The Gratts in Ft. Lauderdale

In January, Ben and I took a trip to Ft. Lauderdale with Ben's parents to see Ben's brother, Jason.  Jason recently bought a new condo in Ft. Lauderdale and is now a full-time Florida resident.

Ben and I were ready for some fun in the Florida sun!

Let's go!

Jason's new condo is located on the intracoastal waterway and is fab-u-lous!  

View from the front door.

It is a two-bedroom condo, so Ben and I stayed with Jason while Fran and Harvey stayed at the nearby W Hotel.  Ben and I got the better end of that deal for sure!

Our view for the week!

We loved watching the big boats come past the condo.

The nighttime view from the condo was equally stunning!

The day before we arrived was Harvey's birthday so he got to pick the restaurant for dinner the first night.  He chose the Japanese restaurant, Takato.  

But first, cocktails.

Beach hair, don't care.

The Birthday Boy!

The next morning was bright and sunny so Ben and I took a beach walk to get coffee.

Today we took a boat tour to see all the million-dollar homes and boats along the intracoastal waterway.  Ben, Jason and I have done this tour before but we wanted Fran and Harvey to see it and it's always fun to be out on the water.

Cruise ships in Port Canaveral.

This is Steven Spielberg's "old" yacht.  Apparently it wasn't big enough!

When it comes to yachts, size matters.

This can be yours for $85 million.

It got cloudy and we had a brief rain shower near the end of the tour.

Dinner was at Evelyn's at the Four Seasons which was the highlight of our trip last year.  It wasn't quite as good as last year, but no one was complaining!

All dressed up fancy.

Ben started with his favorite cocktail, the Two Left Feet.

Everything was fabulous!

The birthday boy snagged another free dessert!

The next day was rainy and cool so we all spent the day relaxing on Jason's wonderful balcony.

We went to Thai on the Beach for lunch, a restaurant Ben, Jason and I had been to before.  Since it was chilly, I got a bowl of wonton soup which was the best soup I have ever had.  I told Ben we had to come back so I could have another bowl before the end of the trip.

What dreams are made of.

Below the Thai restaurant is a pizza place so I decided I needed a slice to go with my soup!

Dinner was at El Vez, a Mexican restaurant at the W we have been to many times and it was good as always!

That is one big plate of nachos.

Then we went to the Living Room bar to watch the Cowboys lose in the playoffs.

Ben, Jason and I took a night walk to a bar called Coconut's for a nightcap to end the evening.

The next morning, Ben and I took another beach walk before meeting Fran and Harvey for coffee.

While we were at the beach, our family and friends were being treated to this back home!  We were sure glad to miss it!

Winter wonderland.

Ben, Fran, Jason and I did a two-mile walk through Hugh Taylor Birch State Park which we have all been to before.  The walk there and back was another two miles, making it a four-mile walk total!

The walk ends with a view of the intracoastal waterway.

The park is home to gopher turtles which are so cute!  We were lucky to see one having lunch on the way out of the park.

We dropped Fran off at the W and I told Ben I wanted to stop and have an acai bowl at the vegan place at the hotel.  I had to have all my favorite Florida foods!

After all the walking, we were ready to hit the hot tub.  We changed into our bathing suits and met Fran back at the W.

Dinner was at a restaurant we had not been to before called Wild Thyme.  Everything was good and it was a great night to eat outside.  Once again, Jason planned it perfectly!

We stopped off at the Living Room bar at the W and watched some of the Eagles football game.  I never like the cocktails at the W, but it never stops me from ordering one!

The cocktails you see are worse than they appear.

I knew that the next day would be our best chance to see sunrise on the beach so Ben and I set our alarms for 6:15 a.m.  It was a little cloudy but still beautiful.

Footprints in the sand.

After sunrise, Ben and I walked to a bakery near Jason's condo for pastries and coffee.  The coffee was so good, I went here every morning for the rest of the trip.

Ben made friends with the resident cat.

Since it was still early and we didn't want to disturb Jason, Ben and I spent the rest of the morning at Jason's pool.

Watching the world go by.

We enjoyed it so much, we suggested to Fran and Harvey that we spend the day at the pool instead of going to the beach and they said that was fine with them.

Ben wanted a snack so we went back to Thai on the Beach for more yummy soup!

Dinner was at Steak 954 at the W.  Ben and I had a cocktail before dinner.

The food wasn't bad either!  And of course, the company was superb.

The next day, Jason had scheduled a small medical procedure so that Ben would be available to go with him.  They left early and I took a solo walk to get coffee at the bakery and then spent the morning on Jason's balcony.

Don't make me leave.

When Ben and Jason returned, Ben and I went back to Thai on the Beach so I could get one more bowl of wonton soup.  I can never have wonton soup anywhere else now, this soup is that good!

Fluffy clouds of goodness.

Dinner was at S3 at the Hilton which is normally my favorite meal of the trip.  Ben and I went over early for happy hour and I got my favorite Florida cocktail, the Asian Pear.

Fran and Harvey joined us later and we had our last meal of the trip together.

Fran eyeing her salmon.

And just like that, our trip was over and it was back to Texas and thirty-degree temperatures!  One day we were sitting by the beach and the next we were sitting by the fireplace!  Thank you Jason for giving us a reprieve from the winter weather and for always being the perfect host!  Until next year!