November 23-27: Thanksgiving in San Antonio
	September 4-22, 2022: A Trip to Fort Lauderdale
	Return to the Index for 2022

We wanted to work in one more trip to Florida this fall, and the only time to do it was in early November, before the Holiday Season got going. Our visas for Ecuador are moving along, and we can now tentatively plan our first trip down there to the new house in mid-January, so this is the only time we have to make the trip.

As these trips to Florida have become so commonplace, I will again just divide this page by topic, pretty much regardless of when the picture was taken.

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, and so you might just as well skip to the next section. Since we started bringing cats with us, we have been driving down, although years ago (BC- Before Cats) we used to fly, we so much like bringing a cat or two that we've eschewed that for quite a while. This time, we are, as usual, bringing our two youngest cats, Bob and Cole. Both of them are good travelers, and we thought they should keep each other company.

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. Typically leaving Dallas around 9, by about 10 we 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 on a weekday (like today), and then it is another 90 minutes to get across Louisiana to the Mississippi border. Traffic was not particularly bad today, so we kept on schedule.

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. There is a Red Roof Inn there that is pet-friendly (allows them and doesn't charge extra for them.)

If we leave Tallahassee about nine 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).

Bob and Cole are good travelers; each will wander around the car a bit and then curl up somewhere and sleep. I like it when they come up front, and it is especially nice when they will stay in one lap or the other for a while. As the driver, I'm OK with that; I just try to ignore them and concentrate on the road.

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.

Boat Traffic on the New River (Installment 55)

Believe it or not, this is actually the 55th section of pictures we have taken of boat traffic going up and down the New River. What this means is that we have been down here in Florida 55 times- counting only those occasions when pictures of boats were taken. This was probably most of the trips, but far from all of them. So I, at least, have come down here at least 55 times in the last 30 years and taken pictures of the boats. That's a lot of trips, any way you slice it.

On this trip, we simply didn't watch the boats that much, and the only picture we thought to take was of this large cabin cruiser heading downriver on one of the nights we were sitting at the dock having a drink in the warm evening air.

A Tug Operation on the River (Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

Actually, there was one other boat that went by, but we didn't see it going by at the dock but rather during one of our walks along the Riverwalk west of the condo.

I thought I would stop where I was and make a movie of the boat being shepherded past my position by a couple of tugs. Most boats this size get a "tug assist" up and down river, not because the boat is incapacitated but rather because even experienced captains don't want to take the chance that some yahoo in a much smaller boat isn't going to yield, or is going to do something the big boat captain can't react to in time.

And there are certainly a lot of yahoos on the New River.

The New Kinney Tunnel Deck Park: An Update

NOTE:
What follows is a section called "Background to the Project". It is a repetition of information on the Deck Park Project- a bit of the history and what the park is to look like that has appeared on any earlier "Florida Trip" pages where we took pictures of the progress of the project. If you have already read this information, please scroll down to the next subsection entitled "Project Update".

Background to the Project

When we were here last October, work had begun on the new deck park that is being constructed over the Kinney Tunnel and the northern approah to it. Essentially, the area between the point where Las Olas goes over the Kinney Tunnel (that carries US 1/Federal Highway under the New River) and the river itself will be transformed.

Here is an aerial view of the area between the Riverside Hotel and the Icon Las Olas, and the New River and Federal Highway heading north out of the Kinney Tunnel. The view looks north, and shows the area as it was about a year ago, before work began on the Kinney Tunnel Top Park Project.

Driving south on Federal Highway from Broward Boulevard, the street descends quickly over two blocks to enter the Henry Kinney Tunnel under the New River. Just as you enter the tunnel, Las Olas is over your head. Up on Las Olas, there has always been an ugly concrete wall on the north side of the street to keep people from accidently (or on purpose) dropping anything onto the roadway below (or falling onto it). South of Las Olas, SE 4th Street curved south and east from Las Olas to go through the Riverside Hotel (actually going under part of the parking garage) and then on eastward to our condo.

Between that street and the Cheesecake Factory, there were some planters and an outside eating area for the restaurant. This is also where the commemorative brick we placed for Ty Ferel and Scott Dole is located. Between 4th Street and the New River is the Laura Ward Plaza- basically an open area with a kind of ugly ventilation shaft from the tunnel below right in the middle of it.

Ever since the Icon Las Olas went up, there has been a movement to try to do something more with this whole area. First, everyone wanted to beautify it; where Las Olas crosses over the tunnel entrance is a particular eyesore. Also, new buildings are going up just west of Federal Highway, and these, as well as the existing buildings, have a particularly unattractive view of Federal Highway's descent into the tunnel.

But to do anything really significant, there had to be more space, and the only way to get it would be to essentially cover over 100 feet or so of the sloping highway. But if just a flat "roof" were put over the roadway, there would not be enough clearance for many trucks that use the tunnel.

At right is the concept plan for the finished Kinney Tunnel Top Park. It also looks north, like the aerial view above, from a vantage point just over the New River. Laura Ward Plaza is in the foreground, and you can see that the ventilation structure has been hidden with sculpture and foliage. You can see a red car, which I assume is on SE 4th St., just going through the Riverside Hotel, which is the building at right.

The greenery along the Riverside Hotel about halfway back is where the existing outside eating area for the Cheesecake Factory Restaurant is; I assume that area will return when construction is done. A bit further back, Las Olas crosses through this new park, and then there is the 100-foot section of new deck. This deck, incidentally, slopes up as it extends north, thus increasing the vertical clearance for high vehicles using the Kinney Tunnel. There appears to be more sculpture in the distance, on this new deck, perhaps also concealing another ventilation structure.

This is certainly an ambitious plan, and I will admit I am not at all sure that what we end up with will look like this, but I have to say that almost anything would be an improvement.

Project Update

Well, this isn't going to be much of an update, as we've only been gone from Fort Lauderdale for a month or so, but we went over to the area on a couple of occasions to see what was going on.

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

While I took a few pictures today, I think that if all you do is have a look at the movie I made, you'll get up to date with the progress so far. The movie was taken from a point above and just west of the tunnel; I was standing beside Las Olas Boulevard. The movie pans around the entire area so you'll see it all.

Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow

As for the rest of the pictures we took, you may or may not find them interesting, so I will put them in a slideshow that you can skip by if you care to. The pictures show various aspects of the project (and a couple of them show me making the film above).

If you want to have a look at the slideshow of the still photos we took today at the deck park construction site, just click on the image at right 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.

I did also take one panoramic view of the project looking north:

Bob and Cole in Fort Lauderdale

We brought Bob to Fort Lauderdale for the first time in 2016, when he was just a kitten. He came with his sister, Tobisina, who now belongs with Nancy Gleim. In 2017, Bob traveled to Florida with Zack, our snowshoe Siamese. Lucky and Tiger were getting a bit big to make the trip. By late in the year, Zack had reached his limit of trips back and forth to Florida, so we were bringing Bob by himself. In May, 2018, Fred brought home two more kittens from his Mom's house- another one for Nancy and, as it turned out, another one for us. This was Cole, an all-black male kitten, and he took the place in our house and our hearts that Tyger left when we had to put him to sleep due to a cancer on his face.

Anyway, since then, Bob and Cole (who are actually uncle and nephew) have been coming with us to Florida pretty consistently. They get along well, sleep most of the time they are in the car, and keep us company in Fort Lauderdale. We also bring them because taking care of FOUR cats is a strain on Lynne, our pet sitter. She does a fantastic job, and we don't want to overload or lose her!

I used to take a good many pictures of Bob and Cole when we brought them along, but this time we didn't. The only pictures were of Cole; not because Bob is any the less photogenic than he usually is (he is a very handsome, classic-looking cat) but because Cole has developed a pose the is too funny.

I don't know how he does it, but Cole can lay upside down, in the middle of the floor, on his back, with all four paws up in the air- and he can actually doze off that way without falling over. I have never seen a cat do that before. Lucky and Bob will both lie upside down, but only if they are propped up by something- the back of a sofa or chair, for instance.

But as you can see, Cole seems perfectly balanced and again I confess I don't know how he manages it. Of course, I am also reliably informed that when a cat lays on his back with his belly exposed, it is a sign of trust. If that's true, then Cole's trust level seems pegged scale high.

The other picture I took of Cole this time isn't particularly unusual. All cats seem to have their favorite places to curl up; you've seen many pictures of Bob curled up on the seat of the recumbent bike when I'm not using it. Cole hasn't really had a spot of his own- at least not until the last few trips down here.

There's a little plastic table behind my chair, and I have taken to putting my laptop bag on when we're here. It is on top of that bag that Cole curls up. The first time he curled up there, Fred and I thought he had gotten out of the apartment, because we didn't notice the black cat atop the black bag. But now it's the first place we look. Here are a picture and a little movie of Cole in his now-favorite spot:

The Amazing Transformation of Downtown Fort Lauderdale

I must admit that every time we go out for a walk either along the Riverwalk or through downtown, I am impressed yet again with the transformation that has occurred in this city since Grant and I bought the Riverview Gardens condo in 1990. Although Grant did not live long enough to see just how much the city has changed, he should know that the growth of Fort Lauderdale has justified many times over the purchase of the condo originally.

It is in the area along the New River between basically the condo and Sailboat Bend (about a mile) where the most obvious development has taken place. This area has sprouted highrises all up and down the river and in the few blocks either side of it. Highrises are creeping east, as well. Four or five new ones have gone up in Beverly Heights (our neighborhood) between Federal Highway and SE 8th Ave (we are just east of SE 9th Ave), and now a new 17-story condo will be going up just a few hundred feet west of us, and a new mid-rise hotel on Las Olas just north of us.

So, development is creeping our way. Perhaps one day some developer will approach our condo board with an offer to buy everyone out. We have a great piece of property, and for comparison, one of the newest highrises (40+ stories) sits on a piece of property smaller than ours. Maybe that will happen, but for now, the city is unrecognizable from what it was in 1990, when the tallest buildings in town were ten and fifteen stories- the SunTrust building and the Templeton building.

Today, we took a walk through downtown and along the river, ending up near Sailboat Bend. Let me just show you some views of Fort Lauderdale and some of its newest structures as we work our way west.

To begin, we've walked from the condo west along Las Olas and are standing just west of the deck park construction. The view at the far left looks west along Las Olas. Only one of the buildings in that picture was here in 1990- the large building at right with the pyramidal shape on top. That is the former SunTrust building, and the pyramid is lit up at night in colors befitting the seasons and holidays. The picture at the near left is a new residential highrise going up right on Federal Highway, on the west side, just north of the tunnel. It, of course, is not completed yet.

In the picture at right, I have turned to look northeast at the Amaray Apartments, a building completed five or six years ago. None of the other buildings poking up behind the trees are more than a few years old, either.

We crossed back over to the south side of the street to walk past the Icon Las Olas. This highrise has a couple of restaurants on its ground floor, and both of them had been decorated for Halloween.

From the Las Olas side of the Icon, we walked down the side street to the Riverwalk. This view looks southwest across the river at some of the new condos and apartments there.

We walked a short distance west along the river to the 3rd Avenue Bridge. There, just west of the bridge, is the brand new Alluvion apartment tower- at 43 floors the tallest residential building in the city.

From approximately the same position, I have turned to look back east, and that is the 32-floor Watergarden condominium building, now almost 20 years old.

Still standing at the same position, I am looking north into downtown; you can see that yet another building is going up in the nearground. None of the skyscrapers you see here were in existence in 1990.

We walked under the 3rd Avenue bridge and continued past the Alluvion. Then I stopped to take this view that looks southeast across the river at Nu River Landing, an 26-story apartment/condo complex that was the first major residential highrise south of the river, built in 2008.

From our last position, we continued west along the Riverwalk, past Huizenga Park, and then took pictures before and after going under Andrews Avenue at some of the new construction south of the river.

This view looks southwest at two very new buildings south of the river on Andrews Avenue. Closest to us is the New River Yacht Club Tower I at 401 S. Andres Avenue, a 27-story apartment tower (built in 2015). Beyond it is The Regatta, another luxury apartment tower, also about 25 floors built in 2017.

Going under Andrews Avenue and walking past the site of the old Briny Pub (now Rivertail Restaurant) we can see that across the river to the west the new 36-story New River Yacht Club Tower II is rising steadily. This will be a huge complex, and the tallest building south of the river.

Walking just a bit further on, we stopped short of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks to take some more pictures. The most interesting building in this area is Society Las Olas, on the north side of the river right by the railway tracks. It is a new concept; instead of renting an entire apartment, residents can choose to be paired with one, two, or three other compatible people who will then share a two-, three- or four-bedroom apartment. Some of the units have full kitchens, but many of them, designed for young residents who prefer to eat out, have abbreviated cooking facilities. Right next door is The Wharf, which is essentially a collection of ten or twelve food-truck-size eateries and a common open area for eating, drinking, and socializing. It's not my thing, but it does make downtown living much more affordable for those just starting out.

This is Society Las Olas, an entirely new concept in downtown living here in Fort Lauderdale.

Here is another view of the New River Yacht Club Tower I.

And here again is New River Yacht Club Tower II going up beside the FEC Railway.

Now we are going to head back to the condo, but instead of following the Riverwalk, we will go just past Rivertail Restaurant and then walk a block north to Las Olas, and then turn east again.

As we were passing Rivertail Restaurant, I stopped to take a picture looking east that will show you to more of downtown Fort Lauderdale's major high-rise buildings. That picture is at left.

Las Olas River House (the greenish buildings at right in the distance) is a 42-story residential skyscraper. It was completed in 2004, and stood as the tallest building in Ft. Lauderdale until The Icon on Las Olas overtook it in late 2017. The structure is a complex created by three adjoining buildings; two duplicate 42-story towers, and one 34-story tower.

To the left of Las Olas River House is the Hyatt Centric Hotel Fort Lauderdale. Completed just last year, it is currently Fort Lauderdale's tallest building with 46-floors. It will lose its title sometime next year when New River Yacht Club Tower II, tops out. (I might mention that approval has been granted and funding secured for a new mixed-use tower that will become Fort Lauderdale's tallest- if it is actually built.)

Above, right are the last two pictures we took on this particular walk. The leftmost of those two pictures is again the Hyatt Centric Hotel. Actually, the building is officially known as 100 East Last Olas, and the Hyatt occupies only two thirds of the structure. The remainder are condominiums. The rightmost picture is a new office tower simply known as 101 South Third Avenue; it was completed in 2020 and has 24 floors.

As you can see, Fort Lauderdale is, to put it mildly, booming. So much so that business reporters in South Florida have begun referring to it as either "The New Miami" or simply "Miami North". As I said, if this continues, properties like Riverview Gardens can only increase in value, and if "downtown" ever leaps across Federal Highway the entire Beverly Heights neighborhood could look like downtown one day.

One reason that our own property might fall to a developer is that a highrise on our land would have unobstructed views all the way to the ocean from as low as the fifth floor- something not possible in any of the downtown buildings. And the views to the north and south would also be unobstructed. This might not last forever, of course, but I think it would be a long, long time.

A Few Miscellaneous Pictures

We went out for a few other walks while we were here, but nothing focused or extensive. So in this section, I'll just put some of the pictures we took on those various excursions.

When we walk over to Las Olas, we go between two buildings where is a row of seahorse fountains. You've probably seen them before.

There is a lot of money in Fort Lauderdale, and the Bentleys and Rolls Royces are much in evidence. Fun vehicles like this one are seen pretty frequently as well.

Las Olas is the Rodeo Drive of Fort Lauderdale, with lots of little shops. Here is a typical street scene on the boulevard. It's the middle of the day and there aren't many people about.

On one Sunday, we walked along the Riverwalk to Old Fort Lauderdale where on the first Sunday of each month they have a farmer's market and craft fair. Here are a few pictures (and a movie) of that event:

There is one final miscellaneous picture for this section this time. On our third day here, we met Ron and Jay at the Olive Garden; on greeting, each got a hug- not only because we hadn't seen them in some time, but because they weren't feeling well the first two nights of this trip. A day later I had a scratchy throat, and the same day Ron told me the two of them had been to their doctor and had tested positive for Covid-19. So I took the test. Here is the result.

Fortunately, my doctor was able to get a prescription for Paxlovid to me in Florida, and even before the 5-day course of treatment was over, my symptoms were gone. Fred never came down with it, and as I write this, six months later, still has not.

The Trip Home

We left Fort Lauderdale on November 13th, and as usual got home the afternoon of the day after. Except when we stop for gas or dinner, the cats can roam around the car, although they spend most of their time asleep in their carriers. On the way home we took one picture and one movie worth including here.

There's More to Prime

Coming up I-95, maybe 100 miles north of Fort Lauderdale, we must have passed an Amazon fulfilment center for suddenly the road was filled with their delivery vehicles. Although, with the number of packages they deliver daily, maybe this is not such an uncommon sight.

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

The stretch of I-10 from Jacksonville to Tallahassee is pretty boring, but it does have a kind of interesting beauty as the highway is often lined with thick trees, kind of cocooning you in. And in the afternoon light, it's kind of pretty.

So as we were driving along, I held my phone up and made a movie showing a few minutes of this leisurely driving. You can use the movie player at left to watch my film.

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

	November 23-27: Thanksgiving in San Antonio
	September 4-22, 2022: A Trip to Fort Lauderdale
	Return to the Index for 2022