Ft Lauderdale - at Las Olas Marina at a dock

Ft Lauderdale in winter

Today was another day of happiness. At Ft Lauderdale beach, I saw the funniest thing in the whole world. One guy dressed up as Donald Trump and another as Kim Jong-um and gave PICTURES OF MISSILES OUT TO THE PUBLIC. I do not know if they were being silly or just want to offend North Korea. I thought it was very funny. On the way there I mostly read. I know right. But I got today off because it was Martin Luther King day. That’s all I got for you today. 

Our favorite laundromat is still here

It was the last day of bridges. Like yesterday, they were spaced so we hardly had to slow down to wait for them to lift except for the last one which we missed that added 1/2 hour to our arrival time. We had thought we were going through the "canyons" on a day other than the weekend but then it turned out to be MLK day! Still, there was not the amount of the traffic typical of a weekend so it wasn't so bad. 

The Las Olas Marina by the bridge is all changed. The clubhouse is gone as is the laundry room, all removed due to tearing up the parking lot and replacing it with a four-story parking garage. The docks haven't been touched but there are no moorings. This coming Wednesday they are supposed to start reinstalling the moorings for a total of six I'm told. Meanwhile, we took a dock for a few days. The dock we are on is concrete, not floating but then it has rubber fenders so there's no danger of hitting raw concrete. The current offers somewhat of a challenge but we came in a near slack tide which was fine. 

The docks are very secure and well fendered, better than I expected.

The marina office has been moved to temporary housing. They still have their excellent laundromat with six washers and six dryers as well as new showers (3) for men and women (didn't check inside...) It all looks entirely adequate until they get the parking garage completed which is to take 2.5 years (!)

We took a walk to the beach and the surf coming in reminded us of why we are going to be here for a few days. Along the way, Finn saw his two famous people. They were wearing what looked like a big step up from halloween masks. They were very well done. At a casual glance, they looked just like the famous personalities. You had to get close to see the subtle differences.

There's boat work on Tuesday and then we're renting a car to provision and explore the area. A cold front is coming through with the highs only reaching 60 degrees for two days. When the winds subside, we'll continue on south.