March 30, 2015
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
According to the popular 1960 beach movie, Fort
Lauderdale is "where the boys are." The city's reputation as America's
Spring Break capital, however, has been replaced with the more favorable
image of a prime family tourist destination, attracting more than 10 million
visitors annually. The most popular beach resort in Florida is even more
rightly famed as the "Yachting Capital of the World," with more than 40,000
registered crafts calling its waters home. The city also prides itself on
being the "Venice of America" with more than 300 miles of navigable
waterways. Fort Lauderdale boasts world-class theaters, museums,
sightseeing, and shopping.
The city sits 24 miles north of Miami and 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. Look hard and you might
find remnants of three of them today. More people seem to be interested in
taking a water tour aboard the "Carrie B."
This was a nice little
excursion. First, we boarded a bus in Ft. Lauderdale and drove to the
Everglades. We then got on an airboat that held approximately 30
people. We were lucky and got the best seats on the boat!
Although we didn't see in alligators in the wild, we did feel the wind in
our faces and saw plenty of birds and fish.
Following your airboat ride,
we saw an alligator show hosted by the Gator Boys. (See video below
for a portion of the show.) And Lou got to hold a baby alligator! (See
picture below.)
Click on a picture to view large
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When we got back from our Everglades adventure, we met Brian and Ashley who had joined us for the remainder of our cruise.
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