Christmas Day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Saturday, December 26, 2010 Christmas Day-
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

We were up early, unfamiliar with our surroundings. We had left the sliding door open and the ever welcome pounding of the surf was a welcome sound.The sun rose just before 7 A.M. It was cloudy and a cool 58 degrees on the beach. A chilly wind was blowing from the North.

Mary and I exchanged cards and gifts. Mary had bound up a volume of seven of my illustrated short stories. It was nice to see them bound and I appreciated the effort that had gone into the project. We had coffee and watched the Christmas edition of the “Today Show.” Hard weather was crippling the eastern Carolinas and threatening to devastate The Washington, New York, Boston air traffic corridor.

A bird strike had crippled a street transformer and the power source of the hotel generator, so the elevators were not working. We walked down to the first floor Sand Bar Grille and sat on the patio, enjoying the early morning beach tableau of sun, surf and sand. The very pleasant waitress assured us that coffee was on and they could rustle us up some breakfast even without the main power line available.

Eggs over lox and toast with a wonderful bernaise sauce and triple type potatoes were exquisite. I wonder what they could cook up with the power on? This chef could cook. Later as we ate, the chef stopped by and we complimented him on both the breakfast and the wonderful conch chowder that he had prepared for us last night.This place is a find!

The tide was full as we walked along the beach. The North wind was chilly but we were dressed for it. We enjoyed the cool surf and the patterns that the waves made on the shifting sands. Flotillas of transparent blue jelly fish floated in on the tide. They looked like festive, small condoms blown up at a party and littering the seaweed on the beach. We made a few jokes and walked on. Several youngsters were sitting on the beach already enjoying the tranquility of a Christmas morn. We appreciated being here to together in such a bucolic and scenic venue on Christmas day.

When we walked back to the hotel, we stopped by the Pelican Grand hotel next door for really good coffee and a local paper which we read by our pool as we enjoyed the morning. A Florida Power and Light Truck arrived and fixed the transformer so that the power was back on. We finished our paper and coffee and headed back to the room. Mary had expressed an interest in taking the 90 minute tour of the Ft. Lauderdale canals. We found a brochure for the tour in the lobby and called them up. They were open and invited us to join them for $20 each.

We changed into better clothes and brought a sweater with us as we set out along the beach road to Las Olas, to find the tour boat which was berthed on the River walk near the Cheesecake factory on Los Olas. I can say that now because after a dozen u-turns and a few curses at the inopportune birth of the artist who had drawn up the directions for the boat on the tour brochure, we found the place. Ai Carramba!

The River walk here is delightful;. We were early so we strolled the walk. It ends in a small park near the Fine Arts gallery that we had visited yesterday. The canal is lined with boating slips along both sides.

Large ocean going yachts like the “Life’s Finest II,” “ Soulmate” and “Lady Andrea” sat amongst a half dozen double decked tour boats with names like “Champagne Lady” and “Musetto.” The latter craft traveled the canals nightly offer dinner and sight seeing. We were looking for the “Carrie B.” She was out on a tour and would be back shortly. We purchased our tickets for the one o’clock tour and continued our walk. Huge towering condominiums line the outside of the walkway. I can’t even imagine how many people they have tucked away in these soaring towers. It was sunny and in the 60’s out, so we sat for a time and admired the river and people traffic, as it floated by us on this bright and sunny Christmas day.

At 12:30 P.M. the “Carrie B” returned to dock. We watched as she unloaded her passengers and then we ventured up the walk to board her. She is a double decked tour boat, styled to look like an old Mississippi River Boat paddlewheeler. Her first deck is covered and has a bar and restrooms. The top deck is half covered with open sides for viewing the sea around us. We sat in two chairs topside and watched as our fellow passengers boarded. French, German, Spanish and a few other varieties of language peppered the conversations around us, as the various families settled in on their seats.

At 1:00 P.M. The captain blew the steam whistle. The crew loosed her bow and stern lines and the boat eased into the New River Canal. The Captain began his informative narration of what we were to see around us.

Ft. Lauderdale had been first founded as a defensive fortification during the Seminole wars of 1838. Tradition had it that the first commanding officer of a garrison, in this case Major William Lauderdale, had the fort named after him. The name also appllied to two successive fortifications and lasted over until the cities actual incorporation in 1911.

The city had preserved a two story wooden trading house on the river. It had been run by Frank and Ivy Stranahan. He was among the early cities foremost businessman and his wife Ivy one of its first and most famous educators.

As the boat traversed the small canals, we began to see a series of increasingly attractive and expensive river side homes. Some were decked out in Christmas regalia, others let the obvious wealth of their construction or a large yacht serve as their decorations.

The City of Fort Lauderdale has over 300 miles of waterways and canals and 9 & 1/2 miles of beaches. It makes for a rather extensive venue of showplace homes too numerous to mention. City Fathers call it the “Venice of America.” The Miami Dolphins owner had a few places along the canal. Actor Lee Major’s home and the owners of a dozen prominent national businesses all vied for who had the most expensive and most attractive waterfront home. One home in particular, made in the classical Greek Revival style, looked like a miniature White House or Congress. It named Maison Blanc. It features about 22,000 square feet of living space and six car garage, retailing the in the $25 million dollar range. We enjoyed looking into the “lives of the rich and famous.”

It was the outsized yachts that really caught your attention. The first dozen or so sleek ocean goers looked merely imposing. Even New York City Mayor’s 136 ft. yacht paled in comparison however to the “Phoenix (squared).” This mega yacht comes in at 286 feet in length. It sleek lines are ART DECO in style. The silver bird on her bow sprit is considered a work of art. The burnished chrome railings along her deck glisten in the noon day sun. She if coal black in color with impressive lines. She takes on nearly 35,000 gallons of fuel and her estimated cost is over $95 million dollars. This is a lot of boat even by Arab Oil sheik standards. The vessel is Bermuda flagged and is owned by an American who has as yet chosen to remain anonymous. The Kismet, Lady Lara and Bloomberg’s yachts looked like common tenders next to her.

As we ventured into the main harbor area of the actual port of Fort Lauderdale, the skipper reeled off some of the statistics of the cruise ship port. Seventeen cruise ship lines, operating fifty five liners run over four million passengers a year in and out of Port Everglades. We have launched from here and remember seeing an entire caravan of the nautical leviathans edging out from their berths each Saturday, making for the open sea. Some of the new mega liners are so big that their 10,000 passengers create an airport jam up when they enter the port and disgorge their passengers.

The sun was shining overhead as we edged out to the mouth of the new river where she meets the Atlantic. The incoming tide was making for a tricky passage. Luckily all of the cruise ships were out of the port area or the cross tides would have us bobbing like a cork in a stream.

A series of residential towers sit on the point here, looking out over the ocean. Jackie Gleason’s widow and comedian and actor Leslie Neilsen had lived here. Two small state parks on the point afforded beaches for the city’s residents. It really is attractive as a port area.

The skipper swung the boat around like a weight on a pivot and we started back into the city’s canals. We saw again the mega yacht “Phoenix squared” and marveled at her lines and size. The other yachts are normal and impressive. We marveled at the collection of wealth that had created these homes and berthed yachts along the river and canals.

The high-rises, towering hotel complexes and attractive city scape give the port area an other-worldly appearance. It sits like some sort of crystal Oz that might just evaporate in the evening mist. It really is beautiful.

We passed again by all of the imposing homes and their yachts. The information overload phase of the tour was setting in, so we just sat back and enjoyed what we were seeing. It really is the “Venice of America.”

Soon enough, the “Carrie B” slipped back into her birth along the River walk. We exited onto shore. It had been a really interesting tour. We were glad we had taken it.

We walked back up to busy Las Olas. Throngs of Christmas visitors were strolling up and down the boulevard. We were surprised to see a few places open for lunch and dinner. The Riverside Hotel’s “Indigo restaurant” looked attractive. It is one of those New Orlean’s types of venues with the wide French Doors and a large open patio along the street. We stopped by the busy Matr’d’s stand. He smiled and seated us at a table for two in the bar, neat a door opening onto the street. All of the tables were filled and the bar was crowded. We knew that we better try and eat here or we would go without. Our own hotel restaurant was closing at Three P.M. and it was already 2:30 P.M.

A very pleasant woman named Debra asked for our order. She brought us a wonderful six ounce glass of “Three Wives Cabernet” from California. It was tasty.

A large platter of Penne pasta with clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari, with an elegant red sauce, was exquisite. I don’t often wax fondly over food but this was good. We enjoyed our dinner and wine as we watched throngs of visitors walk by the restaurant on busy Las Olas. Many were looking for dinner.

A very friendly and somewhat loud Norwegian was sipping gin martinis at the bar and talking to a local couple about his Celebrity Cruise to the Western Caribbean. Luckily for us the music and competing ambient noise drowned him out. I am sure he was a wonderful person, just a very loud wonderful person.Our dinner tab was a reasonable $63.

The day was waning and we were tiring. We walked back to our car and drove over Las Olas to busy North Atlantic Boulevard. It looked like the busiest day of the year. Throngs and throngs of families walked the streets along the beach here sitting at the many open cafe’s, eating snacks or dinner or just enjoying the late afternoon sun. The parking lots were chock full and the boulevards wall to wall with traffic. We eased down the boulevard, enjoying the many throngs out for their Christmas on the beach holiday. It really was both festive and a happening here abouts.

At our hotel, we settled in, on our fifth floor balcony, and cracked a bottle of French Bordeaux that friends had given us at a Christmas Party. They had picked it up on a month-long journey through Provence last Summer. I promised them we would enjoy it on Christmas day. We did. Children were still rolling in the surf beneath us, oblivious of the cooling temps and the setting sun. Bless them for their ability to feel joy in the simple things.

I read my book as Mary called her family to wish them Christmas greetings. Up north, a fierce Winter storm was pounding New York and Boston. The next few days of air travel would be a mess.

As the sun set, we watched Orion rise in the eastern sky. Looking out over the waves at a starry night sky, while enjoying some very good wine, isn’t a bad way to enjoy Christmas. Mary and I are lucky to have each other and be able to spend time in various “brigadoons’ like this.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a very good night.

-30-
Joseph Xavier Martin

Christmas Day- 2010
Fort Lauderdale, Florida