Storms over Fort Lauderdale

Our alarm is set to wake us this morning as we need an early start to get the flight from New Orleans to Fort Lauderdale. This morning there are lovely warm fruit pastries for breakfast and fresh coffee as always. The taxi soon gets us to the airport and we get a whirlwind like tour of bag drop and security leaving us shaken if not stirred by the end. The flight is a little delayed by bad weather coming out of Miami, uhh ohh. We’re about last to board by seat number and should we be alarmed when the flight captain addresses the plane and says it was a little rocky on the way over so I’m going to keep the seat belt signs on today, gulp! He was right, 15 mins from our destination the plane is ‘arocking and ‘arolling and dropping, I nervously keep concentrating on my card game! Not sure if Dave is rocking in time to the music he is listening too on his headphones or the turbulence anyhow he does not seem to notice! After this landing is a doddle, as is the pick up by Rae our driver in an E-Class Merc despite him going to the wrong terminal and we arrive at the hotel Sonesta. Check in is smooth and as we get chatting to the receptionist we detect a Scottish accent, turns out she is from Stirling although she has lived here for over 30 years

Our room at the Sonesta Hotel

It is so far removed from the last hotel it is untrue, modern, floor to ceiling glass windows, white and chrome. What a spectacular room, floor to ceiling windows along two walls with views down the beach and another panoramic window looking out to sea, just wow…. The hotel is doing a special today, 80’s music and corn dogs. What are they we ask each other, turns out they’re large hot dogs covered in a slightly sweet dough fried and very good with ketchup or mustard. Another first for us.

As we get ready to go out tonight a thunderstorm rolls in off the sea, how spectacular, watching forked lightening light up the sky and waves of rain surge down the beach obliterating the tall tower blocks in the distance. It’s nature’s own light show. It’s too wet to wander far but just around the corner is a bar called The Parrot, which has been serving visitors and locals since 1970. Just to be extremely British we order fish and chips and very good it is too. On the down side the waitress tells us this weather is here for the next 10 days, we leave in 7 so let’s hope she’s wrong.