Fort Lauderdale Water Taxis.

Thinking of taking a winter break in Fort Lauderdale? Do use the water taxis – not only as a useful way to commute between the beach and downtown, but a fun excursion as well.

The houses and estates along the way are fantastic, most of them dating back to the 1920s and 1930s.  For example, there are homes apparently owned by people such as the owner of Easy Rider Magazine, the Seltzers, Michael Egan (the owner of Alamo Rent-a-Car), the owner of the Miami Dolphins, and houses purchased by the owner of Blockbuster (remember that company?) for several members of his family.  We were also informed that pianist Roger Williams, Sonny and Cher and the Taco Bell family once lived along the waterway.

And you can also see alligators – in the water (keep your hands inside the boat!!) and basking on walls.

Once we reached downtown I took a stroll along Las Olas Boulevard and admired the architecture, then bought an ice-cream and found somewhere to sit and enjoy it.  And to people watch. Ladies walking their dogs, retired couples strolling arm-in-arm, professionals young and old, ladies of leisure and young ladies tricked out in the latest fashion – mostly showing bare bellies and backs.

Our guide on the return journey gave us some additional information which helped make the return journey even more interesting – especially as some of it contradicted some that we had previously been given. So, I do not accept blame for any ‘misinformation’ on property owners. Blame the guides on the water taxis, please. 

Fort Lauderdale is an amazing place with a long history.  The first white settler established a plantation along the New River in 1793.  The city’s name comes from a fort that was built in 1892 at the mouth of the river by Major William Lauderdale.  It became a city in 1911 with 175 residents, thrived during the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s and now has a population of over 175,000.

 

Now it thrives on tourism with a terrific selection of hotels.

What it is to be rich!