If It's October, It Must Be Fort Lauderdale

By Stephen Kelly, regional editor

The Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, perhaps the longest name for a meeting place on Earth, encompasses what the convention center calls an ?EUR??,,????'??impressive 17-acre swath along Port Everglades.?EUR??,,????'?? A $34 million, 230,000-square-foot expansion project was completed in 2002, boosting the sq. footage to more than 600,000 of event space.

Friday July 1, 5:30 p.m. PST?EUR??,,????'??+As I sit here to begin writing this missive, everyone has left the office to begin the three-day weekend. I read on CNN today that another person was bitten by a shark in Florida waters?EUR??,,????'??+that?EUR??,,????'???s three this week! The latest incident (an ankle bite) occurred near the lighthouse at Gasparilla Island Beach. Gasparilla is a barrier island on Florida?EUR??,,????'???s southwest coast.

This is not to put a damper on any aquatic adventuring while you?EUR??,,????'???re in Lauderdale. You see, all three attacks, one fatal, and one resulting in the loss of a leg, were on the Gulf side, the murkier-water side, what you might call the bull-sharks-who-hang-out-in-shallow-water-particularly-near-knee-deep-sandbars-or-near-river-mouths-to-the-sea side of Florida.

Toward sundown, gator heads begin popping up in lagoons, canals and other brackish Florida waters. Fight the urge to take a dip at this time.

According to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were 61 ?EUR??,,????'??unprovoked?EUR??,,????'?? shark attacks worldwide on humans in 2004?EUR??,,????'??+30 within U.S. territorial waters. Florida waters accounted for 12 of those attacks?EUR??,,????'??+40 percent! The good news is the total is quite a bit lower than the 2000-2003 average of 33.5 unprovoked attacks in Florida waters. Additional good news is that, unlike where I live, Southern California, there are no white sharks attacking you.

The sea turtle nesting and hatchling season in Broward County continues through October 31. Florida beaches are visited by the leatherback, loggerhead, green and hawksbill species. If you see sea turtles nesting (excavating a pit) do not shine light on them or take flash photography, which can cause the turtles to abandon their nests and return to sea. Sea turtles are on the Endangered Species List and protected by federal law.

Friday July 8?EUR??,,????'??+Well, I didn?EUR??,,????'???t get very far last Friday! Today, Florida is not talking sharks but another of nature?EUR??,,????'???s wonders?EUR??,,????'??+Hurricane Dennis with winds of 150 mph is moving across Cuba and expected to reach the Gulf Coast tonight and make landfall Sunday evening around Pensacola in northwest Florida.

Tuesday Aug. 2?EUR??,,????'??+Whew! Where did the month go? Well, Hurricane Dennis is long gone, but caused major damage in Haiti and Cuba, then hit the Florida Panhandle. Although Fort Lauderdale was not in Dennis?EUR??,,????'??? direct path, a fallen power line in Lauderdale electrocuted a man.

 

Greater Fort Lauderdale's beachfront stretches for 23 miles and features five "Blue Wave" beaches, so designated by the Clean Beaches Council, a national coastal oversight group in Washington D.C., certifying these are among the top beaches in the country. The five Blue Wave beaches in Broward County are Hollywood (pictured), Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach. You, too, can say, ?EUR??,,????'??I?EUR??,,????'???ve been to a ?EUR??,,????'??Blue Wave?EUR??,,????'??? beach and I am special.?EUR??,,????'??

On July 16, Hurricane Emily became the strongest hurricane to form before August since records have been kept (Hurricane Dennis had just set the record nine days before), but its force was directed at the tourist mecca in the Yucatan, my favorite windsurfing spot.

Shark news has made way to a 41-year-old man swimming in a canal in Port Charlotte, Fla. (again on the Gulf side) who succumbed to a ?EUR??,,????'??12-foot 2-inch?EUR??,,????'?? alligator the evening of July 15, the 17th recorded fatality (among 340 documented alligator attacks in the state) since 1948. You have to love the ?EUR??,,????'??2-inch?EUR??,,????'?? detail. The alleged man-eater was captured, killed and evidently closely measured. Note to conventioneers: If overheated while in Florida, do not be tempted to take a dip into dark, brackish water, particularly in the evening. While sitting on a bench enjoying a chocolate milkshake in ?EUR??,,????'??downtown?EUR??,,????'?? Celebration, Fla. last year, I observed three or four alligator heads (albeit small versions) popping up in the lagoon 10-15 yards from the plaza as the sun set. You get the idea.

Where the Boys Are

The Greek?EUR??,,????'???s pagan bacchanal welcoming spring, transmogrified into spring break in Ft. Lauderdale, gained momentum after the movie ?EUR??,,????'??Where the Boys Are?EUR??,,????'?? (sung by Connie Francis) glamorized the phenomenon in 1960. Today?EUR??,,????'???s renovated Lauderdale would be unrecognizable to the ?EUR??,,????'??60s crowd.

When I was a lad of 10, ?EUR??,,????'??Where the Boys Are?EUR??,,????'?? debuted on the big screen and imbued certain college kids east of the Mississippi with the idea of venturing to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break. Sleepy little Fort Lauderdale, the “Venice of America,” was about to be inundated. Co-eds wanted to emulate the romantic goings-on of Merritt (Dolores Hart), Melanie (Yvette Mimieux), Tuggle (Paula Prentiss) and Angie (Connie Francis), though I don?EUR??,,????'???t imagine most of the guys identified with the spoiled rich boy, Ryder Smith (George Hamilton); TV Thompson (Jim Hutton) was more in their class.

Broward County has three piers: Pompano (pictured), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (home to the Aruba restaurant) and Dania.

1960 was a time when Pat, my older sister, would sit in the back seat of our 1958 Ford station wagon with an am transistor radio close to her ear as we drove. The driver, my dad, a former trumpet player who grew up on big band music, would deride the structure and lyrics of the new sound, rock?EUR??,,????'???n?EUR??,,????'???roll. As a cultural reference, 1960 was the year Elvis returned home from serving in the Army, the Rat Pack performed in Vegas, the Beatles were developing their sound in Hamburg, Germany clubs, Kennedy debated Nixon on national television and the ?EUR??,,????'??Andy Griffith Show debuted. Lauderdale was a beachfront of bars, fast-food stands and vendors hawking T-shirts and souvenirs. ?EUR??,,????'??Downtown?EUR??,,????'?? was a single office tower and a few government buildings. Depending who you listen to, more that 20,000 college kids were breaking here in the early ?EUR??,,????'???60s, escalating to 350,000 by 1985. Students stuffed themselves into motel rooms and the beachfront?EUR??,,????'???s tacky-factor increased: litter, more bars, drugs and petty thefts.

There are 300 miles of inland waterways and 20 miles of beach in the Ft. Lauderdale area, with some 44,000 resident yachts, although Stephen Gordon, who has worked in the yachting industry here for over 28 years, says that Ft. Lauderdale is no longer the yachting capital of the world because of the inability to service ?EUR??,,????'??gigayachts,?EUR??,,????'?? boats over 160 feet.

Well, all things must pass and the kids began migrating to cheaper digs up the coast in Daytona and Lauderdale began exfoliating spring break skin. The city underwent a massive make-over: a face lift, a tummy tuck, some liposuction and porcelain veneers. Today the beach is about upscale shops and restaurants, like the Beach Place retail and dining complex, and downtown growth continues. The city has new office towers and luxury apartment buildings and a major airport expansion continues. For entertainment, many gravitate to Las Olas (?EUR??,,????'??the waves?EUR??,,????'??) Boulevard/Riverfront and Himmarshee Village. Las Olas Blvd. has trendy shops and dozens of restaurants. East Las Olas sidewalks are full of people seated at tables, noshing and imbibing. If you like perusing art galleries, this is also the place.

Water buses take you to and from hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, theaters, shops, marinas and beaches. A three-day consecutive pass, perfect for conventioneers, is $10; a single day pass is $5. Call (954) 467-6677.

One knowledgeable local, Patsy Mennuti, executive director of the Riverwalk Trust, reports there is always something going on along Riverwalk. For instance, one recent Sunday as she approached the western end of the park, she heard the sounds of gospel music and followed it up the hill to the source?EUR??,,????'??+Peck Courtyard at the Broward Center. She reports sitting and listening for an hour.

The Stranahan House (335 SE 6th Street, corner of Las Olas Blvd.) is the oldest structure in Broward County. It is restored to its 1913 configuration. Frank Stranahan established it as a trading post with the Seminoles and it was flourishing by 1895. It later served as post office, bank and town hall. Open Wed.-Sat. 10-3, Sun. 1-3.

Ms. Mennuti says the best kept secret in town is the River House Restaurant happy hours (Friday 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.), a spread of complimentary sushi and two-for-one drinks. On a recent TGIF she was there on the patio, shaded by oaks, watching the sunset, then ventured over to the Museum of Discovery & Science to watch the IMAX presentation, ?EUR??,,????'??Mystery of the Nile.?EUR??,,????'?? The Fort Lauderdale City Commission accepted a revised agreement in July for a $16 million expansion and renovation of the museum that will add a 27,000-square-foot environmental education center focusing particular attention on the Everglades.

On the A1A between Sheridan St. and Hollywood Blvd, the Hollywood Broadwalk is 3.5 miles long and lined with restaurants and shops. If you?EUR??,,????'???re with a handful of friends, you can rent a 6-person bicycle.

Most people you talk to who have been to Fort Lauderdale seem to really enjoy themselves. If you like water sports this is a great spot. Unlike southern California waters, the Atlantic at this latitude is quite comfortable to swim in and indulge in water sports. Some people complain of the humidity, but it feels great in the evenings to wear a short-sleeve shirt and be totally comfortable. In October, the temperatures drop to a comfortable range of 86 degree highs and 70 degree lows. The subtropical breezes that sway the palm fronds is among my favorite sights and sounds.

Passenger traffic at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is up 11 percent from last year. In March 2005, an FAA report ranked FLL the worst among the nation's top 35 airports in flight delays. Despite this, the county urged the FAA to stop flights on one runway to spare residents the noise, but the FAA said it needed all options. Curiously, a mid-July report from JD Power and Associates ranked FLL No. 5 in the world for customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports. Your flight may be delayed but you will be satisfied. If you have time on your hands you can partake of the new ZERO-G Experience based at the airport (no kidding). Watch your bags. A homeless man was recently arrested carrying two stolen bags and a stroller through the airport. Deputies think he swiped 10 bags. The new Rental Car Center is a four-million sq. ft., nine-level building. Levels 1-4 house the car rental agencies. The five upper levels are public parking.

The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, a good formula for putting aside for a brief time the obligations of work and your daily routine. Talk a walk along the miles of water front, eat a variety of food and refreshments, take in some sunshine and watch a few sunsets?EUR??,,????'??+something we could all benefit from doing more of back home. You?EUR??,,????'???ll soon enough be back to the office and reflect upon the nice, relaxed time you had in Lauderdale. Not exactly Spring break, perhaps, but not bad for adults with families, mortgages and car payments.

If Zeus is in an amiable mood we?EUR??,,????'???ll enjoy similar beach views during the convention. Hurricane Katrina on Fri. Aug. 26 dumped horizontal sheets of rain on Fort Lauderdale and 80 mph winds knocked trees over, killing one man in Fort Lauderdale and a man in nearby Plantation. The airport closed Thursday but reopened Friday morning. As we go to press, Monday, Aug. 29, Katrina grew into a category 5 hurricane, making landfall at 6. a.m. this morning in southeast New Orleans as a category 4 storm with winds of 140 mph.