Caribbean Cruise 2014: Fort Lauderdale, FL

After St. Maarten we have two days at sea returning to Fort Lauderdale.

Once back in Fort Lauderdale, we have extended our vacation a few days and will explore the area.

Here is the Equinox docked in Fort Lauderdale.

As we walked along one street we discovered the Hilton parking lot.

We rode the water taxi so we could see the inter-coastal waterway. Since we were feeling pretty flush we decided to pay to ride instead of taking the cheap one.

We debated about buying this place for weekend getaways. In the end we decided the temperature just gets too high here for us. The price was right up there with the temperature ($30,000,000). This is a view of the backyard.

These guys were checking out the toys in the garage of this boat. There must have been at least a dozen jet skis in there. The garage opened from the back and the side of the boat.

The guy who founded Gateway Computer and later sold it for a small fortune is now onto his Plan B. (well that is what the water taxi driver said)

We saw these pelicans as they came into the area. They were riding on the bow of a boat. All looking very pleased with themselves.

We wanted to see the Everglades so we booked a tour and headed out the next day. The first part of the tour was on a small bus which took us from town to the country side. Once we got to Holiday Park we were handed over to the air boat operators for a tour of the water area.

We saw lots of water and plants, a few birds, and one alligator. The airboat was noisy and, whenever he went for a speed run, the bottom of the boat would run with water about 2" deep. It was still a good tour.

Here is our one and only gator.

After the airboat tour we went to see the Gator Boys show. Yes, these are the same Gator Boys you can see on TV.

Then at the inevitable gift/snack shop we found this friendly little guy. Many people were stuffing their faces and buying plenty of junk they did not need. We resisted on both points while awaiting the bus back to town.