I’m back from Florida. It was gorgeous the entire time. 80-90 degrees and sunny the entire time.

I woke up at about 4am on Friday to get ready to go to the airport. Our flight left at 6:05am. We only brought carry on luggage since we were going to be staying there for only the weekend. Our bags got searched since we booked our tickets last minute. Apparently terrorists are spontaneous too. When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale we got our rental car (a Pontiac G5) and went to the Bahia Mar beach resort where we were staying. It was beautiful, right on the beach. It was about 1:30 or so when we got to the hotel and I wanted to get right out and onto the beach but Amy had to make a few phone calls for work. So we made it out around 2:30 but by that time it was a little windy and overcast so after laying on the beach for a couple hours we went out for dinner. We walked down the street where there were a few boardwalk type shops and some bar restaurants.

Saturday morning I woke up at 7:00 and went for a walk to take some pictures and get some exercise. I am amazingly motivated when I am on vacation. After about an hour and a half of that I met Amy for breakfast. She had a cinnamon raisin bagel with veggie cream cheese, haha, because many of the people working in Fort Lauderdale don’t speak very good English and have a little trouble understanding the orders. Then we went to the beach. We walked along the shore and collected shells and went in and out of the water all day. There were hardly any waves at all, which was sort of nice but I kind of miss the waves because they make it a little more exciting. Around 2:30 we decided to go in and shower and get something to eat. At this point Amy and I could already tell we were going to have some serious sun burns despite the fact that I put 30spf sunblock on about 6 times while I was out on the beach. Amy’s back and chest were so red she only put a little sun block on before going into the water. Tsk tsk. After we showered and got ready we drove down Las Olas Blvd. where there were some very expensive shops and restaurants. The first store we went into I looked at a tag on a plain orange tank top exactly like the ones they sell at the limited and it was $125.00. WHAT!!?? Two women who worked in one of the shops were talking about their plastic surgery as if it were as common as getting a filling. I did get a pair of jeans and a tank top in a store called LF where everything was 60% off. With the 60% it made everything only slightly more expensive then the clothes you would find in the mall. We had dinner at a little restaurant called Grapes where they had the most delicious cheesecake I have ever tasted. It was called Vanilla Creme brulee Cheesecake.

“Like Butta”

Sunday Amy and I went for a drive to take some pictures with not too much luck. We could barely be outside because by this point our sunburns hurt so bad that having them be exposed to any sunlight at all felt like 1st degree burns. Later on we sat by the pool, mostly in the shade, and relaxed a bit.

Monday morning I went for another walk. I walked over the bridge on Las Olas to take some pictures of the ridiculous houses and the boats that were nearly just as big. While I was walking a guy stopped me to “chat”. His name was Marcus (I think) and he looked so familiar but I can’t for the life of me think of who he looks like. He sort of looked like Colin Farrell. He was pretty bold he walked past me on the bridge and a few minutes later I saw that he was walking back towards me so I stopped and he was like… “damn you walk fast I’ve been trying to catch up to you. I thought those people walking behind you were your parents and I didn’t want to be disrespectful but then when I saw you were walking alone I was like I have to talk to that girl she is so beautiful.”

Melts my heart. He walked with me for a few blocks and we talked. He’s from Brooklyn and lived in Long Island for most of his life (keeper) and he has been living in Fort Lauderdale for a year. When he found out I was leaving to go back to New York in less then an hour he got a little discouraged but ALAS! Long Island isn’t that far from Rochester (Yes it is). He was convinced that he could memorize my phone number and that is when we parted ways. Him mumbling the wrong digits as he walked.

237 8627, 267 6237, 287 2367…

I’m still waiting for his call.

On the airplane getting ready to take off there was an announcement that the plane was too heavy and that they needed a few people to volunteer to give up their seat. They would get a ticket to fly out the next day, a free night in a hotel and $300 complimentary. I’m still trying to remember the reasons why we didn’t take that offer.

Final Thoughts:
Now the only thing left to decide is where to go this weekend!