Dinner Saturday night at the Blue Moon Fish Company was excellent.  Elaine had scallops.  I had grouper.  I had grouper twice this trip and both times it was excellent.  As an appetizer I had six HUGE Willapa oysters from Washington State.  Very sweet.  I wanted Blue Points from Connecticut, but they were out of them.

Sunday Morning Cribbage Update:  Lino, on a high based on her first win on Saturday, was ready to kick ass.  Alas, she got skunked!  For those cribbage aficionados, twice I held a 4-5-5-6, and both times a 6 was cut.

The weather on Sunday was much improved.  We had a session at the Village Pump with some appetizers.  Dinner was pre-made sandwiches from Publix with chips and beverage of choice as we watched the Patriots’ special teams get embarrassed by the Eagles in Foxboro.  The Pats should pay us not to go to Florida and watch games at the Beachside Village Resort.  They are now 0-3 in games that we watched there.

Sunday morning we were up at four dark thirty for our drive to the airport and our 7 am flight home on American.  The flight was uneventful, we arrived thirty minutes early, and our driver was waiting.  We were home by 10:45 am.

Next scheduled trip:  UK and Ireland in May and then maybe Depoe Bay, Oregon and Crater Lake in September.  Meanwhile, Elaine has a trip to Viet Nam in the works with our friend Mianne for late in February, and perhaps I’ll post some pics from that trip after she returns in early March.

THURSDAY

Cribbage:  Joe wins again.  Ho hum.

Sultry weather.  Humid with off and on showers.  The boys did an afternoon session at the Village Pump.  Nothing much exciting.  I have a bad head cold, and today was my low point day.  At night everyone (except me) went out to the Ambry for German food. Elaine and I hjave been going there for over thirty years.  I missed it as I hit the sack early with a bottle of NyQuil.

A Pump Session

Sunrise

Again

Lino on the Hopper Bus

German Food at the Ambry

More

FRIDAY

Cribbage:  Joe wins close game!

Weather = RAIN.  Steady and heavy.  Record rainfall for the area.  Since the BVR has a cocktail party with food on Friday nights, we decided on a nice lunch.  Everyone met up at Shooters on the Intercoastal, not far from the hotel.  Very good food.  I had an excellent cheeseburger, and the cape codders were delicious.  The cocktail party was not a roaring success like last Friday:  less people, less food, but plenty of alcohol.

Sue and Larry Awaiting Happy Hour

John, Paula, and Willsey

The Blue Light Tree by the Pool

Elaine and John

The Bar at Happy Hour with Matt the Bartender

The Christmas Tree at the BVR Office

SATURDAY

Cribbage:  Lino breaks out with her first win; whining ceases temporarily.  Last game tomorrow.

Sue and Larry left this morning for their ride home to Estero on the other Florida coast.  The rest of us ventured to Gulfstream Park for the opening day of their championship meet.  The girls hit all the shops – there are lots!  Lino won money on a slot machine in the casino.  I was shutout at Gulfstream but managed to hit a race at Aqueduct and one at Tampa, so it wasn’t a total disaster.  We got free Gulfstream pens and calendars which we plan on giving to the hotel staff.

Saturday dinner will be in a little while at the Blue Moon Fish Company.  A report on that tomorrow, our last full day in LBTS.  We fly home at dawn on Monday.

The Pegasus Statue at Gulfstream Park

 

Wednesday

Pretty boring day.  Relax.  Go for food.  Nap.  Relax.  Go for dinner.  I have a pretty bad head cold but am surviving on aspirin and vodka.  Weather was mixed: periods of nice sun, lots of showers, some of which were deluges.

Cribbage update: Joe beats Lino for sixth straight time, now up $35.  Lino is not happy.  But she wins money playing Quiddler with the girls.

John and Lino were going on a hotel search for their February vacation.  They prefer to down around 17th Street rather than way up here in LBTS.  So Sue, Larry, Elaine, and I headed north (not far) to Lighthouse Point for lunch at Nauti-Dawg’s Marina Cafe.  Great location and we sat on the water at the marina.  Beer and wine only, but great food and the sangria was nice.  Larry: Chili Dog; Sue: Fish Sandwich; Elaine: Fish Tacos; Moi: Shrimp Po Boy.  All excellent!   On the drive back we almost had to pull over, the rain was so heavy.  But it had stopped when we got back, and we had cocktails in our cabana by the pool.

At night Sue and Larry were venturing up to Deerfield Beach to meet two of Larry’s nephews for dinner.  Paula and Ma Wills are now holed up in Paula’s condo, about 1.5 miles up the road.  John and Lino met up with them at the world famous (self proclaimed)  Parrot Lounge, and Elaine and I drove down to join them for cocktails.  Then four us, minus Paula and Willsey, who were intent on drinking (like we are not, eh), went to Franko and Vinny’s’s Pizza Shack on Sunrise Boulevard for dinner.  Again, only beer and wine so we shared a carafe of CGR with dinner.  (5 points if you know what CGR is – answer below pictures).  I forget what everyone had, but I had a cup of delicious pasta figioli and then sausages with peppers and onions for ten people.  There were doggie bags.

Then it was back top the BVR for night caps in our cabana before bed.

Sue & Larry at the Natuti-Dawg

The Marina at the Nauti-Dawg

Puzzler Answer:  C=cheap; G=derogatory term for Italians; R=red

Tomorrow is another day.  Lino is determined to win the cribbage game.  Stay tuned.

Cribbage:  Ho him, Joe beats Lino again.

Helped Paula move into her condo which she rents for four months.

Drinks and Lunch at Sands Harbor Patio & Bar on the Inter-coastal.

Dinner was a cookout at the hotel:  sausages, burgers, chips, slaw, etc.  Delicious!

Pictures (Click to Enlarge)

 At the Village Pump, LBTS

Revelry at the Pump 

Drink Up Girls & Boys

Mike & Carla, the Pump Bartenders

Joe & the BVR Golf Cart (They Do Bar Pickups!)

Wedding on the Beach

Beers and Cape Codders at Sands Harbor

A Friend Visits

The Inter Coastal Canal

At Sands Harbor

Our Cabana at BVR

MONDAY

Nice warm day with the odd shower.  Quiet.  No Enterprise Happy Girls encounters.

Cribbage tournament day three:  Joe beats Lino again.  Ho hum.  Up $20.

Hotel Characters:

• Joan from Arlington/Dennisport – she stays here alone from November 1 to May 1.  At the Friday night social her seat at the bar is reserved with a dish of olives in front of it.  She’s quite a character.
• Roberto – he has worked here for 12 years, five years longer than the owner, Dave, has owned it.  Roberto is here at 4:30 am and one responsibility is to get the coffee urn ready.  He’s a nice guy.
• Dan from Indianapolis – he’s a sportswriter for some paper or other and he likes to talk.  And he brings food gifts constantly: donuts every morning, fried chicken for the football game, chocolates at night around the pool, etc.  He leaves today but promised me a donut every morning.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he arranged for it to be delivered.
• Joe McGonagle, a guest, the state representative from Everett, MA.  He’s Irish but has never been to Ireland and claimed his family owns McGonagle’s Bar, the northernmost bar in  Ireland.  Oops, he picked the wrong guy to impress.  Elaine and I have been to the northernmost bar in Ireland, the Farren Bar at Malin Point.  He wouldn’t believe me until I brought it up on my cell phone.
• There are more, too!

Lunch was at 101 Ocean Restaurant, a block off the beach.  They have good food.  Six of us sat the outdoor bar and ate (and, of course, drank).  One Pina Colada and three IPA’s for me.  Elaine is on Cape Codders.

Dinner, after a debate and a snippy encounter (by phone) with the hostess at Koluz was at Chuck’s Steak House.  I had low expectations, but it was quite good.  Elaine had coconut shrimp while I enjoyed a good New York Strip.  Most had the salad bar; I opted for a good Caesar Salad.  Service was excellent, and the bill including tip for eight was just $280.

More pictures next time.  Until then, peace.

SATURDAY

It is day one of the Lino and Joe Cribbage Tournament.  We are playing one game of cribbage each day for $5, $10 for a skunk.  And if you get skunked, you have drink a shot of some disgusting liquor that Lino brought with her.  Friday result:  Joe wins, up $5.

The car saga continued.  Today  drove Lino & John back to enterprise to finally get a car.  Lo and behold, the Happy Girls (Rachel and Olivia) were there.  “Good news!  We have cars on the way – be here any minute!”  I left them there.  After an hour they had a car for Lino – a Traverse SUV.  Way too big for her to be driving.  They did have a Hyundai Elantra but it had a tire problem.  “Oh, we’ll just send it down to our tire guy and it will be right back!”  It was back another hour later, and they finally left Enterprise.  They caught up with at the Village Pump in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (LTBS).

The boys (John, Larry, & me) spent the afternoon at the Pump where we were over-served.  Willsey and Paula joined us a bit later.  The other girls (Elaine, Sue, and Lino were at the pool playing Quidller.

Quiet day food wise.  We skipped breakfast, had various snacks for lunch, and had sandwiches delivered to the hotel pool for dinner.

SUNDAY

Elaine and I went for an early breakfast at Country Ham & Eggs in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (LBTS).  It’s only a short walk away.  Good to eat a real meal again.  Sunday centered around watching the Cardinal and Patriot games.

Cribbage Tournament:  Joe skunks Linda, now up $15.  And Lino has a shot to drink.

We watched the games poolside.  We had fried chicken, slaw, beans, and garlic bread delivered after the Cardinal game.  The Cardinals did great even though the game was not great.  As the evening passed into night Patriot gloom settled over us, not so much about losing a game (which is good in the long run) but about the Gronk injury.  Things are not looking good in Patriot Land.  Oh, and watching Sunday night football is definitely more enjoyable in Scottsdale so you can go the bed at 10:00 pm rather than midnight.

Sunrise at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (LBTS)

The Entrance to the Beach

The Beach

The Fishing Pier

Elaine and Friend

The Christmas Tree is Up

The Girls (Lino in front; Elaine, Willsey, & Paula in the rear)

Plotting Fried Chicken Deliveries

 

THURSDAY

Welcome to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida.

Easy flight on American Airlines from PHX to FLL.  Nice French toast meal in first class.  No drinks!  (Well, they had drinks, but we did not partake – Are we getting old?)  Arrived fifteen minutes early at 3:45 pm,  got our luggage, met our limo driver, and we were at the Beachside Village Resort by 4:30 pm.  Three of our friends were already checked in, so we all sat around the pool and imbibed with their alcohol.

At 6:00 pm we walked down the road for our planned and reserved Thanksgiving dinner at the Sea Watch Restaurant.  As we entered, disaster appeared imminent – the place was jammed and we had to wait.  But it all worked out fine.  We had a great server, and the food was delicious.  Everyone had the famous Sea Watch conch fritters for an appetizer.  Some had the special Thanksgiving dinner, but I opted for the bouillabaisse (which was superb).  Then it was home to bed.

FRIDAY

John, Lino, & Willsey flew down together and had opted to wait until Friday to pick up their car.  I had done the same.  So begins the great Friday car pick up adventure.  Lino and I took a cab to my rental place (Avis) from where I would drive her to get her car.  As an aside, I didn’t take my phone (mistake!) and Lino’s phone was at 5% battery.  She quickly looked up the address for her rernatl car location before her battery died.

So, we are at Avis, the cab has departed, and they don’t have my SUV.  They are getting one but it will take an hour or so.  Phones are dead, so we can’t call anyone to tell them we’ll be longer than expected.  Anyway, they loan me a dinky car until mine comes it, and we set off for Lino’s car pickup spot (25 minutes away).  No GPS for this car.  We get to her Enterprise rental location and cannot find it.  We circle continuously but cannot find it.  So we go to a 7-11 to ask.  No help.  But Lino buys a car charger for her i-Phone and we charge it up.  Siri is no help finding the Enterprise location.  Finally I pull in the hotel near the address and Lino asks the bellman.  Lo and hotel, the Enterprise location is there, hidden and impossible to see from the road.

So in we go to meet the Enterprise Happy Girls, the two desk attendants.  “Oh, hi, great to see you.  Oh, you have a reservation.  Great!”  All smiles.”  Then, “Oh, we have no cars right now but we getting some soon!”  Ok, we ask, how long will it be?  “Oh, we have no idea, it should be soon, most likely today.  You are welcome to wait!”  So Lino tells them to call her when the car is ready.  (They do, in fact, call four hours later).

So it’s back to Avis again.  My SUV is indeed almost ready, just being washed.  We get it (with GPS) and head back to the hotel.  I cannot get the outdoor mirrors to adjust, but I finally manage it so we can avoid rear end collisions.  We get back to the hotel four hours from when we left with one car instead of two.

So we all pile into the one car (thank goodness it’s a large SUV) and head to Publix Market to stock up the rooms with beer, liquor, mixers, and snacks.  Then, totally famished, we go the Ocean Manor Beach Bar for some appetizers and drinks.  And then it is back to the hotel for the traditional Thursday night meet-and-greet at the hotel – free pizza, sandwiches, salad, other odd appetizers, and full open bar from 5:00 – 7:00.  The pizza is delicious, the drinks are excellent (and free), and a good time is had by all.  The open bar is still going at 8:00 when we do last call.

Meanwhile, Willsey’s friend Paula has arrived, and we all sit around chatting about the old days and all the stupid things (most involving copious amounts of alcohol) that we used to do.  Seems like we are just adding to the lore.  At last, bed.  It felt like 3:00 am but it was 9:30 pm.

Some pics of the hotel.  (Click to Enlarge)  People pics in next post.

Our Chariot

One of Two Pools

The Dennisport Room – Our Home

The Pool Area – One of Two

Our Kitchenette

Our Bedroom