florida
° Ft. Lauderdale ° Florida's Coral Reefs ° Miami
Ft. Lauderdale
Ft. Lauderdale turned out to be an accidental side trip and more than a pleasant surprise. We had a few hours to kill before catching a flight home after our two-week cruise around the Caribbean following Hurricane Thomas.
We reluctantly agreed to a Ft. Lauderdale tour which included a cruise through one of the inland waterways. Who knew! These are multi-million dollars homes, which we see frequently given where we live in Marin County, California. But we seldom see yachts on this scale, especially dozens of yachts on this scale. Amazing! First time I ever felt "sorry" for people who live in Marin County's cities of Belvedere/Tiburon, which have some of the highest priced homes in America.
People in their multi-million dollar homes in Ft. Lauderdale are able to "park" their yachts right outside their back door whereas those poor folk in Belvedere/Tiburon have to join a local yacht club or figure out another method to berth their yachts. Sad!
For at least 5,000 years, people have been drawn to the area now known as Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. The prehistoric peoples of south Florida, known as the Glades Culture, as well as the Tequesta of the early historic period enjoyed the abundance of natural resources available along the area’s New River. By 1763 the last of these aboriginal peoples had left, and except for a few white settlers, the area was devoid of population. The Seminole Indians first appeared in what is now Broward County in the 1820s and were joined by a handful of white planters along the New River.
The city of Fort Lauderdale is named for a fortification built during the Second Seminole War on the banks of the New River. In 1838 Major William Lauderdale led a detachment of Tennessee Volunteers south along the east coast of Florida to capture Seminole agricultural lands and battle the elusive Indian warriors. Altogether, three Forts Lauderdale would be constructed: the first at the fork of the New River; the second at Tarpon Bend; and the third and largest on the beach, at the site of today’s Bahia Mar.
After the Second Seminole War ended, southeastern Florida remained a virtual wilderness due to the lack of transportation into the region. In 1892, however, the Dade County government authorized the construction of a rock road between Lantana (in Palm Beach County) and Lemon City (now North Miami). An overnight camp and ferry crossing was established at the New River, and Ohio native Frank Stranahan arrived to take charge of the facilities. He established a flourishing trading post with the local Seminoles, and by 1895 Stranahan’s Trading Post was a south Florida landmark.
In 1896 the Florida East Coast Railway reached southward to Fort Lauderdale, providing rapid transportation to south Florida from all parts of the nation. The little village increased in size and was incorporated in 1911 as the City of Fort Lauderdale. In 1915 Broward County was created out of parts of Dade and Palm Beach counties.
-Old Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale History Center Miami
Our absolute favorite outing in Miami is diving over the Seven Mile Bridge into Key West, passing 32 islands to reach this small town at the bottom of the U.S. 
Once there, try the "Hop-on, Hop-off" tour around town. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, those are great ways to see the highlights of any city.
Miami City Tour (including Bayside and Biscayne Bay Cruise takes you past Miami's mansions, yachts (larger than any I've seen in California), Little Havana, Coconut Grove . . . At Bayside, you'll browse through 100 shops and artist's carts. (ALL of our gifts are purchased from places around the world so that we are able to take part of our trip home with us for family and friends. And we never purchase anything with the town name/logo on it 'cause that won't mean much to anyone other than the traveler.)
Miami's Art Basel fair, the offshoot of the annual festival in Basel, Switzerland, and one of America's most prestigious art events, runs annually in December and brings together more than 2,000 artists from peer selected galleries around the globe. In 2011, it includes 26 Latin American galleries, 16 of them Brazilian among its featured "Art Positions" section dedicated to new talents.
Florida's Coral Reefs
Florida is the only state in the continental United States to have extensive shallow coral reef formations near its coasts. These reefs extend from near Stuart, on the Atlantic coast, to the Dry Tortugas, west of Key West, in the Gulf of Mexico. The most prolific reef development occurs seaward of the Florida Keys. The reefs here are spectacular and rival those of many Caribbean areas. Approximately 6,000 coral reefs are found between Key Biscayne and Dry Tortugas.
Florida's coral reefs came into existence 5,000 to 7,000 years ago when sea levels rose following the Wisconsin Ice Age. Reef growth is slow; estimates range from one to sixteen feet every 1,000 years.
Stony corals are the major reef architects. Polyps, the living portion of the coral, extract calcium from seawater and combine it with carbon dioxide to construct the elaborate limestone skeletons that form the reef backbone. Coral polyps are united into colonies. An individual colony grows one-half to seven inches a year, depending on the species. Corals start life as free-living larvae that later settle on the sea floor and develop into massive, sedentary limestone formations.
Though reef corals are classified as animals, there is, in fact, a complex of microscopic plants that lives within the animal tissues (a symbiotic relationship). The animals benefit from the energy that the plants provide through photosynthesis. The plants are protected within the coral tissues and gain nutrients from animal wastes. These tiny plants are called zooxanthellae and are responsible for much of the color seen in reef corals.
The geographic region encompasses the 105-mile northern extension of Florida reef tract adjacent to the four southeast Florida counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin. The program focus area includes reefs between the northern boundary of Biscayne National Park and the St. Lucie Inlet.
Marine Debris is a widespread problem around the world, including on southeast Florida coral reefs. Discarded fishing and boating materials (e.g. fishing line, nets, and anchors), plastics (water bottles and bags), household items (chairs) and hurricane related debris (roofing materials) are becoming increasingly more common on southeast Florida reefs. Debris washed by rivers, discarded on beaches, or abandoned by fishers, divers, and boaters can cause damage to sponges and corals, and entangle fish and other reef organisms, resulting in injury or death to these animals. With population growth and human use of southeast Florida reefs on the rise, establishing a program that can minimize the impacts of marine debris is a priority.
Please take time to visit Florida's Department of Environmental Protection Web site and learn about ways to protect our seas.
And please be a responsible boater on all of our seas: Every year careless boaters run aground, destroying coral colonies that are hundreds of years old. Seen from the surface, reefs have a unique golden-brown color. If you see brown, you may be about to run aground. Be cautious when anchoring your boat. Do not deploy the anchor directly in coral. Usually there are sandy areas close by; anchor in the sand. Many popular reefs off Key Largo and at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary have special anchor buoys for mooring. In these areas, tie up to the buoys, rather than anchoring. Do not dispose of trash, bilge washings and other debris on or near the reefs!
Logistics
It is no wonder that the cruise industry flocks to places like Miami or Port Everglades. The latter destination boasts a five minute transit out to sea, some of the shortest pilotage on the planet , the scenery that comes with the sandy beaches of south Florida and the lure of perhaps a side trip to Orlando to see Mickey when passengers sadly disembark after a week of “fun.”
That said, a trip to the Johnson Space Center and the always popular San Jacinto Monument immediately adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel offer their own special kind of charm, as well.
The enormously popular cruise industry, rooted firmly here in the United States, has a plan and a business model that works. They clearly know what they are doing.
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude