We arrived in Hollywood yesterday and are currently at a marina since Hans has a business meeting in Ft. Lauderdale on Monday.
Here we are with the ocean behind us.
Wilbur was incarcerated on the boat since all the signs said that not only are dogs not allowed on the beach they aren't allowed on the 'broadwalk' (we call it the boardwalk).
In Europe you can take your dog nearly everywhere (I've seen them in restaurants and even the subway) and I wish the USA would get that stick out of their a$$ and let responsible dog owners walk about freely.
We ended up at the 'Broadwalk' (as opposed to the Boardwalk??) which stretches for a few miles and I insisted on getting my feet wet before heading back to the boat.
Finally!!! The Welcome to Ft. Lauderdale sign at one of the 30 bridges we had to pass under for the last three days. I have to admit that after reading about how much trouble a lot of cruisers have had with bridge operators etc... we really had no trouble whatsoever. Maybe it has to do with my pleasant radio voice(?) .
You see, when we first started out on this voyage back in October, I was assigned the duty of radio communicator and I still remember at the beginning of our three hour tour when a speed boat captain asked permission for a 'slow pass'. I gave the go ahead and when the boat did indeed pass slowly with virtually no wake I responded with the comment, "You just made the Knotty Cat purrrrr!" The captain of the other boat meowed back at me and as I sat in the companionway giggling like a school girl, Hans called out to me, "What are you doing over there?"
"Umm, nothing?"
"You realize the radio isn't for fun don't you?"
"Of course I do!"
Maybe.
Here's a freighter from Hans' homeland.
Look at this huge freighter with all the containers sitting on it. How something like this gets across the ocean without tipping over, I'll never know!
Ft. Lauderdale is supposedly the yachting boat capital of the world and I believe it. We've never seen so many huge boats in our life.
Now that we're at a marina in Hollywood, if we want to get to the beach or any of the local shops, we need to traverse a bridge.
By foot.
Go figure!
We arrived at the bridge just as it was going up.
Hans looks like a little school boy with his shorts and white socks!
But look at how fancy schmancy this bridge is!
It changes colors. Just like the horse of many colors from The Wizard of Oz.
Orange.
Lime green.
Pink.
Friends from Pittsburgh arrived in town today, and tomorrow we're taking them out for a spin in the ocean.
NOAA promises light winds and calm seas, but we all know that NOAA is a habitual liar (I would love to say lying bitch, but I'm too nice) so God only knows what we're in for.
I'll keep you posted.
Have you ever met a dog owner they felt they were not "responsible"?
ReplyDeleteThe problem is they are licking their junk one minute then licking someone's hand or eating off the table (I've seen it) the next.
Europe does a lot of things we don't. Thank god.
Ghost
Our Wilbur doesn't have germs!!
ReplyDeleteOooooh, sitting here fuming and Laura, you know why! Wilbur definitely doesn't have germs...and so what if he "licks his junk and then licks someone's hand" the next minute? How many guys pick their nose in public, scratch an itch in a "private place", or don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom, hmmm?
ReplyDeleteAnyway...I am so jealous of you being able to be in shorts and walk barefoot on the beach! It's still cold here and we got a little snow yesterday. Glad you're having some fun! And that bridge is fantastic. Is there a reason for the color changes, or is it just because they can?
Give Wilbur a big ol' smooch for me!
XOXO,
Cyndi
Hopefully you're out enjoying a day of sailing while I'm typing this. Over 30 bridges... wow! I tend to believe that a little bit of fun on the radio might be good. How boring it must be for those bridge operators!
ReplyDeleteCyndi, you just crack me up! I used to work with a man who 'adjusted' himself and he almost always did it while standing by my desk. The bridge is relatively new so I'm sure the city thought it added some pizzaz to the area.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I'm sure some days are pretty boring but I could hear tons of traffic on the ICW from our marina today including an ambulance that got stuck waiting for the bridge to lower!
Cyndi- You illustrate the issue with dog owners. For so many people dogs have become quivelent to people or even children. So their dogs can do no wrong. These owners can't see how other people feel about their dogs and even if they do they don't care.
ReplyDeleteSo instead of having to argue with individuals about the dogs behavior or the owners unwillingness to control them, this municipality was forced to just ban them.
Yes other unsanitary things happen but firstly, you notice and don't like those things and secondly, why add more unsanitary things to it.
Also, do you understand (or care) that if a restaurant has a policy allowing dogs and a dog bites a customer that the restaurant shares in the liability?
I didn't think Laura was serious when she said dogs don't have germs but I'm less sure about you Cyndi. Fortunatley the county health boards agree with me.
I was once at a persons house and for some reason this person felt it was nessesary to wipe the anus of her dog (dalmation). She did so with a wet scott towel and then without washing her hands went right back to cooking our dinner.-Yes this really happened.
(sorry about the cross talk Laura-I know we'e supposed to be talking "this way")
Soon to be flamed Ghost
Actually, Cyndi and I are both huge animal advocates and I do love my dog almost like a kid and it does make me mad that I can't take him places. I'm certainly sorry that someone wiped her dog's butt in front of you and kept cooking (I would have gagged!) but do you know how many people change baby diapers in restaraunts (and sometimes right on the table) and never clean up? Or they go to the bathroom and walk out without washing? More than any of us care to even think about I'm sure! As a waitress I saw things happen back in the kitchen that still haunt me and I try very hard to forget them every time I eat out. So for me, dogs pose a lot less worry than humans do and after receiving thousands of doggy kisses over the years I've yet to get sick. However, I do believe in leash laws no matter how friendly the dog. Then if someone approaches a leashed dog and it bites them then it's their fault.
ReplyDeleteI now return this blog to its regularly (un)scheduled sailing posts.
You and I share a restaurant background (probably why I like you) so I do know what you're talking about. I did three years not your ten. (and I still have "weeds dreams") I worked in the back and front of the house.
ReplyDeleteYou're certainly right about what goes on behind the scenes but I would say they are all against the rules too. I never saw the diaper thing though (but don't doubt it). I think you're right about my chances of getting sick but that's only part of my reason.
The other part you should know well. Wilbur's mom (if you can call her that) tried to kill him. What if the dog sitting at the next table is Wilbur's mom? -and why should I as a customer have to worry about that?
Restaurant owners will be the first to defend the dog ban because they are trying to sell tastes and smells that a dog could easily get in the way of. They don't want to run a dog park. Keep also in mind that dogs take up room the restauranture would prefer to put additional tables in. Oh, and how about the poor waitress who trips over the dog? (Yes, I know kids can do that too but why add extra problems?)
Also, if dogs are let in how about cats? Birds? Gerbils? Horses? You see where that is going.
My mouth must have been hangin open as I watched the anus (makes it much gosser that "butt") wiping.
"As a waitress I saw things happen back in the kitchen that still haunt me "
I'm the only one allowed to haunt you.
Ghost
Hi, Hans and Laura: I passed by "Le Tub" but didn't stop. Glad you are well, and your trip is going well. FYI, I'm back in Nashville to wrap up some business, then back to Key Largo, where Harvey is. Keep me posted on your trip. Greg
ReplyDeleteGreg, after you went home I wondered who we were going to depend on to tell us where the good anchorages were! Your picture of the Keys were beautiful and I think I need to get a better camera.
ReplyDelete