It's spring break week so that means Ben and I are traveling to see Ben's brother Jason in Fort Lauderdale! But this year, Fran and Harvey are joining us since they were unable to travel with us last year.
The flight went by quickly after lunch and a mimosa!
We're here!
Ben and I stayed with Jason in his condo at the W Hotel and Fran and Harvey had a hotel room.
So nice to be back!
Fran and Harvey had a great view from their room also. We realized later in the trip that we could see each other from our respective balconies!
We got settled in our respective rooms and then met back up for dinner at the steakhouse in the hotel, Steak 954, which everyone enjoyed.
Back at the condo, we sat on the balcony which has a great nighttime view.
I knew the next day would be sunny so I planned for Ben and I to go down to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was a little cloudy but we still saw a beautiful sunrise!
Ben and I grabbed some teas at the coffee shop next door and sat on our balcony until everyone else was up.
Today we took Fran and Harvey to see the Bonnet House, which is a historic home built in Fort Lauderdale in the 1920's. Before the last owner of the house died, she donated the home to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, which maintains the property as a museum.
Her orders to the Preservation were "Don't change a thing," so the house remains exactly as it was when she lived there.
There was a little racoon there to greet us when we arrived!
Ben and I visited the house last year with Jason but it was fun to see it again and I learned more about the property this time. All the rooms in the house face a beautiful courtyard which is really stunning!
Dining room:
Drawing room:
The house even had a tiki bar where the owners entertained.
This was a fun visit we all enjoyed.
Dinner was at S3 at the Hilton. On our trip last year, this was my favorite restaurant so I made sure I was hungry so I could eat everything! It was as good as I remembered!
Fran, Jason and I took a short walk after dinner. Back at the condo, we sat outside on the balcony. This was the theme pretty much all week!
The next day was my favorite day -- beach day! Ben and I went down to the beach right at 9:00 a.m. to claim our chairs. Fran, Harvey and Jason joined us later and we all had a day at the beach!
Sometime that morning, Ben and I shared an acai bowl from the vegan restaurant at the W. I had been looking forward to this since last year!
Fran wanted to put her feet in the ocean!
Tonight we had dinner at a restaurant at the Four Seasons called Evelyn's, which is named after the last owner of the Bonnet House, Evelyn Bartlett.
We all dressed fancy and took pictures before dinner.
Jason's friend, Ryan, was in town and joined us for dinner which was a lovely surprise! We last saw Ryan in 2017 in Boston. He was in town closing on his Fort Lauderdale condo as he will soon be a full-time Florida resident!. It was so great to see him!
Dinner was wonderful, and ranks as one of the best meals any of us have had, not only because of the food but also for the presentation and service.
At dinner, Ben got a drink called the Two Left Feet Old Fashioned which came with a little tableside presentation.
We also got the Wood Smoked Wagyu Beef.
We got house made donuts for dessert but we ate them so fast, I didn't get a picture! The whole experience was five-star and something we will all remember.
After all that dinner, Fran and I really wanted to get some steps in so we got up early the next morning to walk to the nearby Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. Ben and I visited the park last year with Jason and brought Fran to enjoy a walk through the park which ends at the intracoastal waterway.
We all grabbed tea and coffee and then headed out to walk the mile to the park.
We stayed on the main paved path all the way to the intracoastal waterway. The waterway is lined with beautiful homes and you often see yachts traveling the waterway.
Ben and Fran walked the labyrinth in the meditation area. They both said they were surprised how long it took.
We made it to the intracoastal waterway so Fran could see all the fancy Ft. Lauderdale houses!
We ended at the big banyan tree where Ben, Jason and I took a picture last year.
It was a great walk in the park!
Back at the condo, I sipped a green tea out on the balcony while Ben ate the leftovers from Evelyn's!
After 5 miles of walking, the hot tub sounded like just what we needed, so Ben, Fran and I went down to the pool and Harvey and Jason joined us later. I didn't take any pictures at the pool this year though so here is one from last year!
Dinner tonight was at Wine Garden, a cute little outdoor Italian restaurant. We got there in time for happy hour so made our meal mostly out of happy hour appetizers and salads.
The next day was Monday -- our last full day was sadly already here! I had planned to get another acai bowl and then have a full breakfast on departure day. But the vegan place was out of acai so Ben, Fran, Harvey and I had breakfast at the Mexican restaurant instead.
It was really good!
Jason joined us and we walked off our breakfast on the beach path.
We walked down Las Olas Blvd. and crossed one of the causeway bridges where you have a view of the intracoastal waterway.
All the yachts!
Back at the condo, we got in the hot tub and then got ready for our last dinner together at Takato, a restaurant Jason took Ben and I to last year.
It windy so Ben and I had to take our picture inside.
Ben, Jason and I started off with a round of delicious cocktails!
We all shared appetizers and then I got the sea bass for my main course which was delicious!
Fran with her lamb chops!
Everything was really good but nothing on the dessert menu looked that appealing so we decided to go back to Evelyn's for donuts. We walked out of Takato and saw a glimpse of a beautiful sunset.
This time at Evelyn's, we took our waiter's recommendation of mixing the donuts with the pavlova and chocolate cake which was just heavenly!
We ended the evening visiting on Fran and Harvey's balcony. We had such a great time vacationing together as always!
The next morning, Ben and I grabbed coffee and took one last walk down the beach path.
Then we met everyone else for one last breakfast before leaving. I just HAD to have my own acai bowl before we left so we went to So Be Vegan. I got a bowl and. Ben got one for him and his mom to share.
I will miss this bowl and this view!
Then it was one last morning on the balcony before heading home!
We all had a great time visiting Fort Lauderdale and once again, Jason was the perfect host! Until next year!
