The first I heard of Ft. Lauderdale was in the days when every
year college kids
attacked the
beaches during
Spring Break. But, as they say, "All good things must come to an end." As I understand it, the party was over in 1985 when the
wild parties overwhelmed the
city fathers, who
clamped down on the
influx of some 350,000
students hell-bent on
sex,
booze, and
mayhem. This year we had less than 15,000 students.
So, what's
left? The
ocean front is as
beautiful as it ever was and the
stores lining the strip on Las Olas as pricey as ever. We have
clubs for every taste, if you're fixing to try to get a tan inside a
bar. If
nature is your thing, you can
certainly find
tours into the
swamp at
reasonable prices. As a matter of fact, I'm just a couple blocks from a small
lake, lined by a swamp. My fees for conducting a tour are quite reasonable. The Anne Kolb
Nature Center and
Marina is a
wetland mangrove forest habitat that attracts many visitors, not all of them human, I might add.
For an old Florida feel visitors can visit the Bonnet House, a 35-acre subtropical
estate built in 1926. It's just off the beach and right in town. We are also very proud of the Buehler
Planetarium and the
Museum of
Discovery and
Science. If you don't mind paying the tarriff,
Butterfly World/
Tradewinds Park is a great place to spend the day.
If you plan to eat out, we have
restaurants for every
palate. By the way, the place may have a
Mexican name, but more than likely it features
Cuban cuisine. Until
recently many
gringos frowned on the Cuban
migration northward from
Miami into the upper reaches of Florida, so many
owners gave Mexican names to their
establishments in an effort to calm the locals. This isn't so much the case now a-days.
Thai and
Indian restaurants
abound (yumm yumm!) and pizza has become a
southern dish.
But, that's not the real reason for this w/u. Although a
resident in these parts for only a few
months, I have been moved to
defend my new home against the
contumely Florida has received at the hands of its detractors.
This is wholly and completely
untrue! Some of us
ancients are in good health and do not need the
services of a clinic. Besides, the middle school near the
house seems to be well used, which
indicates that there must be children living in the
area somewhere.
In summer Ft. Lauderdale is hot and humid
All I can say about this is that Ft. Lauderdale in summer is certainly not for
wimps! Home owners and
condo builders have
thoughtfully
provided
swimming
pools every so many yards from each other to supply
instant relief.
Reference has been made to
blood-sucking
insects and
cantankerous gators as examples. Again, this a
vicious lie. I have yet to be bitten by either one. I admit to having been the
unwitting host to a number of flying
cockroaches and
termites, but usually the regular visits of an
exterminator take care of this minor problem.
Hurricanes, swamp fires, floods etc. plague the area
While we do seem to have more than our share of these, our
natural disasters only serve to bring us together, fostering an
esprit de corps unknown in others states.
Ft. Lauderdale is my home and I wouldn't live anywhere else in the
world!