate flight than Jen that had a layover in Memphis, but when we got to the airport, I asked if they had any seats available for the direct flight back to Indy. I totally lucked out. They had one seat left......and I got it!! I was so happy to be on the same plane as Jen. Even though we couldn't sit together, we got to say our goodbye's in Indy instead of Ft. Lauderdale. That was nice. Plus, I got home about five hours earlier than I had originally expected. I was really happy about that.

I took this picture as we were flying out of Ft. Lauderdale. It was beautiful flying over the coast.

I was ready to get home. I really missed Ryan while I was gone, and kept asking myself in my head why I would go somewhere without him. I really did have a blast, but it's always more fun if my baby's around. One night away from him now and then isn't so bad, but a big trip like that.....I don't know. This may have been my last vacation without Ryan.

My vacation ended perfectly when Ryan got home that night and we could be together again..........................I know you are probably all puking right now.

SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:-)