Holiday Get Away - Ft. Lauderdale

This morning the husband and I are headed to Ft. Lauderdale for a week (instead of giving each other Christmas and birthday presents, etc., we go on trips)!  We are looking forward to warm weather and seeing many friends who either live in the area or who, like us, like to vacation there. We will be staying at a gay guest house and using it as our base of operations. We will have Christmas dinner with friends from Newport News who have a gorgeous home in Ft. Lauderdale.  We have at least two dining events planned for the Lauderdale Yacht Club with clients of mine and the husband (our Hampton Yacht Club membership provides nice reciprocal benefits!).  We also hope to do some shopping and find some special tuxedo jackets to wear to the Inaugural Ball in Richmond on January 13th in Richmond (we will be going up to Richmond on the 6th to give the governor elect a haircut).  

On the home front, a friend will be staying at our home and house sitting and dog sitting for us. It works best all around.  On the blogging front, I will be posting to the extent our social engagements and relaxing by the pool/on the beach permits.

Key West - 2016 - Day 1

Yesterday was exhausting.  I got home Wednesday evening at 9:45PM and then had to be up at 2:45AM to head for the airport in Norfolk.  Our flights went off without delay and we landed in Key West at 11:25 AM.  The weather was clear and sunny with a temperature of 83 degrees!  Our first day at the Equator was pleasant and given our exhausted state, we hung by the pool all afternoon after settling in.  The view from our top floor balcony is above.   One nice aspect of The Equator is the 5:00PM cocktail hour that is included in the room rate (breakfast is as well), and we took full advantage of it!

After multiple cocktails, we walked to Martin's - a Germany style restaurant on Duval Street towards the opposite end from where the craziest St. Patrick's Day partying was going on.  Dinner, as is always the case at Martin's was fabulous.  Not that we needed more alcohol, we had a great bottle Riesling.  On the back to The Equator we made a quick pass through the 801.  Once back at our room, we basically passed out. :)

This morning I have dealt with about 220 office e-mails and reviewed a few documents for clients.  Today we will wander around and revisit some local sites.  This evening we are meeting friends  at the Bourbon Street Pub before going to dinner at the Key West Yacht Club which has reciprocal privileges with the Hampton Yacht Club.  

Ft. Lauderdale - Day Two and Three

Between work matters - I have spent a number of hours each day dealing with office e-mails and client matters - and seeing friends and trying to enjoy the trip, I simply never got around to blogging yesterday.  Overall, the trip has been great and we are very happy with the Coral Reef Guesthouse where we are staying.  We have met a number of really nice couples and guys from various parts of the country and the facility is immaculately kept and the staff very friendly and helpful.  We will definitely stay here again.

Wednesday, we spent time by the pool, met friends from Virginia Beach/Norfolk for lunch and then we went to the home of friends and clients of the husband's salon where he did their hair as I sat by the pool at their gorgeous home in Lighthouse Point, just north of Ft. Lauderdale. That evening we went to the Lauderdale Yacht Club (see the image above of the pool complex) for dinner.  We ended the night hitting clubs in Wilton Manor, finishing the night at Hunters where there was great dance music.  

Yesterday, after dealing with office issues until nearly noon, we hit Sebastian Beach at the ocean front for several hours.  We attended a New Year's Eve party in Wilton Manor at the home of a friend from Virginia Beach and saw many friends down from Virginia and finished the night/early hours of the morning at the guesthouse having cocktails with other guests at the pool and hot tub.  As I have been blogging, the husband in fact has been sleeping in. :)

Ft. Lauderdale - Day One

It has been a super long day today.  The husband and I were up at 2:30AM to get ready for our 5:15AM flight to Ft. Lauderdale Florida, via Charlotte on American Airlines.  As seems to be the norm, American Airlines was a disappointment, but we eventually got here albeit late.  We are staying at the Coral Reef Guesthouse (the pool is shown above) and will be seeing numerous friends who have second homes down here.  The husband's brother is staying at the house and watching the dogs.  We lazed by the pool when I wasn't dealing with client phone calls and e-mails - I NEVER really escape - and plan on a low key dinner before visiting some clubs in Wilton Manor later this evening.  Normal posting will resume tomorrow.  Dinner tomorrow evening at the Lauderdale Yacht Club compliments of our reciprocal privileges through the Hampton Yacht Club.