Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida

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