December 12 to 18, 2011 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

We left Wildwood on December 12th and took the Florida Turnpike south until we got to I-95 and then we continued south to Paradise Island RV Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  It was 256 miles, but felt longer due to the on and off rain and traffic the last hour or so of the journey.

As soon as we got into our campsite it rained hard for a while.  So Bill was drenched.

Here is our campsite just after the rain stopped.

With Jim and Chris also here we all headed to Umberto's for dinner and got caught up.  We had not seen each other since September 2010 in Indiana.

December 14th we drove south to see Everglades National Park.  We picked up a picnic lunch on the way and ate it in the park.

Photos and videos from our trip to Everglades, Part 1, Part 2

We were late getting back to Fort Lauderdale so we ate dinner at G's Jamaican which was just down the road from the campground.

December 16th we decided to drive down the slow roads to South Beach in Miami Beach.  On the way, we stopped for a nice Indian lunch at Copper Chimney in Sunny Isles Beach.

Well, we drove around South Beach and decided it was not for us.  So, we took I-95 back to Fort Lauderdale for its beach.  Much better for us.

On December 17th, the plan was for the four of us to take the water taxi.  So we drove the two cars to the Shooters Waterfront Cafe end and parked our car. Then Jim drove us all to Pirate Republic Bar Seafood and Grill where we had a quick dinner and watched the river traffic while waiting for the water taxi  Across the river is the riverfront off Los Olas Blvd.

Then we got on the Water Taxi for the ride and to see the Christmas lights.

Chris and Jim, who were married on the Water Taxi, so it is always a special trip for them.

It was hard to get good photos but we tried.

The videos were a bit better.

Video from Water Taxi using Canon camera (968KB WMV)

Video from Water Taxi using HTC Thunderbolt phone (4.90MB 3GP)

We got off at Shooters Waterfront Bar where we also had something to eat.  Then we drove Jim and Chris back to their car and we all headed back to the campground.

Evita is relaxed here.

Our last day, December 18th, we accompanied Jim and Chris and Chris's mother, Marilyn, to Morikami Gardens in Delray Beach.

Photos and Video from Morikami Gardens, December 18, 2011

We dropped Marilyn back off at her place and later the four of us had a nice dinner at Cielito Lindo Tres in Oakland Park.  We had a really great time in Fort Lauderdale, especially with Chris and Jim.

Now we are off to Port St. Lucie for a couple months.

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