Travel Blog

Saturday morning I talked to K. up at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center. He claimed that, for a non-boater, the center was the only reason to live in Ft. Lauderdale. "There used to be a beautiful YMCA," he said, "with an Olympic-size swimming pool, hardwood basketball court. They tore it down. Any city worth its salt has a good YMCA." He complained about developers, who have filled the empty space with empty condos. "I think that land is cursed," he said.

In the afternoon, Hania and I went to Ft. Lauderdale Beach to look for a hotel for her cousins who are coming in February. We found three types of lodgings, none of them meeting our purposes: luxury hotels, smart gay resorts, and tired mom-and-pop motels. The one exception - a motel that had an air of brightness and maintenance - was the Napoli Belmar, but it took only weekly reservations in February.

Apparently, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Pompano Beach have some cute motels, but they were too far away. Why can't at least one motel in Fort Lauderdale Beach do a little remodeling, make itself attractive, without - like The Pillars - charging a lot of money?

The head of the CVB was on the radio this morning saying that the winter looks bright for Ft. Lauderdale. Perhaps from her perspective; not from mine.