Ft Lauderdale

Sarah, me and two friends of ours took a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where we took a two day hands on boating class. The instructor was Lanny Dixon, a licensed Coast Guard Captain. Her husband Jim, was first mate. We had a fantastic time.

Donna, Sarah & I arrived by plane Thursday night. Lanny picked us up at the airport and took us to the Bahia Cabana Beach Resort, located right across the street from the ocean. Susan was already there since she had been in FL all week visiting her Mom. We checked in, threw our bags in the room and went to the bar, ate dinner, had a few brews and made plans for the next day.

On Friday we got up and went walking along the marina, checked out the beach and grabbed some lunch at this cool place called Oasis Cafe. You can swing in your seat while dining there. And the view isn't bad either.

We drove to Butterfly World after lunch. They have thousands of different types of butterflies flying everywhere. If you stand still, they will land on you. They also have birds, hummingbirds, Lorikeets, a tropical rainforest, waterfalls, gardens and plants. It really is a beautiful place.

We arrived back at the hotel and walked to the water taxi stop. We took the water taxi to Las Olas Waterfront and checked out the shops in that area. We walked along the riverwalk for awhile admiring the yachts docked along the way. It was time for dinner so we took the water taxi to Shooter's Waterfront Cafe. This place is famous for boat and yacht watching.

Donna & Sarah on Ft. Lauderdale beach. Right across from our hotel.

Entrance to Butterfly World.

There were butterflies everywhere.

Sarah with a Lorikeet

A Hummingbird

An Owl butterfly

A Swallowtail bird

These are huge moths

A Lorikeet

Donna, Susan & Carol at Butterfly World

Donna, Susan & Sarah on the Riverwalk

Sarah in the center of Las Olas

On Saturday morning we rose early to a chilly morning but the sun was shining. We waited at the dock for Lanny to pick us up for our first day of instruction. Around the bend we saw the 35' Express Fisherman come into view. We were looking forward to spending the weekend on the boat. Lanny & her husband/first mate, Jim, docked the boat and we boarded with all our luggage. Jim put it below for us. After the introductions, a breakfast that consisted of yogurt, muffins and fruit was provided for us. After breakfast, Lanny took us below and gave us our orientation and safety briefing. She covered boat language, dock etiquette, how to read charts and gave us a nice packet that had all kinds of goodies in it like lotion, FM radio, flat koozies, a local boating magazine, and much more.

It was time to get underway. I was the first to take the helm. I navigated through the New River and the Intracoastal Waterway then headed out to sea. As a bonus, Jim baited the fishing rods, cast the lines and waited. We were about 3 miles off shore. Everyone took turns at the wheel. Two fish were caught, one thrown back and one was a keeper. It was a Spanish Mackerel. We were going to eat it later that evening.

Oh what a great day it was on the water! For lunch, we headed back to the ICW and anchored in a cove called Hurricane Bay. Lanny had a delicious lunch for us consisting of deli meats and cheeses and tortillas to make wraps. We watched the boats, saw some manatees and talked of all things boating. After lunch, we practiced man overboard drills using a float cushion. MORE COMING LATER!