As the summer commences there is nothing better than a
quick beach getaway that does not break your piggy bank. From Pittsburgh there are reasonable and
sometimes down right cheap flights to Fort Lauderdale. When I think of Fort Lauderdale, I have
flashbacks of my college crazy spring break days but I recently discovered a quaint area to relax, Lauderdale by the Sea, just 7 miles north of Fort Lauderdale and a great boutique hotel located on the beach, The Plunge Beach Hotel. This is a great combo that lets you literally “Plunge” into it all!
Refection
I must admit that my initial draw to area was the inexpensive flights from
Pittsburgh to Ft Lauderdale. Spirit Airways
has direct flights and we found round trip flights under $200 dollars, even with the extra cost of the bags.
My last visit to Fort Lauderdale was in my collage spring
break days which was nothing close to relaxing so I was apprehensive about
traveling there with only 3 days to rest. I discovered Lauderdale by the Sea (LBTS)
which is about 7 miles north of Fort Lauderdale and my golden ticket to convenience and
relaxation!
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| LBTS is about 2.5 miles long and .5 miles wide, can walk to everything |
LBTS stretches approximately
2.5 miles long and runs from the ocean about .5 miles to the intercoastal boundary. It is only
a 30 minutes drive from the airport which was about a $35.00 Uber ride. Because of its size, everything is within walking distance so you don't need a car to enjoy. This is convenient for your quick getaway.
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| Square with great restaurants and with live music on Fridays |
LBTS has a quaint
square decorated with colorful
Adirondack chairs, interesting shops,
some great restaurants and free music every Friday night. The best part about this
area are the many boutique and reasonably
priced hotels which are all within walking distance to the square and the beach.
If you
want to open your door and put your toes directly in the sand find a place on
El Mar Drive although the next street over, Ocean Boulevard runs the length of the area parallel to the
beach (see the live web cam here).
I was drawn to
the new Plunge Beach Hotel because it had an artistic fun feel and a great location on the beach. It opened about a year ago on the end of El Mar Drive which makes
it very private. The rooms were spacious. Overall the place reminded me of my stays at one of the W Hotels or the Hard Rock Hotels but for half the price!
You could not beat the convenience of walking out to the
ocean and having your beach chairs and umbrella
brought to your spot each morning by happy staff . Be aware that the convenience will cost you about $30 a day in a
resort fee which also covers access to bikes.
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| Vinnie's oyster bar. |
The down side of the Plunge Beach Hotel is that there are no ice machines (they
provided ice at the bar) and no coffee in the room (there was a breakfast restaurant
on site and coffee in the lobby). The food at the beach side bar
was better than most beach side food with nice happy hour specials and music.
Each night we walked to the square for some great food. We found our favorite place to be Vinnie's because it had a fantastic raw oyster bar for me and a great chicken parmesan, which is a food staple for my friend.
Each night we walked to the square for some great food. We found our favorite place to be Vinnie's because it had a fantastic raw oyster bar for me and a great chicken parmesan, which is a food staple for my friend.
Both Lauderdale by the Sea and Plunge Beach Hotel were perfect for a 3 day reprieve to "Plunge" into the beach life!
I will definitely keep both in my empty-nest
survival tool box but stay longer next time to relax and explore more of what these gems
have to offer.
Spiritual Reflection
Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wild world? What is his name-and his son's name? Every Word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection. (Proverbs 30:4-5)
Other Sources
Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wild world? What is his name-and his son's name? Every Word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection. (Proverbs 30:4-5)
Other Sources
LBTS Chamber of Commerce http://www.lbts.com/
Vinnie's http://vincents.kitchen/
Plunge Beach Hotel https://www.plungebeachhotel.com/