January 17 - February 14, 2023: Our Trip to Ecuador
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This year, we planned to delay going to Florida until January 1, rather than late December as has been our practice. There were some things we needed to do after Christmas, and we also knew that Jay in Florida had not been feeling well, and we did not think that New Year's at their house would be good for him. So we left on the morning of New Year's Eve.

Midway between Shreveport and Lafayette, I began thinking there was something in my left eye, which has been wonky ever since my cataract surgery three years ago. The vision out of that eye continued to deteriorate as we passed through Baton Rouge and were heading east. By the time we reached Gulfport, I realized that we would have to return to Dallas; the eye was not getting better, it was getting worse. So we had dinner and stayed in Gulfport that night when I was finally able to contact my ophthalmologist's on-call doctor and arrange to see him on New Year's Day.

We arrived back in Dallas Sunday afternoon, and went immediately to Baylor Medical Center to meet the on-call ophthalmologist at his office. As it turned out, the problem was a water blister that had formed on my eye- a consequence of my age, my eye surgeries, and heredity. I got a prescription for an eye cream and drops.

At home after the appointment, we decided to wait a day or two before starting back out; I wanted to be able to see my own doctor, confirm the diagnosis, and make sure that I was good to go- not only to Florida but to Ecuador from there. I would be gone for seven weeks, and wanted reassurance that I wouldn't find myself in trouble somewhere. I got that reassurance, so we decided to relax for a day or two and start out again on January 4.

Getting to Fort Lauderdale

If you've been through more than a year or two of this photo album, you are undoubtedly familiar with our route to Florida. Years ago we used to fly, but that has gotten to be such a hassle (and a good deal more expensive) that now we drive. On most trips, this allows us to take all kinds of things with us- including our two youngest cats, Bob and Cole. But since we will be going back and forth to Ecuador from Fort Lauderdale this time, we have had to leave all four cats at home in the care of our long-suffering pet sitter/good friend, Lynne Richardson.

The trip is routine; we stop at the same places to eat and to stay- almost without exception. And it's an easy route, too. Getting out of Dallas is easy if a bit congested, sometimes. We usually leave about nine-thirty, and by ten or so are on I-20 heading east towards Shreveport. We usually turn southeast on I-49 about one in the afternoon, reaching Lafayette and I-10 east along about three-thirty. Baton Rouge can be very slow if we don't get through there by four-fifteen or so, and then it is another 90 minutes to get across Louisiana to the Mississippi border.

Mississippi and Alabama are an hour each, so we are heading east from Mobile about six-thirty or seven. This puts us north of Pensacola right about dinnertime about eight. After dinner, we have now developed the habit of continuing on to Tallahassee, ariving there about midnight.

We usually get away from the hotel in Tallahassee about nine or so for the 150-mile drive to Jacksonville, which we usually reach about noon. Then we take I-295 around Jacksonville to the south, going through Orange Park. This 14-mile stretch is kind of neat, mostly because of the long bridge that crosses the St. Johns River as it opens out into a large lake southwest of the city. (It narrows as it approaches and flows around downtown Jacksonville to eventually empty into the Atlantic.) I-295 connects up with I-95 south of the city and we simply take that south for another kind of boring 300 miles down to Fort Lauderdale. We usually get to the condo around 5PM, depending on traffic in Fort Lauderdale on I-95 (which can be horrendous).

We unloaded everything at the condo and the laptops all set up, and then retired to the dock for a celebratory frozen drink. Then, as is our custom, we headed down to the Floridian Restaurant for dinner. I wish we had transporter technology, but the drive is not a hard one- although sections of it can be boring.

We have been here to Florida so many times that we have pretty much photographed everything worthwhile anywhere nearby. The pictures we take now are just candid shots around the condo, at the dock or perhaps at an Art Fair or other event that occurs while we are here. So I've begun the practice of just grouping the pictures for these Florida trips by topic.

The Las Olas Art Fair

As it often does, our January visit here has corresponded with the Las Olas Art Fair, an event held three times a year (January, March and October) where Las Olas is blocked off and a whole bunch of art vendors set up booths along both sides of the street.

The Art Fair usually extends from the intersection by The Cheesecake Factory (located above the Kinney Tunnel that takes US 1 underneath the New River) right at downtown Fort Lauderdale four blocks east to the Colee Hammock canal that goes under Las Olas.

In January, 2021, the entire Art Fair was canceled, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But over the balance of that year, things slowly improved, and a scaled-down fair was held that October. A slightly larger one was held last January and now, a year later, things are pretty much back to normal.

So, the Fair was held this time while we were here, the weekend of January 8-9, and we went over to walk through it as we usually do. It is always interesting to see the wide variety of arts and crafts offered, and perhaps every other fair we end up buying something for ourselves or for a gift.

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As we have usually done, we walked the Art Fair route; we do this for at least a couple of reasons.

First, it is entirely possible that we might find something we haven't seen before, and something that justifies a purchase. I'm sure that between us we've bought at least a couple dozen things at these fairs over the years; some we've kept and others we've given as gifts. While many of the artists are the same from fair to fair, there are always new artists working in new media and doing new things, and we don't want to miss anything really neat.

The second reason is that when the weather is nice, as it was today, walking the fair is simply good fun. The art, the weather, and the people-watching combine for a pleasant experience. Watch the movie at left, and come along with us on a short portion of our walk through the fair today.

As you have probably seen on previous pages, the variety of artistic output on display at these Art Fairs is pretty incredible, and pictures don't really do it justice.

Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow

As we have often done at the Art Fair, we took pictures of whatever seemed interesting- or just colorful. At this particular fair, color seemed to be even more in evidence than usual, and I found lots of opportunities for picture-taking.

I've put my pictures from the Art Fair this weekend into a slideshow, to make it easy for you to flip through them at your own speed. To view the slideshow, just click on the image at left and I will open the slideshow in a new window. In the slideshow, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each image to move from one to the next, and the index numbers in the upper left of each image will tell you where you are in the series. When you are finished looking at the pictures, just close the popup window.

In addition to the movie above, showing us walking through the Art Fair, I did find one artist whose work seemed to call for a movie rather than a picture.

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The artwork in question was a variation of the old novelties you might find in a magazine or something. An printed image would have a think plastic covering, and the plastic would be ribbed, so that if you looked at the image from different angles, it would appear to move or change in some way. Here, the artist had done the same thing, but the effect was a change in the color of the picture elements depending on the angle from which they were viewed. I tried to capture the effect with my camera, and I took the movies at left and below.

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At Riverview Gardens

Of course we spend a lot of time around the condo at Riverview Gardens. It is tradition that on the day we arrive (which was the 6th of January this year) we have a celebratory frozen drink at the dock and then dinner at the Floridian. We did that again this trip:

Fred at the Dock

Me at the Dock

During our stay, we took other pictures of the boat traffic on the New River as it passed by Riverview Gardens. Here are some of those pictures:

Pictures of the boat traffic are good, but movies are a better way to experience what we see on a daily basis. Here are a couple that we took during this first part of our stay:

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On the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk

One activity that we engage in almost every time we are here is to walk from Riverview Gardens west along Southeast 4th Street to the beginning of the Riverwalk (which officially begins at Laura Ward Park over the Kinney Tunnel, but which can be accessed a few hundred feet earlier). Then we just stroll this amazing city feature- usually all the way to its western terminus near the Symphony Condominiums just past the Broward Performing Arts Center at River Bend. Here's an aerial view of the Riverwalk:

The Extent of the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk

As always, we usually take some pictures along these walks (and we walked along the Riverwalk twice during this stay in Florida). Here are a few pictures taken on our first walk on January 7.

This picture was taken near Old Fort Lauderdale, and looks back east down the New River.

Here is Fred at the waterside near the Science Museum at River Bend.

Pictures never do these walks justice, so I usually take a few movies as well:

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible) This short movie was taken a bit west of the Andrews Avenue Bridge, near a place called The Wharf- an outdoor area bounded by food trucks and bars. You can see some of the traffic on the river.

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible) This movie was taken a bit to the east, right underneath the Andrews Avenue Bridge. You can see that the bridge is up to allow some of the bigger boats to pass underneath.

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible) In this movie, we are walking back east towards the condo on the stretch of the Riverwalk between the Andrews Avenue and Third Street bridges.

Our second walk along the river was on the 15th, and, once again, we walked from the condo all the way to River Bend. And again, we took quite a few pictures along the way.

As I've said, the Riverwalk actually begins at Laura Ward Park over the Kinney Tunnel, but you can access it from one of the restaurants connected to the Riverside Hotel, which is what we usually do.

The picture at right shows me standing in the park-like area at the restaurant, and the view is upriver, with the Las Olas Grand the main building behind me. And in the picture below, you see Fred standing in this same park area, again looking upriver, but this time with the New River Landing complex in the background (on the south side of the river).

To get to the actual Riverwalk, one just takes a walkway through this little area, goes through a gate, and comes out at the Water Taxi stop at Laura Ward Park. Then there is a boardwalk taking you around the river side of the Stranahan House and past the outdoor bar and restaurant at the Icon Las Olas.

At left, we have walked past the Water Garden and are coming up to the 3rd Avenue Bridge. Just this side of it, a new, 48-storey condo tower is going up. When completed, it will be Fort Lauderdale's tallest building. Below, we have come under that bridge and walked around the River House condo building. You can see the Andrews Avenue bridge ahead of us. At right, we are approaching the Andrews Avenue bridge, which is raised to let tall yachts and sailboats pass. On some days, the bridge opens on a schedule; on other days it opens only when needed.

We've passed under the Andrews Avenue bridge, and looking upriver you can see yet another new condo tower going up on the river's south side (previously undeveloped), and in the distance you can see that the Florida East Coast Railway bridge over the New River is up.

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible) As we approached the railroad bridge, it came down to allow one of the Brightline commuter trains to pass over it, and I got to a good position just in time to make a movie.

Another of the newer skyscrapers in Fort Lauderdale is the Society Las Olas- so named because it offers "societal" living. When you rent in that building, you are actually renting bedroom and bath in a two- or three-bedroom unit. The leasing office tries to pair you with compatible "roommates", or you can pick your own. The units have small kitchens and a large common area, designed for younger residents who tend to eat out a great deal.

There are also exercise rooms, party rooms, and other common areas that can be reserved, which again caters to younger people. And the complex is right next door to the Wharf, which offers a convenient mixture of food trucks, bars, and areas where lots of people can congregate. We've walked through it before, and my guess is that the average age of all the people we saw was something under 30.

There are lots of businesses in downtown Fort Lauderdale that need entry-level employees, but on their salaries they can neither affort to live downtown or even drive in from outlying areas and try to park their cars. Society Las Olas is part of the effort that is being made to provide more affordable downtown living.

Our walks usually end up at River Bend, where the New River curves to the south in front of the Broward Performing Arts Center and the two towers of the Symphony Condominiums. The view below looks ahead to this area. At River Bend, which is in front of the Science Museum, there is a small park with a performance stage.

Work Proceeds Around the Kinney Tunnel Deck Park

On previous pages for our Florida trips, I've shown you the complete transformation that the skyline of downtown Fort Lauderdale has undergone over the years since we've been coming here. I won't repeat that here, but in this view from our living room window, you can see one of the newest buildings going up. It's construction has paralleled the renovations to the Kinney Tunnel and the new deck park being built on top of it. When topped out, it will be the tallest building in Fort Lauderdale, although that title won't last more than a year or two as a newer, 48-storey building is going up on the New River.

The deck park encompasses the previously existing Laura Ward Park, the area between the Riverside Hotel and the Icon Las Olas south of Las Olas, and the area north of Las Olas over the Kinney Tunnel. Essentially, a "roof" was put over the tunnel access, and that "roof" had to be sloped upward to the north so as to preserve the vertical clearance as Federal Highway descends into the tunnel itself.

In the pictures at left, the leftmost and middle pictures look north over the construction area, focusing on the new building going up right next to the tunnel entrance. I am not sure what this new residential building is going to be called. In the leftmost picture, the Riverside Hotel is the light green building to Fred's left (at right in the picture).

The rightmost picture is a view of the Icon Las Olas, on the other side of the new park area from the Riverside Hotel.

Now Those Are Nachos!

I just had to include a couple of pictures I took one evening when we went with Ron and Jay to Flanigan's Restaurant. Fred and I decided to try the nachos, as I had seen someone being served them on a previous visit here. They did not disappoint, and were more than the two of us could finish:

At the New Regal Cinema in Dania

Before he head down to Ecuador, Fred and I wanted so see "Avatar: The Way of Water", and we wanted to see it in 3D. So we decided to see it at the new Regal Theatre just south of the airport in Dania.

Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow

This new theatre in Dania was pretty amazing. There are a variety of theatres on the first level. These range from large to medium, with IMAX, 3D, and an experience that the theatre bills as "Premium", with special seats that can move to accentuate the viewer experience. As with most theatres, one enters the auditorium near the stage and then climbs up to his row.

For customers who might find this difficult, the theatre provides elevators that take patrons to a second level, which is essential a long hallway with entrances to each theatre at the very top row, thus giving patrons the option of walking down a few rows to their seats instead of climbing up. It is an interesting layout, and one that I had not seen before. Before our feature, I wandered through the lobby areas, our own auditorium, and this second-level hallway, taking pictures as I went. I have put these pictures in a slideshow.

To view the slideshow, just click on the image at left and I will open the slideshow in a new window. In the slideshow, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each image to move from one to the next, and the index numbers in the upper left of each image will tell you where you are in the series. When you are finished looking at the pictures, just close the popup window.

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I also made a movie in the lobby area, where I begin at the front entrance of the theatre, show you around the lobby, and then follow Fred to the auditorium for our movie. You can use the player at left to watch it.

We Leave for Ecuador

Our stay here in Florida will now be interrupted with our trip to Ecuador to move into our new house. On the evening of the 17th, we got Ron Drew to take us to the airport for our flight to Ecuador. So you can use the link below to go to the next photo album page- on which you will find our pictures from this month-long trip.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	January 17 - February 14, 2023: Our Trip to Ecuador
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