A Few Days in Fort Lauderdale
September 6, 2008
I finally returned to San Francisco Tuesday after a few luxurious days with Nikki in Fort Lauderdale. 
And based on the projected path of Hurricane Ike, it looks like I timed the trip just perfectly - between Gustav and Ike. 
And while Hurricane Gustav’s direct threat to southern Florida abated early on, it still managed to fuck up a good bit of my time there. Still, there was a silver lining to it all. Instead of spending all four days wasting away on the beaches, we spent some quality time with one another exploring some places that we’d been meaning to see since we moved down there several years ago, but just never found the time to.
I got in late Thursday evening last week, due entirely to some kind of ground holdup at DFW. We sat on the tarmac for well over an hour because of all of the airplane traffic waiting to take off. I think we ended up being about 30th in line or some shit like that. The pilot came on at one point and said we were number 9 for take off and should be off the ground in about 12 or 15 minutes. About 20 minutes later, he came on and said we were number 9 for take off and should be off the ground in about 12 or 15 minutes. *sigh*
I *so* fucking hate flying these days. I’ve flown well over 100 times, including several times before 9/11. It used to be fun to fly. Nowadays, with all of the stupid, useless security processes, the extra fees for breathing air on the plane (sarcasm, yes, but just wait, it’s coming), idiotic counter people, and the ridiculous process of people finding places to put their fucking luggage on the airplane so they don’t have to check it (saving the baggage fee), it’s just an incredible pain in the ass to go anywhere on an aircraft these days. I was in the 5th group (out of 8) to get on and even at that point, there was no overhead bin space for peoples’ luggage. Anyone who got on after me had to check luggage that wouldn’t fit under their seats or couldn’t squeeze into the bin. I wondered if it was possible to avoid the checked bag fees by checking luggage this way. Regardless, it’s just asinine what you have to go through to get from Point A to Point B by air these days. Good grief, it is so fucked up.
Anyway, I finally made it to Fort Lauderdale. Nikki was waiting for me at the security exit. I ran to her and just wrapped my arms around her and we hugged and cried together for a few minutes. And while it’s not terribly uncommon to see people kissing in the airport, I don’t recall seeing two women kissing like we were. No one said anything, but I saw some people with that “WTF?” look on their faces. Fuck you guys - I’d missed my lover.
It felt so nice to be in real convertible weather for a change. lol We rode home in Nikki’s Miata, and it felt good to feel that warm, humid Florida air coursing through my hair again. We got home and spent a little time catching up, and then went off to bed. The sex was incredible. It felt *so* good to be wrapped up in her arms, our spirits intertwined just as if we’d never been apart. It was so awesome to smell that scent of hers; it is very intoxicating to me. She uses a different shampoo, conditioner and body lotions than I do, so it is easy to differentiate her scent from mine when we’re wrapped up together.
When we got up the next morning, it was overcast, so there was no point in going to the beach. We opted to go to Butterfly World instead. That place is so cool. You go in and walk among literally thousands of gorgeous butterflies. If you stand still for a few minutes, some will land on you. I sat on one of the benches for a few minutes and one of them landed on my nose. 
The butterflies live for about 10-14 days, and they have to release about 3,000 of them a week to keep the place stocked. I wondered to myself what this place does when they have hurricanes come through. Do they lose a bunch of the little critters?
That evening, we went to Cheesecake Factory - Nikki had a bowl of clam chowder and a salad, while I had a hamburger. The meal was of course followed by the requisite slice of cheesecake. I had the Lemon-Raspberry Cream Cheesecake.
On Saturday, the weather wasn’t much better - still overcast and breezy. So, once again, no beach, and we were forced to make alternate plans. This time we opted for the Miami Seaquarium. We watched several shows, including one featuring dolphins and a killer whale named Lolita. We saw some manatees, including one who’d had 2/3 of its tail chopped off by a boat’s propeller. 
We also saw some sea lions and seals, sea turtles, iguanas, flamingoes, and several other animals. They had a small exhibit about the damage the place suffered during Hurricane Wilma. Wilma was our first hurricane experience after we’d moved to Florida from Tennessee.
Saturday night we went shopping at Sawgrass Mills Mall - 350+ stores! The place is HUGE. We didn’t buy anything to speak of, though. We just spent time looking, walking through the mall, holding hands and acting like we hadn’t seen each other in ages.
On Sunday, the weather was markedly worse. It was raining in a lot of places. One of the feeder bands from Gustav was right over southern Florida. He was nowhere near us, but his cloud field extended outward for hundreds of miles, and it was just our luck to be under his influence for still another day. The rain was spotty, though, so we figured we’d go see the Miami Zoo - it is supposedly one of the 10 best in the country. We were apparently on some kind of animal(istic) kick. lol
When we got there, the park ranger told us the zoo had closed early due to rain. Fuck. That was over an hour drive, and several toll booths from home, and we had to make the return trip. We went home and spent the afternoon in bed having sex and just enjoying each other’s company. Sunday night we headed back to the Cheesecake Factory, and ended up with the same waitress we had before (shoutout to our waitress, Jessica!). This time I opted for their 30th Anniversary Cheesecake special - original cheesecake sandwiched in between layers of chocolate cake. Yummy.
We always sit outside on the sidewalk when we eat there if the weather is cooperative (and it was this evening). It is a lot of fun to watch people walk by as you eat. It is right at the western end of the Las Olas Shopping District (high end stuff, for the most part), and you’ll see literally every kind of person pass by. It struck me that one difference between Fort Lauderdale (well, the whole Miami area, really) and San Francisco is that the people, the bodies, here are stunning.
In Fort Lauderdale, a woman can wear a sheer dress with nothing but a bra and thong underneath it and make it look fashionable. In San Francisco, it just looks garish (which, of course, doesn’t stop people from wearing it). One tall (5′ 8″ or so) woman walked by us wearing the shortest miniskirt I have ever seen. She’d cut it off so that the pockets in it were hanging below the cuff, and it just barely covered her ass. She was wearing 4-inch heels to boot. But gosh she had an incredible set of legs that went on forever. Her boyfriend was clearly showing her off, and heads were turning, let me tell you. They walked by and a few minutes later came back to the restaurant to eat. As luck would have it, they sat directly across from us. What a view! Haha! I exchanged glances with her several times, but she just didn’t set my gaydar off, so I didn’t bother to try flirting.
When we were done, we walked down the street and visited some of the stores. There was one store in particular that sold furniture and home decorations. They had a black, ivory-inlaid table with 8 chairs that sold for $39,500.00. Chump change, right? lol They also had some little ivory figurines that looked for all the world like they could’ve been made to demonstrate sex positions from the Kama Sutra. These things were complete with penises entering vaginas, mouths, etc. At $4K a set, though, we didn’t buy any. 
On Monday, finally, some decent beach weather. We packed up our shit and headed down to Haulover Beach. If you haven’t been reading me, or just aren’t familiar with it, Haulover is the only government-operated clothing optional beach in the country. And I hate tan lines! So…
Anyway, it was nice to see some familiar, um, faces, and catch up with some friends we’ve met at the beach before. I actually got a bit red this time, too - I guess my body’s not used to being out in the sun like it used to be. But the day was perfect and we spent a good 8 hours lying in the sun, playing in the very rough surf, and just talking with people.
Monday night, we ate at the Bonefish Grill. Nikki had the Chilean Sea Bass, and I had the Grilled Shrimp and Scallops in lemon-butter sauce. That stuff is to die for. It is smooth, very light, yet filling - a very delicious meal.
Once we were done eating, we headed down to Fort Lauderdale Beach to take a leisurely stroll along the ocean front. We parked the car and, unusually, Nikki put the top up on the convertible. Normally she’d just leave it open since we were coming right back. But there were a lot of people running around down there so she just felt better knowing that the car wouldn’t be open. How fortuitous that would turn out to be.
We went across the street (we’d parked in the lot across from the Elbo Room - they have a web cam where you can see the beach, too, btw.), and walked down along the beach side of the road. About halfway between Las Olas Blvd and Cortez Street, we felt what we thought was ocean spray. We’d both began discussing the fact that it seemed a lot more…robust than usual, when all of the sudden the bottom let out. Rain began pouring down on us - I mean it was a frog-strangler. Fortunately, there were no cars coming up A1A, so we took off across the street and ran into a salon that was still open. We still got soaked, though. It was funny to watch all of the people who’d been eating on the sidewalk at the bars and cafes along the strip get up and go running for cover as well. There must’ve been about a hundred people scrambling for cover.
I had to get back to San Francisco Tuesday for school, so I had to take an early flight out of Fort Lauderdale to get back in time to allow me to read my assignment for class. I had to get up at 3AM to get ready. Gah!
My flight left right on cue (which they almost always do from FLL). I made my connection through DFW on time as well, which kind of surprised me, since the whole northern part of Texas was still feeling the effects of Gustav. In Atlanta, if someone flushes a toilet, it fucks airport traffic up for the rest of the day, so it surprised me that I got through DFW without a problem with all of the rain and whatnot.
I made it home just after Noon, and wanted to take a nap before I headed over to the campus, but I was too wound up. So I spent some time reading, meandering around online, and just bumming around, languishing in the sadness of the realization that it’d be another two months before I’d be able to return home.
All in all it was a very nice trip, in different ways than I had anticipated. It was so good to see, hold, and yes, fuck Nikki again. But, alas, I am here, alone, once again.
Posted by Alexa | Filed Under Alexa, Miscellaneous
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9 Responses to “A Few Days in Fort Lauderdale”
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Sawgrass Mills is crazy.
I grew up in Plantation.
I’m glad you enjoyed your time back in Florida. I can only imagine seeing my lover after a few months and just being ecstatic. It also sounds like you’re back into the swing of SF again and ready for the schooling to commence.
(Also.. did you know that if we try to comment with our website field filled in, your site brings us back to the main site and ignores the comment? :S… )
Anyway, I’m glad you had a rockin’ good time, and I’m super glad you’re back in SF safe and sound.
<3
Jeff,
Plantation is a nice area. We’d probably have lived there (or Sunrise) if we didn’t want to be close to the beach.
Shannon,
did you know that if we try to comment with our website field filled in, your site brings us back to the main site and ignores the comment?
You and Keeley are both having this issue. The only thing I can figure out is that it must have something to do with the fact that you guys have stuff hosted on Wordpress’s site. No one else is having this problem but you two, and that is the only thing I can see that has some commonality between you guys. I’ve done a little research, but haven’t been able to figure out WTF is going on with it. Sorry.
Wow, it was very nice to read this time. Don’t even know why :)
Your whole weekend sounds amazing and i’m so happy for you. <3 Thanks for sharing it. I love reading about Nikki and you.
Yeah, beach beats suburbs any-day.
Sawgrass Mills is still crazy tho.
I knew you were in town minutes away from me and busy reuniting with Nikki, and was curious how your reunion was going. I am so glad to hear you had such a nice visit.
So funny that I go to the places you visited with my wife and kids (though not last week). I’m just imagining having been there and seeing you there and not being able to say hi. (Not that I necessarily would have known it was you until after since we’ve never met).
I am really glad you had fun and hope that your next visit home will include an opportunity for playtime with some of your Florida admirers.
[...] I got back Tuesday morning from Fort Lauderdale, as most of you have probably read. I am still having Nikki [...]