Sunday, June 12, 2016

Romance Row: Lauderdale By the Sea

lauderdale-by-the-sea
Photo Credit: LBTS

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. During my stay, I laid my head on the pillows of ten different boutique lodgings that are adjacent to each other, a.k.a. Romance Row. I also took time to relax and reflect on my life’s passion – writing – and how the sea has always been my muse. It was romantic in the traditional sense, to be sure, as my beau also enjoyed part of this stay with me. But I also romanced the destination. Or perhaps more appropriately, the destination romanced me. I left a little of my heart in this seaside town. Here are my stories.

Sunday, April 17 - Saturday, April 30, 2016

Houses of Refuge


Florida’s east coast settlements have a long history of rescuing shipwreck survivors.

In 1715, a strong hurricane hit what is present day Vero Beach, shipwrecking eleven of twelve ships carrying treasure from the New World to Spain. Those who survived and made it to shore established a camp and received food and aid from local Indians, the Ais, who were hunter-gatherers. Today, the location of the camp can be found at the McClarty Treasure Museum just south of Sebastian Inlet.

Romance Row: Driftwood Beach Club

lauderdale-by-the-sea
This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Highway to Bliss


I arrived in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea with a friend who drove me 50 miles from Palmetto Bay to this seaside village. The journey is worth noting because it involved local Miami traffic and a trek up I-95. This time, the highway from hell led me to this magical place. It’s not quite as dramatic as crossing the 7-mile bridge in the Florida Keys, but the feeling is similar. “I’m here,” I thought. “I can breathe now. I’ve really left it all behind.”

Romance Row: My Yacht Experience and Southern Seas

lauderdale-by-the-sea-southern-seas

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Monday, April 18, 2016

My Yacht Experience


my-yacht-experience-fort-lauderdaleOn the second day of my of journey, I was whisked away from Lauderdale-by-the-Sea to cruise Broward county’s Intracoastal Waterway aboard captain Mark Husk’s yacht Don’t Blink.

We met affable Captain Husk of My Yacht Experience at the dock located behind Bokamper’s on the Intracoastal, about three miles south of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

We cruised smoothly, feasting our palates on fresh fruit and our eyes on the spectacular luxury waterfront properties that line this body of water in the Venice of the Americas, so named because of the more than 300 miles of canals in the Fort Lauderdale area. I had seen these homes before when taking the water taxi around Fort Lauderdale from the 17th street bridge up the New River, but the Don’t Blink was fully a pleasure cruise. I sat back, enjoyed crisp mimosas served by Captain Husk’s wife and first mate, Nancy, and talked to the Captain about many a thing nautical. The service was impeccable but unobtrusive. They spoiled this jaded Miamian.

Romance Row: Breakaway Inn and Guest House


This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Mi Casa es Su Casa


After my day of quiet and solitude at Southern Seas, I spent a different kind of day with a new set of friends who treated me like family. Margaret and Andrew Winiarczyk own and run the Breakaway Inn and Guest House along with Margaret’s sprightly, fashionable mother Michelle and three very lazy cats, Frosty, Goober and Mimi.

The Breakaway Inn and Guest House is located about 300 yards from the beach, which takes it off “romance row” on El Mar Drive. But that’s just fine. The Breakaway Inn does “break away” from the row because the owners live on the premises. They would be completely justified in putting a sign on their front door that reads “welcome to our home” because it feels like home.

Romance Row: The Tides Inn

lauderdale-by-the-sea-tides-inn

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Retro Relaxation


My time enjoying great company at the Breakaway Inn and Guest House was short-lived. But as a writer, I also welcome solitude. The Tides Inn afforded me just that in an updated 1950s boutique hotel appointed with chic, retro décor.

Writers are peculiar: we need to be with people in order to write but we also need to be alone in order to write. And four days into my journey, I got that precious gift: a whole day to myself.

The Tides Inn, like Southern Seas, offers guests completely unobstructed views of sea and sky. My God. What to do with all that space?

Romance Row: Tropic Seas

tropic-seas-lauderdale-by-the-sea

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Enchanted Shores


On day five of my journey, I arrived at the Tropic Seas Resort Motel. An adorable “older” lady – it was hard to pinpoint her age as she was lively – greeted me at the front desk. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea mainly attracts families and retirees. The younger, hipster crowd? Not so much.

And that’s fine by me, because I’m in between at age 48 – not quite a baby boomer or a millennial – feeling and looking better than I did when I was physically younger. There’s a lifestyle choice that contributes to my health: when I go on vacation, I want laid back and real, not rushed and frenzied. The kid and the wiser adult in me felt comfortable spending some time together here.

Maybe that’s what makes this town so personable. Locals invested in the community were working behind the desk or managing many of the properties I explored during my stay. Some had played different roles in city government and one even served as an EMT.

I found it refreshing that people over 60 still play a vital role here, staying active and relevant in the work force. But I’d hardly call it a boring and sleepy town. Charming is a better word. Or maybe even enchanting.

My room was enchanting, too, sunny and uplifting -- painted bright yellow with blue decorative accents – two of my favorite colors in a coastal design palette.

Romance Row: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Food Tour

lauderdale-by-the-sea-bougainvillea
This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Good Eats by the Sea


All of the properties I explored in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea featured one-bedroom apartments or studios with well-equipped kitchens. Since I was bouncing around from one property to the next each day, I didn’t provision for groceries, even though cooking is my passion.

I’ll confess that I indulged in a pizza or two just out of sheer laziness – every avid cook needs a break -- which is something I never do when I’m in command of my own kitchen at home. Many of the restaurants in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea use Delivery Boys to send food to your door.

One night, I ordered a custom small pizza from Carina’s.

I’m not sure if it’s something in the water or just the sunny disposition of people in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, but I could almost see the owner of the restaurant smiling on the other end of the phone when I placed a very picky request for specific toppings on a small pizza. “We can do that for you,” he said. His tone of voice was so friendly, happy to oblige. Face-to-face smiles were also the rule, not the exception, in hospitality service here, even at restaurants that weren’t part of my press trip.

Romance Row: Sea Spray Inn

sea-spray-inn-lauderdale-by-the-sea
Photo Credit: Sea Spray Inn

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Seashells


After the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Lunches food tour, my tummy was pretty full. Fortunately, my next stop involved a tastefully decorated apartment at the Sea Spray Inn, where a plush bed beckoned me to nap.

The exterior of this small, neatly landscaped property was painted my favorite nautical colors, bright blue and yellow. The interior of my suite, by contrast, was decorated in soothing whites, greys, soft yellows and metallic hues. A mirrored silver tray rested on a grey ottoman in the living room. Written on the white wall, in elegant cursive, was the following message: “Welcome. May all who come as guests leave as friends.”

Romance Row: Aruba and High Noon Beach Resort

high-noon-lauderdale-by-the-sea

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Journey First, Journal Later


After a good night’s rest, my beau and I headed to our next stop: High Noon Beach Resort just up the street on Romance Row. At this point, after experiencing six properties with three more to go, I wasn’t sure if it was even humanly possible to write about them with any measure of detachment and objectivity. I’m glad I waited two weeks to start penning this memoir. Sometimes, you need to step away from being in the moment to describe that moment.

And what moments they were. I never imagined that getting away from it all would bring so much back to me, so many flashes of insight just by taking precious time to just listen to the song of the sea.

High Noon Beach Resort is a family owned and operated property consisting of four small buildings that face the ocean on El Mar Drive. I stayed at the High Noon’s main building, which features a lush tropical courtyard surrounded by palm trees and tiki huts. The centerpiece is a heated freshwater pool. My room, which the owner explained was renovated just last month, was stunning and decorated in my favorite hues of sunny yellow and indigo blue. My window faced the courtyard with the ocean in plain sight.

As soon as we dropped off our luggage, we gazed into each other’s eyes eager to satiate an intense desire for closeness, but my tummy made funny noises. Hunger won out instead. Love would have to wait. We laughed and walked over to Aruba Beach Cafe for brunch.

Romance Row: Sea Watch and 4145 By the Sea

sea-watch--lauderdale

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Sea Watch on the Ocean


4145 By the Sea is just off of Romance Row on El Mar Drive. My room was located at the back of the property on the second floor and featured a private deck for al fresco dining. I didn’t mind that it was a couple of blocks from the beach; in fact, the promise of quiet seclusion felt just right.

But before I’d enjoy my time at 4145, the beau and I headed out to explore further afield. We discovered Sea Watch, a nautical-themed restaurant located in the Sea Ranch neighborhood just one mile north of 4145.

Sea Watch sits on a bluff facing tall dunes on which sea grasses flourish. Our table was surrounded by glass panes that let us gaze upon the intense blue of the sky and the rich green of the vegetation. Coconut palms and sea grapes drew our eyes away from each other toward the Atlantic. Inside, oak beams, rope and brass echoed the interior of a grand Windjammer.

Sea Watch definitely romances the sea.

Romance Row: Sunny Shores

sunny-shores-lauderdale
Phots credit: Sunny Shores

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Maps of the Heart


Sunny Shores would be my next-to-last stop in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Located on El Mar Drive, the small property welcomed me after my night of heavenly sleep. I entered my apartment through an intimate and inviting courtyard shaded by palm trees. A pair of cardinals visited a bird bath fountain during my stay. The two lovebirds were surely tending to a nest on Romance Row.

Like many of the properties I explored, Sunny Shores featured coastal décor in shades reminiscent of sky, sand and surf. A full-sized kitchen with a breakfast nook would make any home cook happy. I made a mental note of what delicious meals I’d prepare here if I were to stay more than a day.

A replica of a vintage Florida map -- the first of its kind I’d seen here -- hung on the living room wall -- and gave my room true old Florida feel. This delighted me to no end since maps have always sparked my imagination.

After settling in, I strolled over to the beach and just floated in the water. “This is my second-to-last day,” I thought. “I already miss this place.”

sunny-shores-lauderdale-by-the-sea

Inspired by the map in my room, I looked out at the horizon and thought about Florida’s maritime history. The Gulf Stream, an underwater river that flows along the east coast of the peninsula, became the I-95 of the New World after Columbus staked a claim in the Bahamas in 1492. Many galleons laden with treasure sailed on this warm current that propelled them to European ports of call. Tales of voyages to and from the Caribbean abound. Pirates were often first on the scene to salvage shipwrecks along the coast from Key West to St. Augustine. Long before there were paths cut through the wilderness, the only way to experience Florida was to embark on a sea-faring adventure.

I marvel at the exploits of sailors before the age of modern technology. Imagine journeying into the unknown, with only celestial navigation, astrolabes, sextants and rudimentary magnetic compasses to guide you. And of course, let’s not forget, a rolled-up chart, meticulously drawn on hide by a cartographer who dreamt of uncharted territories, of seas where mystical leviathans loomed ready to swallow ships whole and of sirens waiting patiently to lure wary sailors into their dens. These brave souls romanced the sea without electricity, GPS, satellite phones, depth finders, radars, wind gauges and weather forecasts.

I asked mother ocean about my own compass. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I’d be returning to in Miami. I needed a map of my own to chart my course.

She’s a goddess of few words: “If you listen to your heart,” she whispered. “You’ll never be lost at sea.”

Found Treasure



My mother had passed nearly two years before this moment that found me floating in the ocean, wondering if I had lost my direction.

Throughout her life, she hoarded her Sunday best for ends-of-the-week that never came. Actually, Sundays did come; she just didn’t show up for them. Like a pirate, she kept her treasures hidden in a chest, buried under the sand. She never fully and truly enjoyed the things she loved.

As I cleared out my mother’s things from her home, I took stock of my own inventory and decided that every day of the week would be fitting for Sunday best, that my earthly treasures would see the light of day, get dirty and live -- live life to the fullest. Sometimes, I do chores in one of my expensive silk dresses. Why not? I’m not saving my best for a day that may never come. And I show up, believe me, I show up; the best of me must never be buried under the sand. I don’t save my best china for company. I am my own best friend. I treat her royally as I would any guest who walks through my door.

There's a lesson here about hospitality: treat others like you would treat yourself and treat yourself like you would treat others. Whenever there's a disconnect, you see the true colors of a destination. No wonder I liked Lauderdale-by-the-Sea; there was always a seamless connection.

So here at Sunny Shores, I reveled, like a little girl playing dress-up, in wearing a necklace that I had won at a charity auction four years prior in Boca Grande, another beach in Florida that is dear to my heart. I had never worn it; what was I waiting for? The stunning piece of jewelry, which was crafted by a local artist, caught my eye because it told a story of the sea: pearls strung together held together by two pewter fish swallowing each other’s tails, resembling the sea creatures inked on to the vellum of ancient maps.

The symbol of a snake or dragon swallowing its own tail, the ourobouros, is an ancient one and embodies the romance of self: every woman is an island, ever-evolving: every beginning an end and every end a beginning.

I poured myself a glass of wine and contemplated the map on the wall. I noticed an inlet. My galleon was anchored, rocking gently side to side as gentle waves caressed its hull. In the galley, I studied a navigational map and thought about charting a new course in my life, regenerating, recreating and reviving my spirit, which had become jaded, its brightness dulled by the dead-end hustle of my life in Miami.

I walked over to my laptop, which was on the desk, open and plugged into the outlet, waiting for me to write. I closed its cover, shut it down and told it to rest. “You need a vacation, too, you know.”

My notebook and pen came back with to the couch.

Can you hold a grain of sand or drop of water in your hand? As impossible as that sounds, as impractical as it may seem, defying the laws of physics even: yes, yes absolutely yes I can, because then I can truly enjoy my Sunday best every day and relish the simple little gifts that bring beauty and joy into my life. What I have doesn’t define me. Who I am, naked and raw, is what sets me free.

Hoarding possessions is dangerous. Consumerism, greed, selfish vanity, the burden of being owned by things -- all this swallows us whole. Those are the real sea creatures to fear in the perilous crossings of our lives and we sink, weighed down, without direction.
We can choose to look at ourselves swallowing our own tail in two ways: a cycle of renewal, the promise of dawn, the sun always rising, the sea always coming in waves -- traveling light. Or we can also let ourselves drown, weighed down by the things that don’t matter, consumed by our drive to possess that which doesn’t even belong to us, neglecting the very heart that beats and keeps us alive -- traveling with a load too big to bear.


“That’s a beautiful necklace,” he said. He kissed me on the cheek and we walked hand-in-hand along the shore at sunset.

Later that night, while he slept soundly, I put on my silk robe -- another daily extravagance that I’m not saving for that elusive Sunday, those many Sundays that my mother never enjoyed, because she wouldn’t renew herself each day. I opened my notebook once more.

And speaking of romance: how quick I’ve been sometimes to let the drama of my ancient relationships, etched deeply now into my heart with scary dragons and sea serpents, map out what I thought this relationship should be. How easily I’ve let the past swallow us whole. Am I going to mess this one up, too? How many shipwrecks does it take to finally sail with the wind, not against it? Am I going to steer clear of obstacles or let the storms blow me into a reef ?

How about I just let this relationship be whatever it needs to be, let it chart its own course, guided, like old sailors, by the stars and simple things that fill our days with love, like quiet walks along the shore. Let every moment be a Sunday for us, even when we’re naked together, heart to heart, sailing in uncharted seas with nothing but ourselves to carry on the journey. You are my Sunday best, my love, my treasure in plain sight.


Next story: Windjammer Resort and Beach Club, Day 1
Previous Story: 4145 by the Sea

Disclosure: this travel experience was supported by The Lodging Association of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. All opinions my own.

#lovefl #lovelbts

Romance Row: Windjammer, Day 1

lauderdale-windjammer-resort

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Miracle By the Sea


John Boutin, the owner of the Windjammer Beach Club and Resort, sat with me on the walkway overlooking the ocean. “I always wanted a room with view,” I told him. “A room with a view like this, so I could just listen to the ocean and be inspired to write.”

John had no way of knowing that only just yesterday I had been staring at a map, contemplating -- or perhaps dreading -- charting a course back to Miami.

I carried on. “Virginia Woolf once wrote about every woman needing a room of her own to write, to reconnect with her heart.”

“I can tell you’re an inspired writer already,” he said. “Why don’t you say four extra days and do just that?”

A room of my own. Four extra days. An unexpected gift.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Romance Row: Windjammer, Day 2

windjammer-resort-lauderdale-by-the-sea

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Undertow


The unexpected surplus of days at the Windjammer filled me with a sense of wonder and awe. One simple gesture delivered so much abundance that if oxygen could be called gratitude, I’d change its name. It was coursing through my blood and into every cell of my body.

Every morning, I smiled with my heart when I woke up, said “thank you,” watched the sun rise from my lounge chair and made friends with my long-neglected notebook. Pen to paper came to life. I gifted all my electronic devices -- the slaves to my communication -- a much deserved rest, although they insisted it wasn’t necessary.

Hours free of pings and beeps and rings. In Miami, I’d been lost in the sea of that incessant disruption to serenity, that dangerous riptide that dragged me under because I was struggling against the current instead of surrendering to its flow.

Now I could disconnect to reconnect; find myself again. Am I not enough? Every writer needs a room of her own, to dwell in the chambers of her heart, where the source of her words reside. It’s there she comes home.

Earlier on during my trip, I had seen a sign at the Driftwood Beach Club about respecting turtle nests on these shores. Today, I thought about these intrepid wanderers. A sea turtle hatches from underneath the sand and embarks on a journey of a thousand miles, trusting her inner guide. I wondered if she would even feel the undertow of a riptide. And thinking of her, I wondered why I was ever worried about my own course in life when I too, had always had an inner guide whom I simply ignored. Miraculously, the turtle returns to the sand, to the same spot where she first saw the moonlight, to lay her eggs. She comes home, too. She always come home.

Even though I sat yards away from shore, I could feel the powerful pull of the ocean. These are the stories she told me.

Romance Row: Windjammer, Day 3

mud-pie-shorts-beach-wear

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Time Stood Still


“I can’t remember when I last spent a day at the beach,” she said.

“Come on over! Play hooky over here in the goddess cave or on the shore,” I insisted. “The sun is out, the breeze is blowing. Oh, come on! It’s a perfect day.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Click.

Soon enough, my friend Kayla knocked on the sliding glass door at the Windjammer with white wine, oranges, grapes, chocolate, cheese and crackers in tow. Her long, curly blond hair blew wildly in the wind.

“That’s my girl,” I said. “You read my mind!”

The kitchen in my suite -- or as I liked to think of it, my galley -- was perfect for preparing light meals and assembling snacks for a delightful picnic of delicious goodies. It was going to be, no, it already was, the perfect girl’s day out on the beach.

“Kayla,” I said. “I’ve been meditating and getting inspired by the ocean, but today I just want to shoot the shit and relax. Tell me to shut up if I start into deep thoughts.”

We high-fived and laughed.

Romance Row: Windjammer, Day 4

lauderdale-by-the-sea

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Morning Person


Merely to name them is the prose
Of diarists, to make you a name
For readers who like travellers praise
Their beds and beaches as the same;
But islands can only exist
If we have loved in them.


"Islands" -- Derek Walcott (Nobel Poet Laureate 1992, Saint Lucia)

The weekend had finally arrived and after some time to myself, I craved the company of my man. The goddess cave was ready to receive him.

It was my last full day at the Windjammer in Lauderdale-by-the Sea. He would arrive later, after rush hour. Instead of walking by the water, I deliberately strolled over to Anglin’s Pier in the morning through the town’s streets. I love the fresh energy of dawn, birds chirping and people starting their day, the clings and clanks of city noises. Here, the energy was peaceful, proclaiming an already relaxing day. It’s a shame that first light spells misery for so many. No one should ever have to feel a knot in the pit of their stomach to start the day. What a waste of life, to wake up and breathe in a conditioned state of perpetual unhappiness.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea was waking up gracefully. Maybe for someone working a breakfast shift, the alarm clock sounded the daily grind. I found that doubtful, however, considering the cheerful hospitality of this town. No poker face here.

On my last full day in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, I would enjoy my respite to the fullest.

I had always thought that if I had a daughter, I’d name her Alba, which means “morning song” in Spanish. I love mornings; they’re about beginnings. Imagine that: a chance to start over radically, wiping the slate of yesterday’s drama clean, waking up to lightness, holding nothing but that drop of water or grain of sand in your hand.

What better way to receive my lover? I was ready.

Romance Row: A Sweet Farewell to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

sunrise-windjammer-hotel-lauderdale-by-the-sea

This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a quaint, seaside village located on Florida’s southeast coast. The sea shored up her bounty of gifts for me. In turn, I gift you my stories. Visit the story map to navigate this travel memoir.

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Sensual Sunrise


I woke up, as usual, before dawn on our last day at the Windjammer in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. I opened the sliding glass door, took one big, deep breathe and said “thank you.“ Mother ocean gave me a parting gift of a magnificent sunrise with vibrant orange and yellow hues. Too her, it’s old hat. But for me, it was special. After all, it could have been raining and overcast. Well, even if it had been, it still would’ve been OK.

I heard a voice from inside the room. “The sun also rises,” he said. “Yes, of course it does,” I replied. “It always does, my love.”

He wrapped a towel around himself and embraced me as we looked out at the sea. We just held each other quietly, rekindling our little flame.

I didn’t already miss my goddess cave by the sea too much. I knew, in my heart, that the first time here wouldn’t be my last.

Romance Row: Story Map


This year in springtime, I enjoyed a two-week writer’s sojourn in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. During my stay, I laid my head on the pillows of ten different boutique lodgings that are adjacent to each other, a.k.a. Romance Row. I also took time to relax and reflect on my life’s passion – writing – and how the sea has always been my muse. It was romantic in the traditional sense, to be sure, as my beau also enjoyed part of this stay with me. But I also romanced the destination. Or perhaps more appropriately, the destination romanced me. I left a little of my heart in this seaside town. Here are my stories.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Silver Starfish Preferred Hotels

Sunday, April 17 - Saturday, April 30, 2016

Preview: A Gift from the Sea

Introduction: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

Driftwood Beach Club

My Yacht Experience and Southern Seas

Breakway Inn

The Tides Inn

Tropic Seas

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Food Tour

Sea Spray Inn

High Noon Beach Resort

Sea Watch and 4145 By the Sea

Sunny Shores

Windjammer Beach Club and Resort, Day 1

Windjammer Beach Club and Resort, Day 2

Windjammer Beach Club and Resort, Day 3

Windjammer Beach Club and Resort, Day 4

Farewell to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

Disclosure: this travel experience was supported by The Lodging Association of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. All opinions my own.

#lovefl #lovelbts

All photos in this series by author unless otherwise noted.