Saturday, December 17th - lay day in Fort Lauderdale

Each day spent in Fort Lauderdale makes it more difficult to think about leaving.  We are being spoiled by the amenities of the City, the support of friends and convenient access to interesting events ashore.

[caption id="attachment_2376" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk"][/caption]

Today is a delightful day to tour the City by bicycle.  Our first stop is for breakfast at the Floridian, a local Las Olas landmark with a relaxed atmosphere reminiscent of a 1970s-style coffeehouse.  Further west on Las Olas, we cycle along the downtown Riverwalk where pleasure boats and restaurants line the New River.  The downtown office district is empty today, which makes it easy to navigate the city streets. 

[caption id="attachment_2375" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Occupy Fort Lauderdale protest march on Las Olas Boulevard"][/caption]

The retail district of Las Olas Boulevard, however, is snarled with traffic and holiday shoppers.  Traffic comes to a complete stop when a boisterous group of Occupy Fort Lauderdale protesters march into the core of the trendy Las Olas business district.  Under the watchful eye of Fort Lauderdale's finest, the protestors are well-behaved.

Soon, traffic is moving once again as we cycle east, across the Las Olas Boulevard Bridge to the beach where live music flows from the beachside bars and restaurants.  The walkways and beaches are full of tourists today, happy to be outdoors on a warm, sunny afternoon.  

[caption id="attachment_2373" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bike Fridays at Ft. Lauderdale Beach"][/caption]

Tonight, we are guests at a dinner party at the home of Joyce and Brian.  Mary, Reggie and Keith round out the party.  With the decorated live tree and colored lights throughout their lovely home, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

[caption id="attachment_2396" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pat, Eric, Brian, Joyce, Reggie, Mary and Keith"][/caption]