Katelyn Brooke

Fort Lauderdale

places· travel

19 Mar

We’re back!  We had a ton of fun on our spring break trip to Florida, and it wouldn’t be a real trip if I didn’t recap it for you guys, right?  Okay, I’m glad we’re on the same page.

I was inspired by Lauren to pack everything in a carry on suitcase, so for space purposes I decided to leave my DSLR at home.  So all these photos are from my phone, and if you follow me on Instagram there will be some repeats (but some new ones too!)

If you’ll recall from my post about Brian’s first flight in October, Brian and I had never flown together until this trip.  I hadn’t flown since I was a teenager, and it was pretty fun to do it together.  As you can see below, Brian really likes to fly.  And we kicked off our vacay the right way- with margaritas at the poolside bar right after checking in.

plane

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott at Fort Lauderdale Beach, and while the room itself was really nice, the view was the best part.  It was so cool to just be able to look out on the bright blue ocean and the intercoastal waterway and see all the boats.  The weather was warm but a little windy and overcast some days, but our room was so nice that we didn’t mind lounging in there and reading.  And we were right across the beach, which was awesome when you wanted to get your toes in the sand but not necessarily spend all day there.

02 hotel

We spent most of our trip just relaxing and hanging out around the hotel or the beach in front of our hotel. The hotel had a really nice pool deck and a poolside bar that was elevated above the sidewalk.  There was a little coffee shop a block away, and I got in the lovely habit of getting iced coffee in the afternoon and reading on the pooldeck.

03 lounging

And of course, eating was a highlight of our vacation.  Jess was nice enough to recommend Coconuts, which happened to be literally across the street from our hotel!  It was a really pretty setting and we both enjoyed what we got (I got lobster mac and cheese!)  We also liked Casablanca Cafe , Primanti Brothers, which we walked to, and we ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company on our last night which was underneath the hotel.

eats

On Wednesday we decided to do some sightseeing.  We paid $20 each to ride the water taxi, and we were so glad we did.  It takes you all the way to downtown Fort Lauderdale and Las Olas Boulevard, and you get a little tour on the way!  We got to see a bunch of celebrities’ mansions and their yachts, and then walked around downtown for awhile in the afternoon.  It was really fun!  We stopped for lunch at 15th Street Fisheries, which wound up being our favorite meal of the trip.   And Brian of course enjoyed the many lizard and iguana sightings.

water taxi

We had so much fun exploring, that on Thursday we decided to go for a run and check out more of the canals on foot.  It’s a really beautiful area!

06 las olas

If you made it this far, thanks for following along!  Have you ever been to Florida?  We went to Orlando when I was in 5th grade, so this was my second trip, and I definitely want to explore more of the state after this trip!

And I gotta give a shout out to my grandma who gave us the use of her Marriott points as a wedding gift!  It was really nice to be able to spread out a wedding present a year and half after the fact.  We had a blast!  Thanks Grandma Jane!

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Comments

  1. Anna says

    March 19, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    Looks like you had an awesome trip! I’ve never been to Florida (which everyone is always amazed at haha) but it looks like early spring would be a great time to go!

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 19, 2013 at 12:51 pm

      It was! And I agree- I’ve heard that it gets miserably hot in the summer!

      Reply
  2. Amber says

    March 19, 2013 at 12:47 pm

    Wow, beautiful pictures! I’m missing the wonderful idea that is Spring Break. :) We are planning to go to Disney World in FL for the baby’s first birthday (and mine since we are two days apart). If I’m not mistaken, you are also a beginning of October birthday, too, right?

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 19, 2013 at 12:53 pm

      That’ll be so much fun! Yeah, I’m October 4th! Aren’t you on the 6th? Do me an your bebe have the same bday?!

      Reply
      • Amber says

        March 19, 2013 at 1:00 pm

        Oh my gosh, yes! I am the 6th and she is the 4th, like you! I thought that birthday sounded familiar!

        Reply
        • Kate says

          March 20, 2013 at 1:26 pm

          Aww, yay! I don’t know many people who have my birthday! I like being an October baby :)

          Reply
  3. Hannah says

    March 19, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    I spent a lot of time in the Miami airport when I was a kid and if we were staying the night we got to go out and explore. I always loved Florida. We actually stayed in Fort Lauderdale several times! Love these photos. Brings back memories. : )

    P.S. I have a Grandma Jane, too. : )

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 20, 2013 at 1:27 pm

      Really? They’re the best, aren’t they? :)

      Reply
  4. Emily says

    March 19, 2013 at 2:23 pm

    I love florida. My mom grew up about 45 minutes north of miami, so we spent our summers there! Gosh I miss it!

    Reply
  5. Milynn says

    March 19, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    My boyfriend actually lives in Fort Lauderdale (which is 4 hours away from me) and I go visit him sometimes. It’s so fun to explore that area! I loved going to Las Olas and seeing all the pretty shops and homes. Next time you come to Florida you should come to the Tampa Bay area and St. Pete :)! How did you feel about the lizards? When out of staters come visit me they are always so freaked out by the lizards and alligators we have all over the place. :)

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 20, 2013 at 1:28 pm

      I almost stepped on one, and I wasn’t a fan of that, but otherwise they didn’t bother me. Brian is a big animal person, so he thought they were really cool!

      Reply
  6. Linda says

    March 19, 2013 at 3:35 pm

    What a wonderful post! Thanks so much for sharing the background along with all the pictures! You’re really good at it. Kim and Mike started their marriage in Ft. Lauderdale nearly 17 years ago and through all their moves, always their wish was to go back to Florida. Just a couple of years ago, Mike’s job brought them back to FL and they live in Boca Raton now…lovin’ it! So happy you both had a great time! XXOO

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 20, 2013 at 1:29 pm

      I didn’t know they’d lived there before- that’s cool! It seems like a nice place to live, I can see why they like it! Talk to you soon! xoxo

      Reply
  7. Anna says

    March 19, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    I’ve been following your photos on instagram in secret envy!! :) what a delightful place to visit!

    Reply
  8. Janelle says

    March 19, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    Oh, the beach! It looks so nice. And look how close you are. I went to Florida in 10th grade with my family. We did the whole Disney thing and it was such a fun time. I loved the shows, musicals, fireworks & obviously the rides.

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 20, 2013 at 1:30 pm

      Gah, I would LOVE to go back to Disney- hopefully someday!

      Reply
  9. Callie says

    March 19, 2013 at 6:49 pm

    Looks like a wonderful trip!!

    Reply
  10. Allyssa says

    March 19, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    Looks like you had a blast! I haven’t been to Florida in probably 10 years. My grandma had a condo in Vero Beach and for several years we’d spend the summer down there.

    Reply
  11. LWLH says

    March 23, 2013 at 8:00 am

    Sounds like such a fun, relaxing trip. And you got some awesome shots just using your phone!

    Reply
  12. Amy says

    November 3, 2013 at 6:54 pm

    Hi
    My name is Amy and I’m with Dwellable.
    I was looking for blogs about Fort Lauderdale to share on our site and I came across your post…If you’re open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
    Hope to hear from you soon!
    Amy

    Reply
    • Amy says

      November 4, 2013 at 1:57 am

      Silly me ;) amy(at)dwellable(dot)com

      Reply

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  1. Starred This Week says:
    March 22, 2013 at 2:56 pm

    […] A recap of our trip to Fort Lauderdale. […]

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