Fort Lauderdale: A Mini Cruise of the Rich and Famous

We were invited to go on a mini cruise to see some magnificent yachts and beautiful homes.  Okay, so it was actually a water taxi that we hopped on and off along the Stranahan River.  It did feel like we were cruising.  We were able to pick up the taxi close to the Hilton property.  A short walk to the water’s edge and underneath the 17th St Causeway bridge.  This is known as stop #6.

While waiting for the taxi (in beautiful weather I might add), we were able to watch the bridge/road open up for the sail boats with their tall masts to pass through.  We would normally be on top of the bridge and see all the traffic stop and watch the road raise up.  It was fascinating to see all this activity underneath.  It was amazing to see this perspective.

The water taxi service starts around 10am.  The first taxi to arrive was heading to Hollywood Beach.  A few minutes later another one arrived and would take us to FLL Beach and areas north.  We hopped on:



About 15 mins later we hopped off at stop #8, Beach Place (on Cortez St).    We walked two blocks east and landed on the beach between Beach Place (shops & restaurants) and the Drunken Taco restaurant.  OMG!  The beach was unusually beautiful today.  It was a windy day and the waves were really large and tall.  I wasn’t about to get in the water to see how tall.

We did most of our shopping for Hubby in Beach Place where you will find my favorite shop, Maui Nix.  The have an extensive line of clothes for the beach, boarding, and casual wear.  They also had a few GoPros and accessories.  One was a mouth piece.  That was weird.  The other was a short hand held pole with a trigger on the side.  Now that was cool!

The beach was calling us and so we sat on the short curved wall and enjoyed the scenery:



Did I mention it was a beautiful day?!



Eventually, our stomachs started to growl a bit.  We walked back to stop #8 and hopped on another water taxi going north and ended up at Bokamper’s Bar & Grill:



Yes, we sat at a table on the deck.  We dined and watched boats and yachts go by.  This a huge restaurant with both indoor and outdoor dining.  I think I counted 3 large bars…to give you an idea.  We had a wonderful dining experience here.  Good food and wonderful ambience.

Here’s more pictures from our water taxi adventure.  Lots of beautiful and EXPENSIVE waterfront homes and HUGE yachts.  Note:  these are the “backs” or “backyards” of the homes you will see:









Plain and simple, but expensive house:














This one has a “sold” sign:




Can you say Wendy”s?  Yes, the owner of Wendy’s owns this home:



This is one home.  Incredible:



This is a “hybrid” yacht.  Looks very military to me in the front:



Definitely looks like a yacht towards the back:





And let’s not forget the critters: