The First Trip To The Beach

Believe it or not, it actually took me a few days before I could get to the beach. I worked a lot the first week. Finally my schedule allowed me to take a 1-hr lunch break and go to the beach (Note: my office is one mile from my house, and the beach is one mile from my office). Without a car and a limited amount of time, I need fast transportation. Luckily, I had B-Cycle!

So, in order to maximize my time and minimize the bike rental fee, I ran out of my office and headed straight for the B-Cycle kiosk across the street. I selected the bike and off I went.

Along the way, I have to cross over the Intra-Coastal Waterway on this bridge on Sunrise Blvd. While going over the bridge I stopped to admire the boats docked along the intra-coastal hotels and shops



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While looking over the edge I noticed what looked to me to be a colored statue of a lizard set on top of one of the channel markers in the water. As it turns out not only was it not a statue, it was also not small! After closer inspection and a quick eye-ball comparison to the size of its surroundings, I determined this Iguana was in fact 4 ½ feet long. Bloody Hell! That was a first for this Tennessee boy.

Ah the beach!

After coming off the bridge I was able to see my first sight of the famous South Florida water.

Arriving at the intersection of Sunrise and the world-famous A1A, I was able to see more clearly how beautiful this place was.

Here I stood – barefoot in the sand – on my lunch break! This was something that was not possible ever before in my life.

Immediately I noticed a few differences from the South Florida/Atlantic coastline and the Gulf Coast which I remembered from childhood vacations. First, what are the big ass ships on the horizon? Fort Lauderdale is home to the Port Everglades. Out of this port international commerce and leisure travel come and go. Large cruise ships depart from this port several times a week.

The sand is different from the gulf coast I was familiar with. South Florida sand is something between a tan color and a light golden color. It’s softer than the beaches farther north on the Atlantic coast, but not powdery like on the Gulf Coast. Additionally there is an abundance of seaweed that washes up at high tide and is left behind as the tide recedes.

 I only got a taste of the beach on this first visit, but I knew I was coming back…