Since moving to Fort Lauderdale last year, Scott and I have enjoyed so many cool experiences. The warm weather allows us to be outside almost every weekend. Let’s look back on everything we did in our own back yard!
Our first month here
One thing you will learn about living in Fort Lauderdale, is that there is something to do every single weekend. You will not be bored. In May, we took the water taxi to the Los Olas Beach for an airshow over the beach!
We found a 9-hole golf course just a few miles from our home. While we didn’t see any gators, we did stumble upon some tortoises.
There is also no shortage of walking routes or restaurants!
Summer in Fort Lauderdale
June, July and August are definitely the hottest months here in Florida. In fact, twice we ventured out and I ended up getting very sick from heat stroke. I have learned my lesson and now we take better precautions.
We do miss hiking in the PNW, but we have found a number of parks with some pretty cool walking trails.
Our first venture of the summer was to the National Everglades Park to ride on jet boat and see some gators. That was a must do!
Being so close to the Florida Keys, we hopped in the car at the end of June and headed to Key Largo for a long weekend.
Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi
It is easy to get on the water, as Fort Lauderdale has a water taxi that cruises up and down the new river. We’ve taken this water taxi a number of times, including Christmas in July, Christmas Light Cruise and our trip to Hollywood.
Summer is only just starting
Hurricane season begins July 1st, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the outdoors. We had heard about a cool farmer’s market called the “Yellow Green Market“, so we had to check it out. It’s a site to see if you are in Fort Lauderdale.
Scott and I have seen some videos about Boca Inlet, so we headed north to check it out. The walk to the inlet was very long and hot. This is one of the days I got heat stroke. It was still a fun day! Here’s the video link of that day. Click here.
We’ve walked a number of times to the Los Olas Beach, which is about a 5 mile round trip from our home. Making this journey in July was brutal!
One morning, Scott and I decided to get up at dawn and watch the sunrise. That was pretty cool!
Summer went by fast for us. For two weekends in August, I was on an epic work trip traveling on a 76 yacht in the Exumas, Bahamas. After that trip, we spent most weekends, laying by the pool.
Fall in Florida
There’s a joke on the internet that Fall in most places is full of beautiful leaves and Florida is simply one palm leaf on the ground. We do miss the changes in seasons, but on the other hand, we love that we did so much this past Fall.
We started September, with another trip to the Florida Keys, this time to Duck Key.
Since September is the peak of hurricane season, we didn’t venture far after Duck Key. Instead, we took advantage of the great weather and enjoyed the scenery in Fort Lauderdale.
During September, when Hurricane Ian hit the west coast, Fort Lauderdale experienced a King Tide that flooded many docks and roadways in downtown.
Staying close to home in September, we drove up to Lauderdale by the Sea. This town is just 15 minutes north of us. It is a very cute town with a beautiful beach and plenty of great restaurants. Sadly, the Angler’s Pier was badly damaged when Hurricane Nicole hit the east coast just a week later.
The year is not over
With three months left in the year, we still had plenty of weekends to explore. October was taken up by FLIBS – Fort Lauderdale Int’l Boat Show. We did walk to the show the weekend before it opened, to check out the super yacht docks.
It seemed like every weekend in November had a festival. The month kicked off with the Day of the Dead festival. Downtown Fort Lauderdale closed off the streets, brought in food trucks, mobile bars and hosted a parade.
The following weekend we headed up to Palm Beach for the Luke Bryan concert. It was so nice, being at an outdoor concert in November! Plus, there was no shortage of bars!
The next weekend, Downtown Fort Lauderdale hosted their first Mutts and Martinis festival. We met some great vendors and Scott was selected to be a judge for the cutest dog contest.
As Thanksgiving was approaching, we decided to enjoy our long holiday weekend aboard Royal Caribbean. It was our first ever cruise on a large cruise ship and since it was just a 3-day trip to the Bahamas, we decided to check it out.
Christmas in Florida
Our close friends Ben and Maria flew in from Seattle to join us in Key West at the start of December. Key West knows how to do Christmas. We highly recommend heading that way.
Downtown Fort Lauderdale didn’t disappoint either. As we mentioned earlier in the blog, we took a water taxi cruise to see the holiday lights, plus we enjoyed Winterfest. Winterfest is Fort Lauderdale’s Holiday Boat Parade and it is a big deal here!
Scott and I were supposed to fly back to Seattle on December 23rd, but due to weather our flight was cancelled. Ironically, Christmas Eve was brutally cold here at about 38 degrees with the windchill factor. So we decided to walk to the Los Olas Beach and check it out. While it was nice that it wasn’t 90 degrees, it was brutally cold!
So much to see and do in South Florida
This has certainly been a year filled with experiences and amazing memories. Since moving here, we have yet to see a manatee, whale or a dolphin. But we have seen plenty of other critters and wildlife.
Whether you are visiting or moving to Fort Lauderdale, know that there is plenty to see and do. Scott and I are looking forward to 2023 and we’re excited to see where our adventures take us this year.
As always, thank you for following our blog. Be sure to subscribe and also follow our YouTube Channel (link below). You can follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Cheers, Scott and Ally
